Download or read book Mammalian Reproductive Biology written by F. H. Bronson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1989 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique interdisciplinary overview of the way mammals reproduce, this volume synthesizes research done by laboratory physiologists, behaviorists, population ecologists, and animal breeders. F. H. Bronson has drawn together the disparate literature in these areas to provide students and researchers with a comprehensive and biologically integrated approach to the study of mammalian reproduction. Each chapter presents a wealth of issues and questions, summarizing the current consensus on interpretations as well as viable alternatives under debate. The book is principally concerned with how environmental factors regulate reproduction. Bronson proposes that a mammal's reproductive performance routinely reflects simultaneous regulation by several environmental factors that interact in fascinatingly complex ways. Environment is defined broadly, and the chapters give equal weight to ecological and physiological factors when considering how variables such as food availability, ambient temperature, photoperiod, and social cues interact to regulate a mammal's reproduction. Particular attention is given to seasonal breeding, and a taxonomically arranged chapter underscores the importance of comparative and evolutionary biology to an understanding of mammalian reproduction. Mammalian Reproductive Biology is a powerful argument for the value and importance of interdisciplinary approaches to research. Its almost 1,500 references constitute the most comprehensive bibliography to date on this topic. Bronson also gives detailed consideration to promising areas for future research. Well organized, carefully planned, and clearly written, this book will become standard reading for scientists concerned with any aspect of mammalian biology.
Download or read book Carnivore Behavior Ecology and Evolution written by John L. Gittleman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 632 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Carnivores have always fascinated us, even though they make up only 10% of all mammalian genera and only about 2% of all mammalian biomass. In Greek mythology most of the gods adorned their robes and helmets with depictions of carnivores, and the great hero Hercules' most famous feat was killing the "invulnerable" lion with his bare hands. Part· of our fascination with carnivores stems from fright and intrigue, and sometimes even hatred because of our direct competition with them. Cases of "man-eating" lions, bears, and wolves, as well as carnivores' reputation as killers of livestock and game, provoke communities and governrpents to adopt sweeping policies to exterminate them. Even President Theodore Roosevelt, proclaimer of a new wildlife protectionism, described the wolf as "the beast of waste and desolation. " The sheer presence and power of carnivores is daunt ing: they can move quickly yet silently through forests, attaining rapid bursts of speed when necessary; their massive muscles are aligned to deliver powerful attacks, their large canines and strong jaws rip open carcasses, and their scis sor-like carnassials slice meat. Partly because of our fear of these attributes, trophy hunting of carnivores has been, and to a certain extent still is, a sign of bravery and skill. Among some Alaskan Inuit, for example, a man is not eligible for marriage until he has killed a succession of animals of increasing size and dangerousness, culminating with the most menacing, the polar bear.
Download or read book Extreme Measures written by Brian K. McNab and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-06-27 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Successive chapters take up energy and population dynamics and evolution.
Download or read book The Physiological Ecology of Vertebrates written by Brian Keith McNab and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though physiological ecology has been a discipline since the 1950s, McNab redresses a perceived absence of a theoretical framework with a comparative, inductive approach to studying vertebrate evolution and ecology. He discusses the patterns and limits of adaptation to the environment, acclimation to temperature variation and material exchange with the environment, and the energetics of locomotion and growth. The final section treats the significance of energetics for population ecology and distribution. Includes a taxonomic as well as subject index. Suitable for advanced students and researchers in the biological and ecological sciences. The Gainesville, FL-based author is referred to by the foreword writer as a keen naturalist, but his credentials are not stated. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.
Download or read book Reproductive Biology of Bats written by Elizabeth G. Crichton and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2000-06-12 with total page 523 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Reproductive Biology of Bats presents the first comprehensive, in-depth review of the current knowledge and supporting literature concerning the behavior, anatomy, physiology and reproductive strategies of bats. These mammals, which occur world-wide and comprise a vast assemblage of species, have evolved unique and successful reproductive strategies through varied anatomical and physiological specialization. These are accompanied by individual and/or group behavioral interactions, usually in response to environmental mechanisms essential to their reproductive success. - Is the first book devoted to the reproductive biology of bats - Contains in-depth reviews of the literature concerned with bat reproduction - Contributors are widely recognized specialists - Provides a powerful database for future research
Download or read book Mammalian Sexuality written by Alan F. Dixson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-03 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first detailed account of post-copulatory sexual selection and the evolution of reproduction in mammals.
Download or read book Ecological Physiology of Daily Torpor and Hibernation written by Fritz Geiser and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-08-23 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an in-depth overview on the functional ecology of daily torpor and hibernation in endothermic mammals and birds. The reader is well introduced to the physiology and thermal energetics of endothermy and underlying different types of torpor. Furthermore, evolution of endothermy as well as reproduction and survival strategies of heterothermic animals in a changing environment are discussed. Endothermic mammals and birds can use internal heat production fueled by ingested food to maintain a high body temperature. As food in the wild is not always available, many birds and mammals periodically abandon energetically costly homeothermic thermoregulation and enter an energy-conserving state of torpor, which is the topic of this book. Daily torpor and hibernation (multiday torpor) in these heterothermic endotherms are the most effective means for energy conservation available to endotherms and are characterized by pronounced temporal and controlled reductions in body temperature, energy expenditure, water loss, and other physiological functions. Hibernators express multiday torpor predominately throughout winter, which substantially enhances winter survival. In contrast, daily heterotherms use daily torpor lasting for several hours usually during the rest phase, some throughout the year. Although torpor is still widely considered to be a specific adaptation of a few cold-climate species, it is used by many animals from all climate zones, including the tropics, and is highly diverse with about 25-50% of all mammals, but fewer birds, estimated to use it. While energy conservation during adverse conditions is an important function of torpor, it is also employed to permit or facilitate energy-demanding processes such as reproduction and growth, especially when food supply is limited. Even migrating birds enter torpor to conserve energy for the next stage of migration, whereas bats may use it to deal with heat. Even though many heterothermic species will be challenged by anthropogenic influences such as habitat destruction, introduced species, novel pathogens and specifically global warming, not all are likely to be affected in the same way. In fact it appears that opportunistic heterotherms because of their highly flexible energy requirements, ability to limit foraging and reduce the risk of predation, and often pronounced longevity, may be better equipped to deal with anthropogenic challenges than homeotherms. In contrast strongly seasonal hibernators, especially those restricted to mountain tops, and those that have to deal with new diseases that are difficult to combat at low body temperatures, are likely to be adversely affected. This book addresses researchers and advanced students in Zoology, Ecology and Veterinary Sciences.
Download or read book The Behaviour of Pinnipeds written by D. Renouf and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We teach our students of behavioural science that one first defines a research problem, and then the most appropriate animal is selected to investigate hypotheses. The reverse order of events is improper: a particular class of animals should not be studied for its own sake. In the case of the Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur seals and walruses) the organism and the problem are essentially the same. The research questions presented in this volume in one way or another relate to survival in two worlds, the ocean for foraging, and the terrain at its edge or frozen above it for breeding. The evolution of Pinniped behaviour and the mechanisms which underlie it are a consequence of having to cope with two seemingly incompatible sets of environmental constraints. The physiological adaptations for concomitant functioning in two media with very different physical characteristics have produced correlated behav ioural modifications. The energetic demands of reproduction and foraging are idiosyncratic because each activity occurs on opposite sides of the air/water interface. As a result, the mating system must reconcile aquatic design for such functions as locomotion and thermoregulation, with the terrestrial requirements for successful pupping. Similarly, the ecology of this dual habitat prescribes the rules governing the behaviour of the neonate and its interactions with its mother.
Download or read book Hormones and Reproduction of Vertebrates Mammals written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hormones and Reproduction of Vertebrates Volume 5 written by David Norris and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2011-05-04 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This series of volumes represents a comprehensive and integrated treatment of reproduction in vertebrates from fishes of all sorts through mammals. It is designed to provide a readable, coordinated description of reproductive basics in each group of vertebrates as well as an introduction to the latest trends in reproductive research and our understanding of reproductive events. Whereas each chapter and each volume is intended to stand alone as a review of that topic or vertebrate group, respectively, the volumes are prepared so as to provide a thorough topical treatment across the vertebrates. Terminology has been standardized across the volumes to reduce confusion where multiple names exist in the literature, and a comprehensive glossary of these terms and their alternative names is provided. A complete, essential and up to date reference for research scientists working on vertebrate hormones and reproduction - and on animlals as models in human reproductive research Covers the endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, physiology, behaviour and anatomy of vertebrate reproduction Structured coverage of the major themes for all five vertebrate groups allows a consistent treatment for all Special chapters elaborate on features specific to individual vertebrate groups and to comparative aspects, similarities and differences between them
Download or read book Avian Energetics and Nutritional Ecology written by C. Carey and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 557 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A symposium held in 1973 chaired and organized by William R. Dawson was the first major attempt to summarize and synthesize the existing information in the then emerging field of avian energetics. The symposium featured papers by James R. King, William A. Calder III, Vance A. Tucker, and Robert E. Ricklefs and com mentaries by George A. Bartholomew, S. Charles Kendeigh, and Eugene P. Odum. The proceedings of the symposium, Avian Energetics (Paynter 1974), played a critical role in stimulating interest and research in the field of avian energetics. Some twenty-odd years later, we are making another attempt to summarize the information in the field of avian energetics. Some obvious differences exist be tween its predecessor and this volume. Numerous improvements in methodology, such as the use of doubly labeled water to estimate metabolism in free-living birds, now allow researchers to ask questions that could not be addressed previ ously. Second, consideration of nutrition is now inseparable from that of energet ics. This merger is necessary not only because food intake is the source of both en ergy and nutrients but also because one or more nutrients, rather than energy, can be limiting for a given species in a particular instance. Finally, the study of ener getics and nutritional ecology, particularly in birds and mammals, has grown so dramatically that a single volume can now only partially cover the range of possi ble topics and can catalogue only a sampling of all the studies on the subject.
Download or read book Reproductive Allocation in Plants written by Edward Reekie and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2011-05-04 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much effort has been devoted to developing theories to explain the wide variation we observe in reproductive allocation among environments. Reproductive Allocation in Plants describes why plants differ in the proportion of their resources that they allocate to reproduction and looks into the various theories. This book examines the ecological and evolutionary explanations for variation in plant reproductive allocation from the perspective of the underlying physiological mechanisms controlling reproduction and growth. An international team of leading experts have prepared chapters summarizing the current state of the field and offering their views on the factors determining reproductive allocation in plants. This will be a valuable resource for senior undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers in ecology, plant ecophysiology, and population biology. - 8 outstanding chapters dedicated to the evolution and ecology of variation in plant reproductive allocation - Written by an international team of leading experts in the field - Provides enough background information to make it accessible to senior undergraduate students - Includes over 60 figures and 29 tables
Download or read book Cooperative Breeding in Mammals written by Nancy G. Solomon and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-03-13 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: COOPERATIVE BREEDING AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN ANIMAL SOCIETIES.
Download or read book Reproductive Energetics in Mammals written by Andrew S. I. Loudon and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1987 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the proceedings of a symposium which brought together biologists from diverse backgrounds to review the current research on reproductive energetics. Agricultural scientists and ecologists have long been interested in the flow of energy through populations so that the ultimate constraints to production can be identified. However, the study of the ecology of wild mammals will not proceed effectively until scientists are able to obtain reliable data on the energy costs of pregnancy and lactation in the breeding female, and relate these in turn to the food supply, and the survival and growth of offspring. The work presented here is likely to attract serious research interest from ecologists, reproductive biologists, physiologists, and zoologists from some time to come.
Download or read book Offspring written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2003-05-04 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite recent advances in our understanding of the genetic basis of human behavior, little of this work has penetrated into formal demography. Very few demographers worry about how biological processes might affect voluntary behavior choices that have demographic consequences even though behavioral geneticists have documented genetics effects on variables such as parenting and divorce. Offspring: Human Fertility Behavior in Demographic Perspective brings together leading researchers from a wide variety of disciplines to review the state of research in this emerging field and to identify promising research directions for the future.
Download or read book Fish Energetics written by Peter Tytler and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is almost thirty years since Professor G. G. Winberg established the basis for experimental studies in fish energetics with the publication of his monograph, Rate of Metabolism and Food Requirements of Fishes. His ultimate aim was to develop a scientific approach to fish culture and management, and the immense volume of literature generated in the ensuing years has been mainly in response to the demand for information from a rapidly expanding, world-wide aquaculture industry and to the shortcomings of contemporary practices in fisheries management. The purpose of this book is not to review this literature compre hensively, but, assuming an informed readership, to focus attention on topics in which new knowledge and theory are beginning to be applied in practice. Most emphasis has been placed on food; feeding; production (growth and reproduction) and energy budgeting, as these have most influence on the development of fish culture. Some chapters offer practical advice for the selection of methods, and warn of pitfalls in previous approaches. In others the influence of new theory on the interpretation of studies in fish energetics is discussed in the context of resource allocation and adaptation. We hope that the scope of material presented here will have sufficient interest and value to help significantly to fulfil Winberg's original objectives.
Download or read book Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-02-01 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the years since the third edition of this indispensable reference was published, a great deal has been learned about the nutritional requirements of common laboratory species: rat, mouse, guinea pig, hamster, gerbil, and vole. The Fourth Revised Edition presents the current expert understanding of the lipid, carbohydrate, protein, mineral, vitamin, and other nutritional needs of these animals. The extensive use of tables provides easy access to a wealth of comprehensive data and resource information. The volume also provides an expanded background discussion of general dietary considerations. In addition to a more user-friendly organization, new features in this edition include: A significantly expanded section on dietary requirements for rats, reporting substantial new findings. A new section on nutrients that are not required but that may produce beneficial results. New information on growth and reproductive performance among the most commonly used strains of rats and mice and on several hamster species. An expanded discussion of diet formulation and preparationâ€"including sample diets of both purified and natural ingredients. New information on mineral deficiency and toxicity, including warning signs. This authoritative resource will be important to researchers, laboratory technicians, and manufacturers of laboratory animal feed.
