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Book The Influence of Weather  Time of Season  and Time of Day on Bullsnake  Pituophis Atenifer Sayi  Thermoregulation and Habitat Selection

Download or read book The Influence of Weather Time of Season and Time of Day on Bullsnake Pituophis Atenifer Sayi Thermoregulation and Habitat Selection written by Noah Brian Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The grasslands of Western Canada are exposed to one of the most variable terrestrial climates on Earth. Ectothermic reptiles such as the bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) must respond to this variation by altering their behaviour over daily and seasonal scales. In Chapter 2, I addressed questions regarding the extent to which bullsnakes thermoregulate. I examined how body temperatures (Tb) varied with available operative temperatures (Te) over an active season at a site in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Bare ground Te was variable (x̄ min = 9.3, x̄ max = 31.4°C) and was outside voluntary limits (15 - 35°C) 45 % of the time. However, burrows created by mammals provided stable thermal conditions that remained within voluntary ranges for 93 % of the active season. Bullsnakes should not need to move far to thermoregulate because of thermal gradients (up to 27.2°C in less than 1 m) formed between burrows and patches of sun-exposed bare ground. Time of day, day of year, and bare ground Te (R2 = 0.578) were useful predictors of Tb (x̄ min = 20.1, x̄ max = 29.1°C). Bullsnakes thermoregulated by conforming to Te near their preferred range (21 to 27°C), selecting locations that enabled heating up below this range, and avoiding warmth above this range. My results support the hypothesis that predicts reptiles will thermoregulate more when environmental temperatures deviate from preferred ranges, and when energetic costs of movement are lower due to high thermal heterogeneity. Despite the extreme surface temperatures of high-latitude grasslands, thermoregulation may be easier for snakes than in high-latitude forests due to the thermal gradients available because of burrows in areas exposed to sun. In Chapter 3, I examined the influence of time (time of day, day of year) and weather (temperature, humidity, and precipitation) on a suite of behaviours in 4 bullsnake populations in Saskatchewan. I studied variation in 4th order use and selection for burrows, concealment probability, relocation probability, and movement distances. Bullsnakes altered behaviours in response to time and weather. The greatest variation was explained for concealment (R2 = 0.244) and 4th order habitat selection (R2 = 0.144 - 0.169). However, 4th order habitat use (R2 = 0.0366), relocation (R2 = 0.0419), and movements (R2 = 0.025 - 0.071) were relatively unpredictable based on time and weather variables. Movement distances were particularly variable among individuals. Overall bullsnake activity was highest in spring and during afternoons. Poor weather and unfavourable temperatures were avoided. Humidity was more important than expected. Humidity (or precipitation) was negatively associated with activity in spring or at cool temperatures, but positively associated with activity in summer or at hot temperatures. I suggest that current management recommendations for bullsnakes are valid. However, sample biases could create the false appearance of different habitat requirements among populations if weather conditions, time of day, or season were to differ among studies. Time and weather were useful for predicting the probability of finding bullsnakes on the surface (AUC = 0.8015) and should be used to forecast optimal conditions for surveys. Snake behaviour is often considered to be unpredictable, but the results of Chapter 2 and 3 suggest that weather variables and time are important for predicting bullsnake behaviour, and particularly general surface activity. Behaviours varied widely over the active season, and the effects of time and weather variables were context dependent. My thesis highlights the importance of long study periods under a wide range of conditions to understand the ecology of reptiles in highly seasonal environments.

Book Variable Habitat Selection and Space Use Among Bullsnake  Pituophis Catenifer Sayi  Populations

Download or read book Variable Habitat Selection and Space Use Among Bullsnake Pituophis Catenifer Sayi Populations written by Tera Edkins and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The distribution of resources determines space use and habitat selection by snakes. Particularly in northern areas, the proximity of overwintering den sites to summering habitat likely influences space use. The resources driving seasonal movements among habitats may vary among populations and thus, space and habitat requirements may also vary. In addition, human modification may affect resource use by altering available habitats and resources. Although previous studies have reported differences in spatial ecology among populations, the driving factors of this variation remain to be addressed for many species. Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) reach their northern range limits in southern Saskatchewan, where they are currently listed as Data Deficient by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Many studies have focused on core range areas, while northern studies have focused on one population in the Frenchman River Valley, Saskatchewan. The habitat and space requirements identified in these previous studies, however, may not be relevant to all bullsnake populations. I examined bullsnake space and habitat use among independent populations in three river valleys (Frenchman River, South Saskatchewan River, and Big Muddy Valleys) in Saskatchewan, with varying habitat types (natural and anthropogenic) and availability. I tracked bullsnakes using radio-telemetry, estimated home range areas and movement patterns, and measured third and fourth order habitat selection. The objectives of my research were (1) to examine the extent to which habitat selection and space use may vary among populations and (2) to identify important habitat features in common among snakes from different populations. Saskatchewan bullsnakes demonstrated variable space use and movement patterns among populations, exceeding space use requirements previously observed in southern areas. One population (Big Muddy Valley), on average, used 2.7 to 3 times less space, travelled 2.3 to 2.7 times shorter distances from overwintering sites, and had greater home range overlap than snakes from the other populations (Frenchman and South Saskatchewan River Valleys). This suggests that bullsnakes in the Big Muddy Valley had a closer spatial association between seasonal habitats. Bullsnakes appear to be flexible in terms of their third order habitat selection. Native habitats were used as expected across all valleys, but human-modified habitats were used at different frequencies across populations. These differences in habitat selection among populations are most likely due to differences in habitat availability among landscapes. Fourth habitat selection, however, was similar among populations, with bullsnakes selecting for sites typically within 1 m of a refuge site (including burrows, cement pads, and rock piles). It appears that bullsnakes occupy variable-sized home ranges and move variable distances. Bullsnakes also appear to be flexible in terms of how they meet resource requirements across their geographic range via habitat selection at a broad spatial scale. My study did find, however, that at a fine spatial scale refuge sites are an important habitat feature for bullsnakes. Conservation and management strategies are typically broad and are implemented as if populations of the same species have similar habitat requirements. However, my results indicate that this is not the case. As such, management plans may not be applicable to all populations.

Book Bullsnakes  Pituophis Catenifer Sayi  in Alberta

Download or read book Bullsnakes Pituophis Catenifer Sayi in Alberta written by Kelley J. Kissner and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Bullsnakes  Pituophis Catenifer Sayi  in Alberta

Download or read book Bullsnakes Pituophis Catenifer Sayi in Alberta written by Kelley Joan Kissner and published by Alberta Public Affairs Bureau. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Thermal Quality Influences Thermoregulation  Behaviour and Habitat Selection at Multiple Scales in Eastern Milksnakes  Lampropeltis Triangulum

Download or read book Thermal Quality Influences Thermoregulation Behaviour and Habitat Selection at Multiple Scales in Eastern Milksnakes Lampropeltis Triangulum written by Jeffrey R. Row and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Body temperature variation affects most physiological processes in terrestrial ectotherms and, therefore, can have a large effect on fitness. I studied eastern milksnakes at the northern extreme of their range, in a thermally challenging environment. Because of the particular importance of thermoregulation in thermal extremes, I hypothesized that thermal quality would influence thermoregulation, behaviour and habitat selection. In chapter one, I demonstrated that when thermal quality decreased, milksnakes increased investment in thermoregulation, a result contrary to the central prediction of the cost-benefit model of thermoregulation. Because ecotherms obtain heat from their environment, I predicted that when thermal quality was low, milksnakes would bask more and select higher thermal habitat. Milksnakes did not alter their habitat use in response to thermal quality. They did, however, alter their behaviour and were seen basking more and concealed less when thermal quality was low. In chapter two, my main goal was to determine if thermal quality affected habitat selection at multiple scales. Supporting my prediction, thermal quality influenced habitat selection at both the home range scale and the location scale. At both scales, milksnakes selected high thermal quality habitats (rocky outcrops, fields, and edges) and avoided low thermal quality habitat (forest). At the microhabitat scale, milksnakes selected locations with open canopy and many rocks. As a secondary objective, I tested the ability of 4 m resolution IKONOS imagery to accurately quantify habitat selection at the scale of the locations used by each snake. Although not as accurate as traditional field methods, remote sensing showed promise in measuring habitat selection at that scale.

Book Snakes

    Book Details:
  • Author : Stephen J. Mullin
  • Publisher : Cornell University Press
  • Release : 2011-08-15
  • ISBN : 0801457858
  • Pages : 383 pages

Download or read book Snakes written by Stephen J. Mullin and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-15 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Destruction of habitat due to urban sprawl, pollution, and deforestation has caused population declines or even extinction of many of the world's approximately 2,600 snake species. Furthermore, misconceptions about snakes have made them among the most persecuted of all animals, despite the fact that less than a quarter of all species are venomous and most species are beneficial because they control rodent pests. It has become increasingly urgent, therefore, to develop viable conservation strategies for snakes and to investigate their importance as monitors of ecosystem health and indicators of habitat sustainability. In the first book on snakes written with a focus on conservation, editors Stephen J. Mullin and Richard A. Seigel bring together leading herpetologists to review and synthesize the ecology, conservation, and management of snakes worldwide. These experts report on advances in current research and summarize the primary literature, presenting the most important concepts and techniques in snake ecology and conservation. The common thread of conservation unites the twelve chapters, each of which addresses a major subdiscipline within snake ecology. Applied topics such as methods and modeling and strategies such as captive rearing and translocation are also covered. Each chapter provides an essential framework and indicates specific directions for future research, making this a critical reference for anyone interested in vertebrate conservation generally or for anyone implementing conservation and management policies concerning snake populations. Contributors: Omar Attum, Indiana University Southeast; Steven J. Beaupre, University of Arkansas; Xavier Bonnet, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Frank T. Burbrink, College of Staten Island-The City University of New York; Gordon M. Burghardt, University of Tennessee; Todd A. Castoe, University of Colorado; David Chiszar, University of Colorado; Michael E. Dorcas, Davidson College; Lara E. Douglas, University of Arkansas; Christopher L. Jenkins, Project Orianne, Ltd.; Glenn Johnson, State University of New York at Potsdam; Michael Hutchins, The Wildlife Society; Richard B. King, Northern Illinois University; Bruce A. Kingsbury, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne; Thomas Madsen, University of Wollongong; Stephen J. Mullin, Eastern Illinois University; James B. Murphy, National Zoological Park; Charles R. Peterson, Idaho State University; Kent A. Prior, Parks Canada; Richard A. Seigel, Towson University; Richard Shine, University of Sydney; Kevin T. Shoemaker, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York; Patrick J. Weatherhead, University of Illinois; John D. Willson, University of Georgia

Book Experimental Ecology

    Book Details:
  • Author : William J. Resetarits
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 2001
  • ISBN : 9780195150421
  • Pages : 492 pages

Download or read book Experimental Ecology written by William J. Resetarits and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experimentation is a dominant approach in contemporary ecological research, pervading studies at all levels of biological organization and across diverse taxa and habitats. Experimental Ecology assembles an eminent group of ecologists who synthesize insights from these varied sources into a cogent statement about experimentalism as an analytical paradigm, placing experimentation within the larger framework of ecological investigation. The book discusses diverse experimental approaches ranging from laboratory microcosms to manipulation of entire ecosystem, illustrating the myriad ways experiments strengthen ecological inference. Experimental ecologists critique their science to move the field forward on all fronts: from better designs, to better links between experiments and theory, to more realism in experiments targeted at specific systems and questions.

Book Metabolic Ecology

    Book Details:
  • Author : Richard M. Sibly
  • Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
  • Release : 2012-04-30
  • ISBN : 0470671521
  • Pages : 394 pages

Download or read book Metabolic Ecology written by Richard M. Sibly and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-04-30 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metabolic Ecology Most of ecology is about metabolism, the ways that organisms use energy and materials. The energy requirements of individuals (their metabolic rates) vary predictably with their body size and temperature. Ecological interactions are exchanges of energy and materials between organisms and their environments. Therefore, metabolic rate affects ecological processes at all levels: individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems. Each chapter focuses on a different process, level of organization, or kind of organism. It lays a conceptual foundation and presents empirical examples. Together, the chapters provide an integrated framework that holds the promise for a unified theory of ecology. The book is intended to be accessible to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, but also of interest to senior scientists. Its easy-to-read chapters and clear illustrations can be used in lecture and seminar courses. This is an authoritative treatment that will inspire future generations to study metabolic ecology.

Book Integrative Organismal Biology

Download or read book Integrative Organismal Biology written by Lynn B. Martin and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-02-16 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Integrative Organismal Biology synthesizes current understandings of the causes and consequences of individual variation at the physiological, behavioral and organismal levels. Emphasizing key topics such as phenotypic plasticity and flexibility, and summarizing emerging areas such as ecological immunology, oxidative stress biology and others, Integrative Organismal Biology pulls together information from diverse disciplines to provide a synthetic view of the role of the individual in evolution. Beginning with the role of the individual in evolutionary and ecological processes, the book covers theory and mechanism from both classic and modern perspectives. Chapters explore concepts such as phenotypic plasticity, genetic and epigenetic variation, physiological and phenotypic variation, homeostasis, and gene and physiological regulatory networks. A concluding section interweaves these concepts through a series of case studies of life processes such as aging, reproduction, and immune defense. Written and edited by leaders in the field, Integrative Organismal Biology will be an important advanced textbook for students and researchers across a variety of subdisciplines of integrative biology.

Book Environmental Pest Management

Download or read book Environmental Pest Management written by Moshe Coll and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-07-27 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary exploration of key topics that interrelate pest management, public health and the environment This book takes a unique, multidimensional approach to addressing the complex issues surrounding pest management activities and their impacts on the environment and human health, and environmental effects on plant protection practices. It features contributions by a distinguished group of authors from ten countries, representing an array of disciplines. They include plant protection scientists and officers, economists, agronomists, ecologists, environmental and public health scientists and government policymakers. Over the course of eighteen chapters, those experts share their insights into and analyses of an array of issues of vital concern to everyone with a professional interest in this important subject. The adverse effects of pest control have become a subject of great concern worldwide, and researchers and enlightened policymakers have at last begun to appreciate the impact of environmental factors on our ability to manage pest populations. Moreover, while issues such as pesticide toxicity have dominated the global conversation about pest management, economic and societal considerations have been largely neglected. Environmental Pest Management: Challenges for Agronomists, Ecologists, Economists and Policymakers is the first work to provide in-depth coverage of all of these pressing issues between the covers of one book. Offers a unique multi-dimensional perspective on the complex issues surrounding pest management activities and their effect on the environment and human health Addresses growing concerns about specific pest management strategies, including the use of transgenic crops and biological controls Analyses the influence of global processes, such as climate change, biological invasions and shifts in consumer demand, and ecosystem services and disservices on pest suppression efforts Explores public health concerns regarding biodiversity, pesticide use and food safety Identifies key economic drivers of pest suppression research, strategies and technologies Proposes new regulatory approaches to create sustainable and viable crop protection systems in the framework of agro-environmental schemes Offering a timely and comprehensively-unique treatment of pest management and its environmental impacts in a single, inter-disciplinary volume, this book is a valuable resource for scientists in an array of disciplines, as well as government officials and policymakers. Also, teachers of undergraduate and graduate level courses in a variety of fields are sure to find it a highly useful teaching resource.

Book Global Climate Change and Terrestrial Invertebrates

Download or read book Global Climate Change and Terrestrial Invertebrates written by Scott N. Johnson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-02-06 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Invertebrates perform such vital roles in global ecosystems—and so strongly influence human wellbeing—that biologist E.O. Wilson was prompted to describe them as “little things that run the world.” As they are such powerful shapers of the world around us, their response to global climate change is also pivotal in meeting myriad challenges looming on the horizon—everything from food security and biodiversity to human disease control. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the latest scientific knowledge and contemporary theory relating to global climate change and terrestrial invertebrates. Featuring contributions from top international experts, this book explores how changes to invertebrate populations will affect human decision making processes across a number of crucial issues, including agriculture, disease control, conservation planning, and resource allocation. Topics covered include methodologies and approaches to predict invertebrate responses, outcomes for disease vectors and ecosystem service providers, underlying mechanisms for community level responses to global climate change, evolutionary consequences and likely effects on interactions among organisms, and many more. Timely and thought-provoking, Global Climate Change and Terrestrial Invertebrates offers illuminating insights into the profound influence the simplest of organisms may have on the very future of our fragile world.

Book Agents Transmissible from Simians to Man

Download or read book Agents Transmissible from Simians to Man written by Manfred Brack and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contacts between man and nonhuman primates enable the transmission of mic roorganisms from one species to the other. Such contact may occur at quite differ ent levels: man and nonhuman primates may share the same ecosystem including the presence of vectors in the countries of origins of monkeys and apes; the animals are captured to be sold or used for food; field researchers have to stay near the ani mals in the wild; an uncontrolled human population gets close enough to almost touch the animals in zoological gardens around the world; pet owners establish bodily contact and finally researchers doing surgery or necropsies are exposed to an increased number of pathogens liberated from the organs and body fluids. Usually monkeys and apes are more threatened with catching the microorgan isms indigenous to man than vice versa, but nevertheless outbreaks of true zoonoses with nonhuman primates as the source of infection have occurred. Also the retrans mission of originally human pathogens via nonhuman primates to man may pose a considerable risk to human health. Unfortunately the information on the different agents transmissible between man and his relatives is too disseminated for practical use, as it involves quite differ ent scientific disciplines such as virology, bacteriology, parasitology, primatology, laboratory animal science etc. It seemed therefore necessary to compile the current knowledge concerning this topic in a single publication. Human infections of simian origin may be caused by several viruses, bacteria, fungi or endoparasites. Ectoparasites, in comparison, are of little importance.

Book Thermobiology

    Book Details:
  • Author : Anthony H. Rose
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 1967
  • ISBN :
  • Pages : 680 pages

Download or read book Thermobiology written by Anthony H. Rose and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 680 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Effects of temperature on the state of water in the living cell; Heat effects on proteins and enzymes; Effects of elevated temperatures on DNA and on some polynucleotides: denaturation, renaturation and cleavage of glycosidic and phosphate ester bonds; The effect of heat on membranes and membrane constituents; Temperature effects on micro-organisms; The effect of temperature on the relation between animal viruses and their hosts; Heat responses of higher plants; Insects and temperature; The heat responses of invertebrates (exclusive of insects); Responses of vertebrate poikilotherms to temperature; Resistance to cold in mammals; Resistance to heat in man and other homeothermic animals; Medical applications of thermobiology; Thermal energy as a factor in the biology of soils; Thermal energy as a factor in the biology of the polar regions.

Book Snakes

    Book Details:
  • Author : Richard A. Seigel
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 2001
  • ISBN : 9781930665156
  • Pages : 529 pages

Download or read book Snakes written by Richard A. Seigel and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, first published in 1987 and here reprinted with a new foreword by the authors has become a classic in the field of herpetology. In ecological and evolutionary research snakes occupy a unique niche. Studies of their adaptations and life histories have broad applications for the most basic questions in biology. This book fills the need for an up-to-date text/reference in the growing field of snake ecology and evolutionary biology. Here, in one volume is an extensive review of the biology of these fascinating reptiles, including topics such as zoogeography, fossil history, systematics, foraging and reproduction. With contributions from many leading herpetologists, the work is divided into sections on Systematics and Morphology, Methods and Techniques and Life History and Ecology. Each section summarizes what is known about these major fields of snake biology. This book serves the needs of those actively involved in research as well as the amateur naturalist and the beginning student. Dr. Richard A. Seigel became interested in herpetology while an undergraduate at Rutgers University, where he received his B.A. in Zoology and Physiology in 1977. He continued his work with amphibians and reptiles while getting his M.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Central Florida in 1979 and his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1984. He is currently Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University in Maryland. Dr. Siegel's primary research interests are in the population ecology and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and has co-authored or edited four texts on the ecology and biology of snakes. From 1993-2000, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Herpetology, the largest international publication in its field. Joseph T. Collins has written more than 200 articles on reptiles, amphibians, and fishes throughout North America and twenty-three books, including: Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America Third Edition (with Roger Conant), Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas Third Edition (with photographs by Suzanne L. Collins), Natural Kansas, An Illustrated Guide to Endangered or Threatened Species in Kansas, (with Suzanne L. Collins, Jerry Horak, Dan Mulhern, William H. Busby, Craig C. Freeman, and Gary Wallace), A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada (with Robert Powell and Errol D. Hooper, Jr.). In 1978, Collins served as president of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, the leading international professional society in that field, as president of the Kansas Association of Biology Teachers (1980-1981) and as president of the Kansas Herpetological Society. He was a distinguished delegate to the First World Congress of Herpetology at Canterbury, England in 1989, and was made a Distinguished Life Member of the Kansas Herpetological Society in 1998. Susan S. Novak, a native of Chicago, has been a Lawrence, Kansas, resident since 1986. Novak has been an editor of scientific/technical, scholarly, and popular work for twenty years, working formerly as the editor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. She joined the staff of the Kansas State Historical Society in 1993, where she has since served as the managing editor of Kansas Heritage magazine and the associate editor of Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains, providing regular departments, main articles, photographs, book reviews, and layout and design work.

Book New Zealand Lizards

    Book Details:
  • Author : David G. Chapple
  • Publisher : Springer
  • Release : 2016-10-05
  • ISBN : 331941674X
  • Pages : 381 pages

Download or read book New Zealand Lizards written by David G. Chapple and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume is a timely and comprehensive summary of the New Zealand lizard fauna. Nestled in the south-west Pacific, New Zealand is a large archipelago that displays the faunal signatures of both its Gondwanan origins, and more recent oceanic island influences. New Zealand was one of the last countries on Earth to be discovered, and likewise, the full extent of the faunal diversity present within the archipelago is only just starting to be appreciated. This is no better exemplified than in lizards, where just 30 species (20 skinks, 10 geckos) were recognized in the 1950s, but now 104 are formally or informally recognized (61 skinks, 43 geckos). Thus, New Zealand contains one of the most diverse lizard faunas of any cool, temperate region on Earth. This book brings together the world’s leading experts in the field to produce an authoritative overview of the history, taxonomy, biogeography, ecology, life-history, physiology and conservation of New Zealand lizards.

Book Game Theory and Animal Behavior

Download or read book Game Theory and Animal Behavior written by Lee Alan Dugatkin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-03-23 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Game theory has revolutionized the study of animal behavior. The fundamental principle of evolutionary game theory--that the strategy adopted by one individual depends on the strategies exhibited by others--has proven a powerful tool in uncovering the forces shaping otherwise mysterious behaviors. In this volume, the first since 1982 devoted to evolutionary game theory, leading researchers describe applications of the theory to diverse types of behavior, providing an overview of recent discoveries and a synthesis of current research. The volume begins with a clear introduction to game theory and its explanatory scope. This is followed by a series of chapters on the use of game theory to understand a range of behaviors: social foraging, cooperation, animal contests, communication, reproductive skew and nepotism within groups, sibling rivalry, alternative life-histories, habitat selection, trophic-level interactions, learning, and human social behavior. In addition, the volume includes a discussion of the relations among game theory, optimality, and quantitative genetics, and an assessment of the overall utility of game theory to the study of social behavior. Presented in a manner accessible to anyone interested in animal behavior but not necessarily trained in the mathematics of game theory, the book is intended for a wide audience of undergraduates, graduate students, and professional biologists pursuing the evolutionary analysis of animal behavior.

Book Malformed Frogs

    Book Details:
  • Author : Michael Lannoo
  • Publisher : Univ of California Press
  • Release : 2008-08-04
  • ISBN : 0520942531
  • Pages : 294 pages

Download or read book Malformed Frogs written by Michael Lannoo and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2008-08-04 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The widespread appearance of frogs with deformed bodies has generated much press coverage over the past decade. Frogs with extra limbs or digits, missing limbs or digits, or misaligned appendages raise an alarming question: "Are deformed humans next?" Taking a fresh look at this disturbing environmental problem, this reference provides a balanced overview of the science behind the malformed frog phenomenon. Bringing together data from ecology, parasitology, and other disciplines, Michael Lannoo considers the possible causes of these deformities, tells which frogs have been affected, and addresses questions about what these malformations might mean to human populations. Featuring high-quality radiographic images, Malformed Frogs suggests that our focus should be on finding practical solutions, a key component of which will be controlling chemical, nutrient, and pesticide runoff into wetlands.