Zoology: mammals (mammalogy) Books

Book SynopsisThe sequencing of the mouse genome has placed the mouse front and center as the most important mammalian genetics model. However, no recent volume has detailed the genetic contributions the mouse has made across the spectrum of the life sciences; this book aims to fill that vacuum. Mouse genetics research has made enormous contributions to the understanding of basic genetics, human genetics, and livestock genetics and breeding. The wide-ranging topics in the book include the mouse genome sequencing effort, molecular dissection of quantitative traits, embryo biotechnology, ENU mutagenesis, and genetics of disease resistance, and have been written by experts in their respective fields.Table of Contents* The Beginnings: Ode to a Wee Mouse (E J Eisen) * Testing Quantitative Genetic Selection Theory (E J Eisen) * Maternal Effects, Genomic Imprinting and Evolution (J Funk-Keenan & W R Atchley) * Inbreeding and Crossbreeding (G A Brockmann) * Genotype by Environment Interaction: Lessons From the Mouse (W D Hohenboken) * Genetics of Growth in the Mouse (J M Cheverud) * Genetics of Body Composition and Metabolic Rate (L Bunger & W G Hill) * Genetics of Reproduction (M K Nielsen) * Genetics of Behavior (R J Hitzemann) * Genetics of Disease Resistance (S L Ewart & R A Ramadas) * Genomic Dissection of Complex Trait Predisposition (D Pomp) * Mouse Mutagenesis (D R Beier) * Embryo Biotechnologies (C A Pinkert & M J Martin) * Transgenics (J D Murray & E A Maga) * The Mouse in Biomedical Research (R B Roberts & D W Threadgill) * The Mouse Genome Sequencing Project: An Overview (M C Wendl et al.)

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Book SynopsisFocusing on the internal workings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the author explores the impact of political and economic imperatives on the production and interpretation of scientific research. Central to this work are the epistemological problems encountered in the production of 'truth', whereby scientific knowledge has made uncertainty a tool in the service of political objectives. Copublished: University of Washington PressTrade Review"In Scientific Uncertainty and the Politics of Whaling, Michael Heazle undertakes a detailed historical review of the use of science and politics in shaping the policies of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)... This volume provides an insightful look at the intrinsic links between science and policy, reminding the reader that science does not provide objective truths for decision-makers to translate into scientifically correct policies." -- Cinnamon Pinon Carlarne nternational Journal of Maritime History

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Book SynopsisDetailed information on all aspects of bat surveying - The Bat Workers' Manual is an essential reference for anyone wishing to obtain a licence to carry out bat work in the UK. With excellent drawings by Tom McOwat. The manual incorporates required changes and includes recommendations on the handling of bats, vaccinations against EBLV and a list of contact details for finding up-to-date advice on the subject. Updated information on legislation, and other advice, has also been included. This version of The Bat Workers' Manual is a reprint of the 3rd edition (with no change or updates from the 3rd edition 1861075588, published in 2004)

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Book SynopsisMarine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook is the ultimate instruction manual for mitigation measures to minimise man-made acoustical and physical disturbances to marine mammals from industrial and defence activities. Based on more than two decades of offshore experience, and a decade of supplying MMO and PAM services (commercial and scientific), the Handbook is a long-overdue reference guide that seeks to improve standards worldwide for marine operations such as seismic and drilling exploration, wind farm and civil engineering piling, dredging, trenching, rock-dumping, hydrographical surveys, and military/defence exercises. By popular request, this manual will also form an accompaniment to MMO and PAM courses. The Handbook consolidates all aspects of this discipline into one easily accessible resource, to educate all stakeholders (e.g. MMOs, PAM operators, suppliers, recruitment agencies, clients, contractors, regulators, NGOs, consultants, scientists, academia and media), regardless of experience. Topics include worldwide legislation, compliance, anthropogenic noise sources and potential effects, training, offshore life, visual and acoustic monitoring (theory and practice), marine mammal distribution, hearing and vocalisations, and report writing. Advice is provided on implementing sensible and practical mitigation techniques, appropriate technologies, data collection, client and regulator liaison, and project kick-off meetings. "The Handbook is an indispensable How To guide to the growing and increasingly important occupation of marine mammal monitoring, written with clarity and humor by scientists who have extensive experience in this field." —Dr Phillip J. Clapham, world-renowned cetologist and Director of the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle.Trade ReviewMost of the information required for MMO and PAM work is distilled into this handbook. It is highly recommended as a training aid for new workers, and as a detailed reference for the experienced. It may also be of interest to offshore crew, environmental consultants, and scientists interested in cetacean acoustics and ocean noise. At present there are no similar handbooks, making this the current “bible” for the industry. -- John R. Gibbens * Marine Mammal Science *“...an indispensable How To guide to the growing and increasingly important occupation of marine mammal monitoring, written with clarity and humor by scientists who have extensive experience in this field.” -- Phil Clapham, Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program, Marine Mammal LaboratoryTable of ContentsPreface 1. Introduction 2. Mitigation Measures 3. Sources of Anthropogenic Noise 4. Training 5. Offshore Life 6. MMO Theory and Practice 7. PAM Theory 8. Marine Mammal Vocalisations 9. PAM Practice 10. Report Writing Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisThis book brings together scientific evidence and experience relevant to the practical conservation of bats. The authors worked with an international group of bat experts and conservationists to develop a global list of interventions that could benefit bats. For each intervention, the book summarises studies captured by the Conservation Evidence project, where that intervention has been tested and its effects on bats quantified. The result is a thorough guide to what is known, or not known, about the effectiveness of bat conservation actions throughout the world. Bat Conservation is the fifth in a series of Synopses that will cover different species groups and habitats, gradually building into a comprehensive summary of evidence on the effects of conservation interventions for all biodiversity throughout the world. By making evidence accessible in this way, we hope to enable a change in the practice of conservation, so it can become more evidence-based. We also aim to highlight where there are gaps in knowledge. Evidence from all around the world is included. If there appears to be a bias towards evidence from northern European or North American temperate environments, this reflects a current bias in the published research that is available to us. Conservation interventions are grouped primarily according to the relevant direct threats, as defined in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Unified Classification of Direct Threats (www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes).Trade ReviewThis volume, Bat Conservation, is the fifth in the Synopses of Conservation Evidence series and it is linked to the online resource – www.conservationevidence.com. Other editions in the series include Bee, Bird, Farmland and Amphibian Conservation. This is an excellent review with synopses of ecology practices and implementation for bat conservation which covers cases across continents. It is likely to be of interest to practitioners and students who would like to see evidence of plans and actions. Other editions for different species groups and habitats in this series of Conservation Evidence will be published by Pelagic Publishing. -- Alan Linsdell * Mammal News *This book presents what conservation evidence exists about bats, their threats and conservation measures. Interventions are listed as one of 12 specific topics. For example, there are six different interventions for ‘human disturbance – caving and tourism’ ((e.g. maintain micro-climate, use of cave gates, etc.). Each intervention is assessed to gauge if evidence exists to substantiate effects. It provides a stark insight into the lack of scientific research (or survey work that remains unpublished) about how humans affect bats. This publication also serves as a useful ‘wake-up call’ to bat surveyors and researchers, identifying which interventions are lacking scientific evidence. This is very helpful in directing future bat research. Quite often though, ecological judgements have to be made without adequate scientific evidence. In practice, these will be made with whatever knowledge is available, whether this is from academia or informed by non-academic findings or surveys. Due to the book's strong scientific research content, I found this book quite ‘dry’, but it certainly delivers what it aims to achieve. The small font gives a ‘text heavy’ appearance (for an A5 sized book). Relevant illustrations or photos could have helped to break-up text on specific topics where there are good examples for the evidence of effects. As a result, this book would appear more suitable for university students. However, I would buy this book as a very useful base-line reference source for bat conservation. Pelagic Publishing is congratulated in taking forward publications to the benefit of the bat community. -- David Patterson * Scottish Bats *The book is aimed at land managers and practical conservationists, with 10 chapters devoted to particular categories of threats to bats (agriculture, wind turbines, pollution, fire, etc.), within which specific dangers are addressed (including all the ‘usual suspects’ such as pesticides, artificial lighting and disturbance to hibernacula for example). For each threat, the various widely suggested mitigations are listed, then the literature has been scanned to find robust evidence for whether or not they were effective. There are no words wasted here in the very business-like text. This disciplined approach is welcome and perhaps long overdue, given the resources that have been poured into bat conservation over the past 30 years. -- Pat Morris * Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society *Table of Contents1 Threat: Residential and commercial development 2 Threat: Agriculture 3 Threat: Energy production – wind turbines 4 Threat: Energy production – mining 5 Threat: Transportation and service corridors 6 Threat: Biological resource use 7 Threat: Human disturbance – caving and tourism 8 Threat: Natural system modification – natural fire and fire suppression 9 Threat: Invasive species and disease 10 Threat: Pollution 11 Providing artificial roost structures for bats 12 Education and awareness raising Index

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Book SynopsisThis book brings together scientific evidence and experience relevant to the practical conservation of bats. The authors worked with an international group of bat experts and conservationists to develop a global list of interventions that could benefit bats. For each intervention, the book summarises studies captured by the Conservation Evidence project, where that intervention has been tested and its effects on bats quantified. The result is a thorough guide to what is known, or not known, about the effectiveness of bat conservation actions throughout the world. Bat Conservation is the fifth in a series of Synopses that will cover different species groups and habitats, gradually building into a comprehensive summary of evidence on the effects of conservation interventions for all biodiversity throughout the world. By making evidence accessible in this way, we hope to enable a change in the practice of conservation, so it can become more evidence-based. We also aim to highlight where there are gaps in knowledge. Evidence from all around the world is included. If there appears to be a bias towards evidence from northern European or North American temperate environments, this reflects a current bias in the published research that is available to us. Conservation interventions are grouped primarily according to the relevant direct threats, as defined in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Unified Classification of Direct Threats (www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes).Trade ReviewThis volume, Bat Conservation, is the fifth in the Synopses of Conservation Evidence series and it is linked to the online resource – www.conservationevidence.com. Other editions in the series include Bee, Bird, Farmland and Amphibian Conservation. This is an excellent review with synopses of ecology practices and implementation for bat conservation which covers cases across continents. It is likely to be of interest to practitioners and students who would like to see evidence of plans and actions. Other editions for different species groups and habitats in this series of Conservation Evidence will be published by Pelagic Publishing. -- Alan Linsdell * Mammal News *This book presents what conservation evidence exists about bats, their threats and conservation measures. Interventions are listed as one of 12 specific topics. For example, there are six different interventions for ‘human disturbance – caving and tourism’ ((e.g. maintain micro-climate, use of cave gates, etc.). Each intervention is assessed to gauge if evidence exists to substantiate effects. It provides a stark insight into the lack of scientific research (or survey work that remains unpublished) about how humans affect bats. This publication also serves as a useful ‘wake-up call’ to bat surveyors and researchers, identifying which interventions are lacking scientific evidence. This is very helpful in directing future bat research. Quite often though, ecological judgements have to be made without adequate scientific evidence. In practice, these will be made with whatever knowledge is available, whether this is from academia or informed by non-academic findings or surveys. Due to the book's strong scientific research content, I found this book quite ‘dry’, but it certainly delivers what it aims to achieve. The small font gives a ‘text heavy’ appearance (for an A5 sized book). Relevant illustrations or photos could have helped to break-up text on specific topics where there are good examples for the evidence of effects. As a result, this book would appear more suitable for university students. However, I would buy this book as a very useful base-line reference source for bat conservation. Pelagic Publishing is congratulated in taking forward publications to the benefit of the bat community. -- David Patterson * Scottish Bats *The book is aimed at land managers and practical conservationists, with 10 chapters devoted to particular categories of threats to bats (agriculture, wind turbines, pollution, fire, etc.), within which specific dangers are addressed (including all the ‘usual suspects’ such as pesticides, artificial lighting and disturbance to hibernacula for example). For each threat, the various widely suggested mitigations are listed, then the literature has been scanned to find robust evidence for whether or not they were effective. There are no words wasted here in the very business-like text. This disciplined approach is welcome and perhaps long overdue, given the resources that have been poured into bat conservation over the past 30 years. -- Pat Morris * Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society *Table of Contents1 Threat: Residential and commercial development 2 Threat: Agriculture 3 Threat: Energy production – wind turbines 4 Threat: Energy production – mining 5 Threat: Transportation and service corridors 6 Threat: Biological resource use 7 Threat: Human disturbance – caving and tourism 8 Threat: Natural system modification – natural fire and fire suppression 9 Threat: Invasive species and disease 10 Threat: Pollution 11 Providing artificial roost structures for bats 12 Education and awareness raising Index

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Book SynopsisOne of the most significant differences between the New World's major areas of high culture is that Mesoamerica had no beasts of burden and wool, while the Andes had both. Four members of the camelid family--wild guanacos and vicunas, and domestic llamas and alpacas--were native to the Andes. South American peoples relied on these animals for meat and wool, and as beasts of burden to transport goods all over the Andes. In this book, Duccio Bonavia tackles major questions about these camelids, from their domestication to their distribution at the time of the Spanish conquest. One of Bonavia's hypotheses is that the arrival of the Europeans and their introduced Old World animals forced the Andean camelids away from the Pacific coast, creating the (mistaken) impression that camelids were exclusively high-altitude animals. Bonavia also addresses the diseases of camelids and their population density, suggesting that the original camelid populations suffered from a different type of mange than that introduced by the Europeans. This new mange, he believes, was one of the causes behind the great morbidity of camelids in Colonial times. In terms of domestication, while Bonavia believes that the major centers must have been the puna zone intermediate zones, he adds that the process should not be seen as restricted to a single environmental zone. Bonavia's landmark study of the South American camelids is now available for the first time in English. This new edition features an updated analysis and comprehensive bibliography. In the Spanish edition of this book, Bonavia lamented the fact that the zooarchaeological data from R. S. MacNeish's Ayacucho Project had yet to be published. In response, the Ayacucho's Project's faunal analysts, Elizabeth S. Wing and Kent V. Flannery, have added appendices on the Ayacucho results to this English edition. This book will be of broad interest to archaeologists, zoologists, social anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and a wide range of students.

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Book SynopsisOne of the most significant differences between the New World's major areas of high culture is that Mesoamerica had no beasts of burden and wool, while the Andes had both. Four members of the camelid family--wild guanacos and vicunas, and domestic llamas and alpacas--were native to the Andes. South American peoples relied on these animals for meat and wool, and as beasts of burden to transport goods all over the Andes. In this book, Duccio Bonavia tackles major questions about these camelids, from their domestication to their distribution at the time of the Spanish conquest. One of Bonavia's hypotheses is that the arrival of the Europeans and their introduced Old World animals forced the Andean camelids away from the Pacific coast, creating the (mistaken) impression that camelids were exclusively high-altitude animals. Bonavia also addresses the diseases of camelids and their population density, suggesting that the original camelid populations suffered from a different type of mange than that introduced by the Europeans. This new mange, he believes, was one of the causes behind the great morbidity of camelids in Colonial times. In terms of domestication, while Bonavia believes that the major centers must have been the puna zone intermediate zones, he adds that the process should not be seen as restricted to a single environmental zone. Bonavia's landmark study of the South American camelids is now available for the first time in English. This new edition features an updated analysis and comprehensive bibliography. In the Spanish edition of this book, Bonavia lamented the fact that the zooarchaeological data from R. S. MacNeish's Ayacucho Project had yet to be published. In response, the Ayacucho's Project's faunal analysts, Elizabeth S. Wing and Kent V. Flannery, have added appendices on the Ayacucho results to this English edition. This book will be of broad interest to archaeologists, zoologists, social anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and a wide range of students.

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Book SynopsisHow can we save America’s wilderness areas? Wilderness and the Common Good argues that the answer to this question lies in the actions of America's citizens. Beginning with The Wilderness Act of 1964, Dr. Jo Arney examines the state of American environmental policies and how they intersect with individual citizen action. Drawing on the work of environmental and political scientists, advocates, and philosophers, Dr. Arney argues that modern civic responsibility entails both an understanding of the importance of wilderness and citizen activism to ensure its existence. True and lasting protection for wilderness will be borne out of a shared understanding of how protected wilderness areas enriches all of our lives. Weaving in her own personal narratives, Dr. Arney shows that wild areas are not only important for the biodiversity that they safeguard but are also essential for the common good of our society.Trade Review"Weaving together her personal story, her teaching experiences, and insightful political analysis, Jo Arney has created a thoughtful study of the relationship between citizenship and wilderness. Throughout her study, she makes an eloquent plea for a quest for common ground, rejecting the bitter divisiveness and polarization that characterizes so much of our national political life today. On the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Wilderness Act, Wilderness and the Common Good is a fitting and illuminating tribute." -- George L. Mehaffy, Vice President, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) "Finding that common ground is a theme of Arney's new book, Wilderness and the Common Good--A New Ethic of Citizenship, which was published in May. Each chapter looks at different arguments surrounding the environment and protecting America's wilderness areas, which are then blended with Arney's personal experiences." -- La Crosse Tribune

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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