In this study the author describes Hypsibarbus, a new genus of Asian cyprinid fishes with twelve species, three of them new. A complete set of 45 measurements and 17 counts was taken and analyzed for approximately 250 specimens, including all type material, of more than 1000 specimens encountered, representing most of the major fish collections of the world. The author fully redescribes and illustrates all species in the new genus, and includes keys for their identification. To provide a basis for understanding zoogeographic implications of the phylogeny obtained for Hypsibarbus, the geography and history of the Southeast Asia river basins is discussed in detail.
Comparative bioacoustics is extraordinarily broad in scope. It includes the study of sound propagation, dispersion, attenuation, absorption, reverberation, and signal degradation as well as sound detection, recognition, and classification in both marine and terrestrial organisms (including humans). This research is informed by an understanding of the mechanisms underlying sound generation and aural reception, as well as the anatomy and physiology of the organs dedicated to these functions. Comparative Bioacoustics is the definitive introductory guide to the field of acoustics in animal and human biology. Key features of this volume are: -Comprehensive introduction to sound and related physical phenomena -Multidisciplinary and comparative analyses of bioacoustic phenomena -Integrated audio and video clips -Information about relevant research methods in bioacoustics Comparative Bioacoustics makes key information accessible to readers, therefore, meeting the requirements of both novice and advanced researchers preparing for a scholarly career in bioacoustics.
A brand new, comprehensive and fully illustrated field guide to the birds of Venezuela, covering all 1,400 species. Covering the sixth largest avifauna in the world, this important new guide is essential for anyone exploring the diverse habitats of this beautiful South American country as well as Guyana, northern Brazil and west Suriname. Birds of Venezuela - complete with authoritative text and superb colour plates - ensures that this top birding destination is accessible to all. This field guide has 248 colour plates illustrating more than 1,400 species, covering racial, sexual and seasonal plumage variations. Accompanying text is placed on facing pages for easy reference providing key information, voice and status of all species and subspecies found in the region, including Venezuela's 45 endemic species. Detailed colour distribution maps are provided for every species.
With more than 500 species distributed all around the Northern Hemisphere, the genus Quercus L. is a dominant element of a wide variety of habitats including temperate, tropical, subtropical and mediterranean forests and woodlands. As the fossil record reflects, oaks were usual from the Oligocene onwards, showing the high ability of the genus to colonize new and different habitats. Such diversity and ecological amplitude makes genus Quercus an excellent framework for comparative ecophysiological studies, allowing the analysis of many mechanisms that are found in different oaks at different level (leaf or stem). The combination of several morphological and physiological attributes defines the existence of different functional types within the genus, which are characteristic of specific phytoclimates. From a landscape perspective, oak forests and woodlands are threatened by many factors that can compromise their future: a limited regeneration, massive decline processes, mostly triggered by adverse climatic events or the competence with other broad-leaved trees and conifer species. The knowledge of all these facts can allow for a better management of the oak forests in the future.
Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- Chapter 1: The Extended Specimen -- Extending the Traditional Specimen -- Extending the Specimen Concept -- Conclusion: Just What Is the "Extended Specimen?"--Acknowledgments -- Literature Cited -- Chapter 2: Getting under the Skin -- Avian Anatomical and Skeletal Collections -- Comparative Anatomy -- Systematics of Extant Species -- Morphology and Behavior -- Paleontology -- Morphometrics -- Physiology and Functional Anatomy -- Evolution and Development -- Conclusions and Future Directions -- Acknowledgments -- Literature Cited -- Chapter 3: Advanced Methods for Studying Pigments and Coloration Using Avian Specimens -- Spectrophotometry -- Limitations and Considerations for Using Specimens -- Analytical Approaches -- Applications to Ecology and Evolution -- Future Directions -- Digital Photography and Hyperspectral Imaging -- Chromatographic Analyses of Bird Pigments -- Analytical Approaches -- Benefits and Challenges of Using Specimens -- Future Directions -- Nondestructive Analysis with Raman Spectroscopy -- What Is Raman Spectroscopy? -- Comparing Raman Spectroscopy and Spectrophotometry -- An Overview of Raman Spectroscopy and Plumage Pigments -- Applications of Raman Spectroscopy in Museum Collections -- Advances in Studying Structural Coloration -- Mechanisms of Structural Coloration -- Techniques to Describe Structural Coloration -- Applications to Ecology and Evolutionary Biology -- Structural Coloration in Fossil Feathers -- Future Directions -- Advanced Methods for Studying Avian Egg Color -- Egg Coloration: An Overview -- Chemical Analysis -- Structural Analysis -- Spectrophotometry -- Digital Photography -- Case Study -- Future Directions -- Conclusions -- Literature Cited
Presents a comprehensive review of nonhuman primate audition and vocal communication. These are obviously intimately related topics, but are often addressed separately. The hearing abilities of primates have been tested experimentally in a large number of species across the primate order, and these studies have revealed both consistent patterns as well as interesting variation within and between taxonomic groups. Recent studies have shed light on how variation in anatomical structures along the auditory pathway relates to variation in auditory sensitivity. At the same time, ongoing studies of vocal communication in wild primate populations continue to reveal new insights into the social and environmental contexts of many primate calls, and the range of known primate vocalizations has increased dramatically with the development of more sophisticated and accessible auditory equipment and software that enables the recording and analysis of higher-fidelity and broader-band recordings, including documenting very high frequency (i.e. ultrasound) vocalizations. Historically the relative importance of primate calls has been evaluated qualitatively by the perception of the researcher, but new methods and approaches now enable a greater appreciation for how signals are used and perceived by the primates in question. The integration of anatomical and behavioral data on acoustic communication and the environmental correlates thereof has significant potential for reconstructing behavior in the fossil record. This confluence of factors and accumulating evidence for the sophistication and complexity in both the signal and its interpretation indicate that a book synthesizing this information across primates is warranted and represents an important contribution to the literature.
Harmal: The Genus Peganum is an in-depth treatment of one of the most commanding plants in the botanical kingdom. Humble in appearance, modest in its needs, Peganum harmala has been venerated for millennia as a Deity-manifesting entheogen and a powerful medicine. This book traverses harmal’s medicinal chemistry, its possible role in the origins of religion, and its employment from ancient times to the present in the therapy of patients suffering from infections, infestations, metabolic derangements, neurological degeneration, visual weakness, and cancer. Its peculiar indolic compounds, known as harmala alkaloids, are now appreciated as exerting profound effects on the mind and on the body. These effects are the result of the alkaloids’ interactions with, and binding to, serotonin receptors on the cell surfaces of neurons in the brain and lymphocytes in the blood, the latter constituting the diffuse structural basis of the immune system. This biphasic modulation by harmala alkaloids has led to a novel pharmacologic re-visioning presented herein for the first time, the concept of a "lymphoneuric syncytium" and its possible long term tuning via "somatodelic" as well as "psychedelic" effects. The scientific rationale underlying the use of harmal in the medicines of the past and the healing technologies of our future is developed through exhaustive and meticulous explorations in both ethnopharmacology and modern phytochemistry. The presentation is enhanced through appraisals of the effects of harmal in two clinical cancer case scenarios, and of intentional inebriation and "provings" by one of the authors and a psychiatric colleague. The noted and esteemed botanically-trained physician Dr. Andrew Weil states in his Preface that this "monumental" volume will become the standard reference work in the field. Harmal: The Genus Peganum will be an invaluable addition to the personal libraries of professional pharmacognosists, botanists, physicians, psychologists, neuroscientists, and all persons interested in the interrelationship of consciousness, medicine, and coevolution.
This book, the first in the “Wildlife Research Monograph” series, defines “wildlife research” in a variety of contexts and reviews recent research trends. The authors present the current developments they have identified using bibliometric analyses of the most common, relevant and emerging topics in wildlife research over the last three decades. Diverse aspects of wildlife research are discussed, including wildlife demography, infections spread between wildlife, livestock and humans, habitat requirements and management, as well as the effects of renewable energy and pollutants on wildlife. Furthermore the authors explore topics like advances in the study of species distribution, invasive species, use of molecular markers in wildlife studies and the sustainability of wildlife exploitation and conservation conflicts. The book offers a comprehensive overview of advances in wildlife research in the last decades.
