Physiological Adaptations: Desert and Mountain discusses the bodily modifications of different animals accordingly to desert and mountain environments. Covered in this book are the basic concepts of physiological adaptations; biophysical principles of acclimization to heat; partitional calorimetry in the desert; the mechanism of sweat in relation to heat; the effects of heat on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems; and the nutritional and metabolic aspects in relation to heat. The book also covers the effects of altitude on work performance; the physiology of respiration at altitude; and the body fluids, body composition, and metabolic aspects of high-altitude adaptation. The text is recommended for biologists and natural historians who would like to know more about how animals that have deserts and mountains as habitats adapt and survive.
Some general concepts of physiological adaptations. Biophysical principles of acclimatization to heat. Partitional calorimetry in the desert. Sweat mechanisms in heat. Some comments on low temperatures in the desert and at high altitudes. Cardiovascular and respiratory reactions to heat. Some nutritional and metabolic aspects of exposure to heat. Large mammals in the desert. Small mammals in the desert. Principles of adaptations to altitude. Psychophysiological implications of life at altitude and including the role of oxygen in the process of aging. Physiology of work at altitude. The hypoxias of altitute, of anemia, and of carbon monoxide poisoning. Physiology of respiration at altitude. Vertebrates at altitudes. Body fluids, Body composition, and metabolic aspects of high-altitude adaptation.
A completely revised and updated edition of the leading mammalogy textbook, featuring color photographs throughout and a new streamlined structure for enhanced use in courses. There are more than 6,400 species in the class Mammalia, including the blue whale—the largest animal that has ever lived—and the pygmy shrew, which weighs little more than a dime. Such diversity among mammals has allowed them to play critical roles in every ecosystem, whether marine, freshwater, alpine, tundra, forest, or desert. Reflecting the expertise and perspective of five leading mammalogists, the fifth edition of Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology significantly updates taxonomy, adds a new introductory chapter on the science of mammalogy, and highlights several recently described species. To enhance its appeal to students, textual material has been reduced, consolidated, and streamlined without sacrificing breadth or depth of coverage. The fifth edition includes • for the first time, stunning color photographs throughout • chapters rearranged and grouped to best reflect phylogenetic relationships, with updated numbers of genera and species for each family • updated mammalian structural and functional adaptations, as well as ordinal fossil histories • recent advances in mammalian phylogeny, biogeography, social behavior, and ecology, with 12 new or revised cladograms reflecting current research findings • new breakout boxes on novel or unique aspects of mammals • new work on female post-copulatory mate choice, cooperative behaviors, group defense, and the role of the vomeronasal system • discussions of the current implications of climate change and other anthropogenic factors for mammals Maintaining the accessible, readable style for which Feldhamer and his coauthors are well known, this new edition of Mammalogy is the authoritative textbook on this amazingly diverse class of vertebrates.
Finally, an eBook version of this now classic textbook has become available. Largely based on the 6th edition, published in 2000, this version is competitively priced. Written by well-known ecologist Eric R. Pianka, a student of the late Robert H. MacArthur, this timeless treatment of evolutionary ecology, first published in 1974, will endure for many decades to come. Basic principles of ecology are framed in an evolutionary perspective.
