Ptilochronology
Ptilochronology

Author: Thomas C. Grubb

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006-06-29

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 0199295506

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This is the first book to summarize the methods, conceptual issues and results of studies using the interpretation of feather growth rates as an index of nutritional condition in birds. The author has coined the term ptilochronology (literally, 'the study of feather time') to describe this technique, which relies on the fact that as a feather grows it produces visible growth bars. Both the technique and its conceptual foundations have been applied worldwide to numerous studies ofavian evolution, ecology, and conservation biology. The author reviews this work, chronicles the various criticisms that have been made, and describes how these have influenced the development of ptilochronology. He goes on to suggest experimental methodologies and analytical techniques to safeguardagainst invalid results. A final chapter summarises this new technique's contribution to avian biology, and suggests potential applications and a future research agenda. An appendix details specific measurements and describes the methodology associated with ptilochronology.Ptilochronology provides a practical resource as well as a conceptual understanding of how this technique can be used to address important questions in avian biology. It will be of relevance and use to professional avian biologists and ornithologists as well as to graduate students of avian behavioural ecology, evolution and conservation.

Current Ornithology
Current Ornithology

Author: Val Nolan Jr.

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 1461558816

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As we assume the editorship of Current Ornithology, it seems useful to review the objectives of the series. We cannot improve on the state ments of our predecessors when they began their service as editors. In his preface to Volume 1 (1983), Richard F. Johnston wrote: The appearance of the first volume of a projected series is the occasion for comment on scope, aims, and genesis of the work. The scope of Current Or nithology is all of the biology of birds. Ornithology, as a whole-organism sci ence, is concerned with birds at every level of biological organization, from the molecular to the community, at least from the Jurassic to the present time, and over every scholarly discipline in which bird biology is done; to say this is merely to expand a dictionary definition of "ornithology. " The aim of the work, to be realized over several volumes, is to present reviews or position statements concerning the active fields of ornithological research. Dennis M. Power, who edited Volumes 6-12 (1989-1995), began his preface to Volume 6 (1989) as follows: This edited series has three principal goals. The first is to provide information in a relatively concise way for researchers needing an overview of specific disciplines. The second is to provide an update on specific schools of thought, bringing together ideas from colleagues whose works often appear in a variety of journals. And the third is to stimul&te and suggest directions for new re search.

Current Ornithology
Current Ornithology

Author: D.M. Power

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1461518350

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In Volume 12, eminent international ornithologists further elucidate endocrinological correlates of mating strategies and hormones and reproductive behavior; assess the value of the ''brood reduction hypothesis'' in explaining ''the paradox of hatching asynchrony''; and explore the validity and sensitivity of growth bands in feathers as an indication of nutritional condition and the use of feather banding in studying growth. Chapters are well supported with charts, maps, schematic diagrams, and photographs. Current Ornithology is the only English-language publication currently devoted exclusively to extensive reviews and synthesis of topics pertaining to all aspects of the biology of birds. Chapters fall under such diverse rubrics as ecology, evolution, behavior, phylogeny, behavioral ecology, anatomy and physiology, and conservation biology. All authors are leading authorities on their subjects, and each chapter is refereed by experts in the topics covered. Although all chapters focus primarily on birds, some topics, such as the social cognition of birds as compared to primates (Volume 13), have significant application to disciplines outside of ornithology. Current Ornithology aims to provide an accessible, up-to-date, accurate source of data and to contribute to conceptual generalization and unification across the biological sciences.

Biology of the Ubiquitous House Sparrow
Biology of the Ubiquitous House Sparrow

Author: Ted R. Anderson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006-08-10

Total Pages: 560

ISBN-13: 019530411X

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After the chicken, the House Sparrow is the most widely distributed bird species in the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica and on most human-inhabited islands. Although its Latin name is Passer domesticus, it is certainly not domesticated. In fact, it is widely regarded as a pest species and is consequently not protected in most of its extensive range. This combination of ubiquity and minimal legal protection has contributed to its wide use in studies by avian biologists throughout the world.The purpose of this book is to review and summarize the results of these global studies on House Sparrows, and to provide a springboard for future studies on the species. House Sparrows have been used to study natural selection in introduced species, circadian rhythms, and the neuroendocrine control of the avian annual cycle. One current question of considerable interest concerns the catastrophic House Sparrow population declines in several urban centers in Europe. Is the House Sparrow a contemporary canary in the mine? Other topics of broad interest include the reproductive and flock-foraging strategies of sparrows, and sexual selection and the function of the male badge in the species. Anderson also explores the role of the House Sparrow in disease transmission to humans and their domesticated animals.

Tempests, Poxes, Predators, and People
Tempests, Poxes, Predators, and People

Author: L. Michael Romero

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 0195366697

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Most physiological and behavioral mechanisms that comprise the stress response come from laboratory experiments using domesticated animals. This book summarizes work to understand stress in natural contexts. It places modern stress research into an evolutionary context and provides predictions on how wild animals might cope with human-altered habitats.

Bird Ecology and Conservation
Bird Ecology and Conservation

Author: William J. Sutherland

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2004-06-17

Total Pages: 405

ISBN-13: 0191523410

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The aim of this book is to outline the main methods and techniques available to ornithologists. A general shortage of information about available techniques is greatly hindering progress in avian ecology and conservation. Currently this sort of information is disparate and difficult to locate with much of it widely dispersed in books, journals and grey literature. Sutherland and his editorial team bring together in a single authoritative source all the ornithological techniques the avian community will ever need. For use by graduate students, researchers and practising conservationists worldwide. Bird Ecology and Conservation is the first title in a new series of practical handbooks which include titles focusing on specific taxonomic groups as well as those describing broader themes and subjects. The series editor is William J Sutherland.

Reconsidering Flannery O'Connor
Reconsidering Flannery O'Connor

Author: Alison Arant

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2020-12-15

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1496831837

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Contributions by Lindsay Alexander, Alison Arant, Alicia Matheny Beeson, Eric Bennett, Gina Caison, Jordan Cofer, Doug Davis, Doreen Fowler, Marshall Bruce Gentry, Bruce Henderson, Monica C. Miller, William Murray, Carol Shloss, Alison Staudinger, and Rachel Watson The National Endowment for the Humanities has funded two Summer Institutes titled "Reconsidering Flannery O’Connor," which invited scholars to rethink approaches to Flannery O’Connor’s work. Drawing largely on research that started as part of the 2014 NEH Institute, this collection shares its title and its mission. Featuring fourteen new essays, Reconsidering Flannery O’Connor disrupts a few commonplace assumptions of O’Connor studies while also circling back to some old questions that are due for new attention. The volume opens with “New Methodologies,” which features theoretical approaches not typically associated with O’Connor’s fiction in order to gain new insights into her work. The second section, “New Contexts,” stretches expectations on literary genre, on popular archetypes in her stories, and on how we should interpret her work. The third section, lovingly called “Strange Bedfellows,” puts O’Connor in dialogue with overlooked or neglected conversation partners, while the final section, “O’Connor’s Legacy,” reconsiders her personal views on creative writing and her wishes regarding the handling of her estate upon death. With these final essays, the collection comes full circle, attesting to the hazards that come from overly relying on O’Connor’s interpretation of her own work but also from ignoring her views and desires. Through these reconsiderations, some of which draw on previously unpublished archival material, the collection attests to and promotes the vitality of scholarship on Flannery O’Connor.

Wildlife Forensic Investigation
Wildlife Forensic Investigation

Author: John E. Cooper

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2013-05-23

Total Pages: 773

ISBN-13: 1439813744

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Wildlife forensics is the application of forensic science to the conservation and protection of non-domesticated animals, both in the wild and in captivity. Providing an in-depth introduction to this rapidly evolving field, Wildlife Forensic Investigation: Principles and Practice also chronicles aspects of the history of management, conservation, and environmental protection, with an emphasis on their global importance in the twenty-first century. The book examines the crucial role of wildlife forensic investigation with regard to live animals, dead animals and samples and covers national, regional, and international legislation. While the text particularly focuses on forensic science as it relates to wild animals, it also includes mention of plants and habitats because of their relevance to conservation. The book discusses animal welfare as well as the damage that can be inflicted on humans and property by wildlife. Offering access to sound evidence based on good science and obtained using the best available practices, the book is enhanced by case studies from experts who describe some of their own work. This resource is essential for those involved in a range of endeavours, including investigating wildlife crime, identifying animal remains, ascertaining the circumstances of death of wild species, and other legal proceedings and activities concerning wildlife. The forensic skills described in this book can be applied to a wide range of activities (not necessarily involving the legal process), including environmental impact assessments, insurance claims, governmental and other enquiries, checking of trading standards and the inspection of (for instance) pet-shops, animal boarding establishments, and zoological collections. The authors point out that one of the most important requirements of those persons involved in wildlife forensic work is to retain an open mind. Such personnel should also be conscious of new developments and evolving techniques and be able to anticipate situations where their investigative and scientific skills might be used to advantage—so-called "horizon scanning". Examples of these are given.

The Biology of Moult in Birds
The Biology of Moult in Birds

Author: Lukas Jenni

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-09-17

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 1472977203

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The first comprehensive review of all aspects of the biology of moult, drawing information from across the literature and in all birds, from penguins to passerines. Feathers are amazing structures unique to birds and, for a variety of reasons, they need to be renewed periodically as a whole in a process called moult. During this process, all of the functions of plumage are impaired and most aspects of a bird's life are affected. Every moult determines a bird's appearance anew, and restores plumage efficacy for flight and insulation. Moult profoundly affects physiology and the organization of the annual cycle, and it constrains reproduction and migration. Given these major impacts, which are equal to the other annual challenges of reproduction and migration, it is surprising that research on moult has largely been so neglected a subject. Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler have brought together the widely scattered results of studies on the processes and consequences of moult in birds. This book opens with an overview of the functions of plumage, and of feather maintenance and feather wear, and then introduces the two functions of moult: replacement of worn feathers and adjustment of plumage characteristics and appearance. The body of the book then examines feather-growth and the physiology, energetics and control of moult, and how various other physiological processes interact with moult and may compensate for its costs. Significantly, the authors explain how variations in moult and feather quality affect a bird's overall plumage quality, and they highlight the resulting consequences in terms of physical performance, appearance and signalling. Finally, there is a review of all the various solutions that birds have developed to fit moult into the annual cycle. This long-awaited book covers for the first time all aspects of the biology of moult and fills an important gap in the literature, completing our understanding of how the most important annual events in a bird's life fit together into a coherent whole. It draws on a wide range of information – from penguins to small passerines, from raptors to wildfowl – to highlight the variety of the subject and to pinpoint the many gaps in our knowledge along with avenues for fruitful further research.