Discovering Evolutionary Ecology: Bringing Together Ecology and Evolution (Oxford Biology)

Book Description

Why are some kinds of organism species-rich and others species-poor? How do new species arise and why do some go extinct? Why do organisms grow and behave the way they do? This book provides an introduction to evolutionary ecology, the science that brings ecology and evolution together to help understand biological diversity. In a concise, readable format, Peter Mayhew covers the entire breadth of the subject, from life histories and the evolution of sex, to speciation and macroecology. Many emerging fields are also introduced, such as metabolic ecology, the evolution of population dynamics, and the evolution of global ecology. Discovering Evolutionary Ecology highlights the connections between these different subject areas, and for the first time paints a picture of a truly integrated field. It illustrates the research tools utilized, and demonstrates how advances in one area can spur on developments elsewhere when scientists combine evolutionary and ecological knowledge. To maximize accessibility, the book assumes only a basic knowledge of biology, includes a comprehensive glossary, and contains almost no maths. Each chapter provides suggestions for further reading, and there is also an extensive reference list. Ideal as an introduction to evolutionary ecology for undergraduates, this book will also interest established researchers, providing a broad and up-to-date context for their work.

Customer Reviews:

New Book in a New Field.......2006-08-05

Much of today's scientific advancement comes from the merging of two or more traditional sciences into something new that takes from both of its parents to yield new insights into how the world around us works. Such is the case with Evolutionary Ecology.

Ecology is traditionally a science of the great outdoors, dealing with the interactions between organisms and their environment. Evolution is traditionally a science of museum specimens, dealing with how lineages of organisms arise, change and eventually go extinct. While each of these have roots that go back 150 years, only recently has the merger of the two garnered enough information, enough focus to warrant dedicated books.

This book is one of the first to cover evolutionary ecology as a separate and distinct field. It is intended to serve as a suitable undergraduate textbook to explain the field to students. At the same time it covers the field in general so that a professional practioner in some specialized area can learn about the overal area, and finally is should have some appeal to the interested non-professional but interested reader.

Bringing Life to Ethics: Global Bioethics for a Humane Society

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Bringing Life to Ethics: Global Bioethics for a Humane Society
Michael W. Fox
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0791448029

Book Description

Bringing Life to Ethics continues in the tradition of Michael W. Fox's lifelong inquiry into values, social and personal relationships, and the treatment of animals, the environment, and each other. Fox, the popular nationally syndicated columnist of "Ask the Animal Doctor", uses the compass of global bioethics in this book--humility, responsibility, interdisciplinary and intercultural competence, and compassion--to counter technological, ecological, and value threats by pointing in the direction of a humane and sustainable society. Not intended to further the scholarly debate over what constitutes ethics, Fox brings ethics into our personal and professional lives. He shows how bioethics has immediate relevance and applicability to a wide range of public and private enterprises.

Bringing Back The Dodo: Lessons In Natural And Unnatural History

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Grady's great goal

Bringing Back The Dodo: Lessons In Natural And Unnatural History
Wayne Grady
Manufacturer: McClelland & Stewart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

A penetrating book on the very roots of our relationship with nature.

Bringing Back the Dodo is about how the forces of evolution and extinction have shaped the living world, and the part that humans play therein. This strikingly thought-provoking book, in the tradition of John McPhee and David Quammen, explores the very roots of our relationship with nature and challenges us to look at ourselves and the natural world around us in new light.

Wayne Grady searches our history and prehistory to explain why humans love nature and fear it at the same time. He explores the repercussions of our manipulations of nature through science, as exemplified by the Harvard Mouse, and suggests which extinct species we could clone (sadly, probably not the dodo), and whether we ought to try. He looks into the ramifications of getting up on our hind legs to walk, and what it meant to humankind when we lost our nocturnal vision. A visit to the supermarket leads him to uncover our vestigial longing for subtropical foods, and elsewhere he ponders how our instinct for “home” compares to that of other animals.

These elegant and penetrating essays, based on pieces originally published in Explore magazine, linger long in the imagination. They speak to some of our most fundamental questions about the human and animal worlds, and confirm Wayne Grady’s standing as one of our foremost literary science writers.

Customer Reviews:

Grady's great goal.......2006-08-28

We must give Wayne Grady full marks for ambition. When his editor wished to elevate him to "the Canadian David Quammen", Grady upped the ante. He wants to be the "John McPhee" of The Great White North. That's about as lofty as you can get. Does he succeed? Does this book herald a replacement for The New Yorker magazine's eclectic journalist? The topics are varied and interesting. Grady explains them clearly and earnestly, with flashes of dry wit.

In his "First Words" introduction, Grady demonstrates his desire to set new patterns. He notes that this collection relies on his columns in "explore" magazine without simply reprinting old material. He has expanded and updated the original material, sometimes overly restricted in lengths and deadline limitations. These, he says, are essays, not merely retread columns. Further, he wishes to have these essays seen as a "single voice" addressing a "unified theme." The voice is his and the theme is that humanity considers itself detached from the remainder of the world. That, he stresses, is an attitude that must be overcome. The theme, thus, is a reconsideration of where evolution has left our species in the natural order of things.

Technology, in its various forms, has allowed this one species to inhabit nearly all the planet, Grady says. Instead of adapting to the local environment, Homo sapiens has learned how to change its surroundings to suit itself. Agriculture remade land use. Various animals were brought into our communities and put to work or on the table. Darwin's natural selection has been replaced by artificial selection of both plants and animals. More, these technologies now have a global reach and impact. Technology now brings to our table products from Mexico and Africa. Is this innovative practice the result of our sub-tropical origins? Do we need these "exotic" foods to survive?, he asks.

We are going beyond the changing of some species to our design, however. We are eliminating species we deem "harmful" in some way. Killing wolves and coyotes was almost a daily ritual for herdsmen a few years ago. It still is for some. Grady's account of the Harters, a retired couple who chase coyotes with a pick-up and a dog team is stomach-wrenching. Their motive, "It keeps us young" beggars comment. The modern capacity to assign guilt by proximity led to the killing of a cougar suspected of attacking a jogger. It was the wrong cougar. Our desire to limit the world we must cope with goes beyond a few geriatrics chasing coyotes or slaughtering predators until we find the one that may have attacked a human. We are expanding our denial of life's diversity into government policy. Grady quotes his hero: "Nature has become an enemy of the state". Grady wants at least an armistace, if not a peace.

Grady isn't contending we give up the benefits our evolved intellect has granted us. His articles on health and dealing with natural threats show his broad approach. It's not a return to our primitive roots he seeks, but the application of some common sense. He also knows that won't be forthcoming unless we are informed about the world around us. He's like his idol in that sense. Has Grady achieved his goal of using nature writing to become the northern equal to McPhee? His thinking certainly places him close, even if his stylistic abilities fall slightly short. And it's Grady's knowledge of and depiction of the issues that make this book valuable. If he's fallen short, it's not for want of trying or talent. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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Biology! Bringing Science to Life
POSTLETHWAIT , and Hopson
Manufacturer: McGraw Hill Higher Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 007050637X

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Biology! Bringing Science to Life
John H.; Hopson, Janet L.; Veres, Ruth C. Postlethwait
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill College
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFJ0RU

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Biology!: Bringing Science to Life
Janet L.; Veres, Ruth C. Hopson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFJSHW

Book Description

This book expands the current frame of reference of remote sensing and geographic information specialists to include an array of socio-economic and related planning issues. Using remotely sensed data, the project explores the efficacy and policy implications of new approaches toward analyzing data (i.e., homogeneity indices), integrates approaches from human geography (i.e., Expansion Method), and explores the utility of employing geo-technologies to further the politics of local growth and smart growth coalitions (i.e., green space).

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Aquaporins (Current Topics in Membranes, Vol 51) (Current Topics in Membranes)

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Aquaporins (Current Topics in Membranes, Vol 51) (Current Topics in Membranes)

Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Biochemistry | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0121533514

Book Description

Aquaporins summarizes the present knowledge in this expanding field of research, starting with the structural analysis of water channel proteins. Subsequent chapters begin with mammalian aquaporins, examining physiology and pathophysiology, analysis of knock-out model animals, and the regulation of aquaporin function. Also covered is the distribution and regulation of aquaporins in plants and the function of water and glycerol channels in microbial systems.

Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology / Volume 141 (Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology)

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Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology / Volume 141 (Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

The four contributions by Ishibashi et al., Klussmann et al., Zeuthen and Larsen et al. summarize the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying the short and long term regulation of water channels (AQPs) in principal cells, fluid transport by leaky epithelia and cotransporters of the symport type which behave as molecular water pumps.

Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology / Volume 155 (Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology)

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Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology / Volume 155 (Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Biochemistry | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Anatomy | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Anatomy | Basic Science | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Physiology | Basic Science | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 3540281924

Developmental expression of aquaporin-3 in zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) [An article from: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C]

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Developmental expression of aquaporin-3 in zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) [An article from: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C]
S.L. Lance , A.S. Peterson , and M. Hagedorn
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000RQZKN4

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Fish embryos have never been successfully cryopreserved because of the low permeability of cryoprotectants into the yolk. Recently, we used aquaporin-3 fused with a green fluorescent protein (AQP3GFP) to modify the zebrafish embryo, and demonstrated that the pores functioned physiologically. This increased the water and cryoprotectant permeability of the membranes. We have continued our work on AQP3-modified embryos and here we report their developmental expression of AQP3, the success of various culture media on their survival and development, and their reproductive success. The AQP3GFP expression begins within 30 m after the mRNA AQP3GFP injection into the yolk of the 1- to 4-cell embryo. This expression is distributed in the membranes throughout the blastoderm and the yolk syncytial layer within 24 h. It diminishes after 96 h. We found no difference in the survival or normal development of embryos from AQP3GFP or wild-type adults. Additionally, zebrafish embryos did not require special culture medium to survive after AQP3GFP modification. In fact, they survived best in embryo medium (ca. 40 mOsm). Embryos reared entirely in embryo medium had a higher percent survival and a higher percent normal development than those exposed to a high osmolality sucrose culture medium (ca. 330 mOsm). The mechanism whereby these embryos can maintain their internal osmolality in a hypoosmotic solution with water channels in their membranes is unknown.

Harnessing Aquaporins For Man-Made Separations.: An article from: Membrane & Separation Technology News

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Harnessing Aquaporins For Man-Made Separations.: An article from: Membrane & Separation Technology News

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Membrane & Separation Technology News, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2006. The length of the article is 709 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Harnessing Aquaporins For Man-Made Separations.
Publication: Membrane & Separation Technology News (Newsletter)
Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 24 Issue: 5 Page: NA

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Hydrating skin by stimulating biosynthesis of aquaporins.: An article from: Journal of Drugs in Dermatology

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Hydrating skin by stimulating biosynthesis of aquaporins.: An article from: Journal of Drugs in Dermatology
Marc Dumas , Neil S. Sadick , Emmanuelle Noblesse , Milene Juan , Nadege Lachmann-Weber , Mathieu Boury-Jamot , Rachid Sougrat , Jean Marc Verbavatz , Sylvianne Schnebert , and Frederic Bonte
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000T0FY1G
Release Date: 2007-07-02

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2007. The length of the article is 2795 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Hydrating skin by stimulating biosynthesis of aquaporins.
Author: Marc Dumas
Publication: Journal of Drugs in Dermatology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 6 Issue: 6 Page: s20(5)

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The water economy of South American desert rodents: From integrative to molecular physiological ecology [An article from: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C]

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The water economy of South American desert rodents: From integrative to molecular physiological ecology [An article from: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C]
F. Bozinovic , and P. Gallardo
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR6JBK

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Rodents from arid and semi-arid habitats live under conditions where the spatial and temporal availability of free water is limited, or scarce, thus forcing these rodents to deal with the problem of water conservation. The response of rodents to unproductive desert environments and water deficits has been intensively investigated in many deserts of the world. However, current understanding of the cellular, systemic and organismal physiology of water economy relies heavily on short-term, laboratory-oriented experiments, which usually focus on responses at isolated levels of biological organization. In addition, studies in small South American mammals are scarce. Indeed xeric habitats have existed in South America for a long time and it is intriguing why present day South American desert rodents do not show the wide array of adaptive traits to desert life observed for rodents on other continents. Several authors have pointed out that South American desert rodents lack physiological and energetic specialization for energy and water conservation, hypothesizing that their success is based more on behavioral and ecological strategies. We review phenotypic flexibility and physiological diversity in water flux rate, urine osmolality, and expression of water channels in South American desert-dwelling rodents. As far as we know, this is the first review of integrative studies at cellular, systemic and organismal levels. Our main conclusion is that South American desert rodents possess structural as well as physiological systems for water conservation, which are as remarkable as those found in ''classical'' rodents inhabiting other desert areas of the world.

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Aquaporins
Stefan/ Agre, Peter/ Nielsen, S Hohmann
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OH7DRC

Book Description

An uproarious new novel in the tradition of Robert Asprin and Terry Pratchett!

For someone who’s immortal, Never Dead Ned manages to die with alarming frequency--he just has the annoying habit of rising from the grave. But this soldier might be better dead than face his latest assignment.

Ogre Company is the legion’s dumping ground--a motley, undisciplined group of monsters whose leaders tend to die under somewhat questionable circumstances. That’s where Ned’s rather unique talents come in. As Ogre Company’s newly appointed commander, Ned finds himself in charge of such fine examples of military prowess as a moonstruck Amazon, a very big (and very polite) two-headed ogre, a seductively scaly siren, a blind oracle who can hear (and smell) the future, a suicidal goblin daredevil pilot, a walking tree with a chip on its shoulder, and a suspiciously goblinesque orc.

Ned has only six months to whip the Ogre Company into shape or face an even more hideous assignment, but that’s not the worst of his problems. Because now that Ned has found out why he keeps returning from dead, he has to do everything he can to stay alive. . . .

In the Company of Ogres does for fantasy, what A. Lee Martinez’s previous novel, Gil’s All Fright Diner, did for horror--and elves and goblins may never be the same!

Customer Reviews:

A Riot to Read.......2007-09-26

A quick and entertaining read, this book is populated by some creative and engaging characters. The author included lots of twists on the standard story line you're expecting to see make this an easy page turner. Highly recommended!

Entertaining 2nd novel.......2007-09-04

As a follow up to Gil's All Fright Diner, A. Lee Martinez's In the Company of Ogres provides all of the off-beat humor to be expected from one of his novels. I'm not regularly a fan of fantasy or science fiction, but I love this story for how relatable the characters are and how it doesn't take itself too seriously like so much of the fantasy books out there tend to do.
This book's cast of characters is like nothing else I've ever read. It has everything from conjoined twin Ogres named Martin and Lewis, a feminist Amazon Warrior that can only have sex with a man if he can defeat her in battle, a shape-shifting goblin, and a seductive siryn with a killer body- if you can manage to look past the fish face. And of course the hero of the story, Never Dead Ned. Despite the fact that Ned's been killed countless times in his life, he always comes back to life.
Oh, and there's also something about fate of the entire Universe being at stake or something. You know. No big deal.

Still Laughing.......2007-08-12

I bought this book on recommendation from a friend, along with Gil's All Fright Diner. I am still laughing over it! LOL As an accountant, it hit home in many, many ways. Martinez is still learning, but I will gladly read more!

Written Under the Influence.......2007-08-05

The following review originally appears on myspace.com/dorkgasmllc

A. Lee Martinez wears the influence of pop-culture on his sleeve. In his first novel, Gil's All Fright Diner , he names his protagonists after the song Duke of Earl, and in In the Company of Ogres, Martinez takes this a step further. Think of them as Easter Eggs for the Gen-X reader. Ogre twins Martin and Lewis, a tree-warrior who is not allowed to call himself an "Ent", and even the walking hut of legendary Baba-Yaga all are dropped in for flavor and texture in his second novel. Finally, we have a fantasy-writer who hasn't forgotten that his readers live in the real world!

The story follows a lovable loser who finds himself in charge of rag-tag group of misfits. Though he would rather be an accountant than a soldier, Ned is ordered to whip Ogre Company into shape within six months or face being turned into a mindless berserker. Martinez complicates this situation by giving his hero a propensity for resurrection and a pair of relentless super-villains who want to harness that power for themselves. Were this strictly a fantasy novel, much of the meat of this story would likely be a build up to some great final battle that critics would inevitably see as a Christ allegory, but in this authors hands, it is more like Stripes with swords.

In fact, the entire book feels like the best episodes of M*A*S*H* dressed up in the trappings of a traditional fantasy world. To say "traditional fantasy" is somewhat misleading, however, as no archetype is safe from the gleeful pen of Mr. Martinez. While he uses creature-types familiar to fans of fantasy, he twists them into objects of comedy gold. Ogres, Amazons, Goblins and Demons all look as we might imagine, but Martinez grants them a depth typically reserved for the subjects of BBC comedies. As Ned discovers who he is and why he cannot stay dead, the secondary characters all evolve in unpredictably humorous ways.

Martinez weaves the construction of this fictional universe he has created into his characters and, as such, we get the impression of a world as complicated as our own, but infinitely funnier. While he does not go far enough for us to consider In the Company of Ogres a satire, Martinez certainly takes a few potshots at bureaucracy, sexism, and racism. The story and its humor are very straight forward, and Martinez is obviously attempting to entertain us, not berate us with politics.
My only complaint about this novel is its brevity. While this keeps in tenor with the author's previous work, it still leaves a sense of promises unfulfilled. Like an interrupted act of coitus, there is a sense that what we got was good, but there could be so much more. Beneath the jokes and action lays a world full of intriguing characters and a mythology with which Martinez only teases us. The only fathomable reason not to extend the world of Never Dead Ned into a series is to avoid further comparison to writers like Robert Aspirin or Douglas Adams. In fact, the potential is there for a collection of books more akin to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, where the mythology continues in each installment even if the characters do not. Alas, Mr. Martinez is still a young writer, and any extension of this universe will have to wait.

Like a good popcorn movie for smart people, In the Company of Ogres sets out to give us a few thrills and giggles and accomplishes it swimmingly. Don't look too deeply for meaning, but pick up the book anyway for its entertainment value and see if you can spot all the fantasy and pop-culture references the author makes. You might burn through it in a day or so, but it is the kind of book you go back and reread on a lark. I also would not be surprised if we saw this adapted as an animated series or even a motion picture down the road, so grab it now and your "early adopter" status will be secure.

Never dead, but clumsy as hell........2007-07-26

Never Dead Ned tries not to be noticed, tries to hide, ends up a... wait, wait, no spoilers. Suffice it to say the devil in the details (quite litterally in this book). Ned's adventure makes it possible for someone like me, who does not like Dragon Lance type fantasy, to get my fix of odd ball characters. They're all there, Ogres, Elfs, goblins, puny humans, and Duck Billed Wizards.

It's a great tale, just read it. Don't assume you've read it all before. This is a good spin on the genre, and it's extremely well written yet doesn't take 3 pages to tell you the protagonist woke up with a hangover.

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