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It is a great honor to be asked to introduce this exciting new volume, having been heavily involved in the first comprehensive synthesis in the early 1980s. Gibbons are the most enthralling of primates. On the one hand, they are the most appealing animals, with their upright posture and body shape, facial markings, dramatic arm-swinging locomotion and suspensory postures, and devastating duets; on the other hand, the small apes are the most diverse, hence biologically valuable and informative, of our closest relatives. It is hard for me to believe that it is 40 years to the month since I first set foot on the Malay Peninsula to start my doctoral study of the siamang. I am very proud to have followed in the footsteps of the great pioneer of primate field study, Clarence Ray Carpenter (CR or Ray, who I was fortunate to meet twice, in Pennsylvania and in Zurich), first in Central America (in 1967) and then in Southeast Asia. It is 75 years since he studied howler monkeys on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone. It is 70 years since he studied the white-handed gibbon in Thailand.
Some primate field studies have been on-going for decades, covering significant portions of individual life cycles or even multiple generations. In this volume, leading field workers report on the history and infrastructure of their projects in Madagascar, Africa, Asia and South America. More importantly, they provide summaries of their long-term research efforts on primate behaviour, ecology and life history, highlighting insights that were only possible because of the long-term nature of the study. The chapters of this volume collectively outline the many scientific reasons for studying primate behaviour, ecology and demography over multiple generations. This kind of research is typically necessitated by the relatively slow life histories of primates. Moreover, a complete understanding of social organization and behaviour, factors often influenced by rare but important events, requires long-term data collection. Finally, long-term field projects are also becoming increasingly important foci of local conservation activities.
The basic goal of the volume is to compile the most up to date research on how high altitude affects the behavior, ecology, evolution and conservation status of primates, especially in comparison to lowland populations. Historically, the majority of primate studies have focused on lowland populations. However, as the lowlands have been disappearing, more and more primatologists have begun studying populations located in higher altitudes. High altitude populations are important not only because of their uniqueness, but also because they highlight the range of primate adaptability and the complex variables that are involved in primate evolution. These populations are good examples of how geographic scales result in diversification and/or speciation. Yet, there have been very few papers addressing how this high altitude environment affects the behavior, ecology, and conservation status of these primates.
In social relationshipsÑwhether between mates, parents and offspring, or friendsÑwe find much of lifeÕs meaning. But in these relationships, so critical to our well-being, might we also detect the workings, even directives, of biology? This book, a rare melding of human and animal research and theoretical and empirical science, ventures into the most interesting realms of behavioral biology to examine the intimate role of endocrinology in social relationships. The importance of hormones to reproductive behaviorÑfrom breeding cycles to male sexual displayÑis well known. What this book considers is the increasing evidence that hormones are just as important to social behavior. Peter Ellis...
This thesis is about the scope of executive power under the American Constitution, and the degree to which President may, in extraordinary circumstances, assert authority not explicitly granted to them by that document. It is about the extent to which the American executive may assert what John Locke termed "prerogative: " the ability to act beyond or even against the letter of the law to protect the public's best interests. It is an individual's discretion to do what he (or she) believes is necessary, even when he (or she) has little or no authority to do so. At first glance, this may seem odd. The very idea of prerogative is in direct conflict with the American adage that "we are a country of laws, not men," and there is no explicit mention of executive "prerogative" anywhere in the Constitution. Article II Sections 2 and 3 describe the President's powers without describing any such power:
This book presents selected works of contemporary evolutionary morphologists and includes such topics as broad scale reconstructions of the brain and ear of dinosaurs, inference of locomotor habits from cancellous bone architecture in fossil primates, and a comparison of the independently evolved manipulating apparatuses in the lesser and giant pandas. Insight is provided into the application of modern noninvasive technologies, including digital imaging techniques and virtual 3D reconstruction, to the investigation of complex anatomical features and coherences. In combination with traditional methods, this allows for the formulation of improved hypotheses on coordinated function and evolution. The creation of virtual translucent specimens makes it possible to realize the age-old dream of the classical anatomists: looking through the skin into the inner organization of an organism. On full display here is the dramatic and promising impact that modern imaging techniques have on scientific progress in evolutionary morphology.
The International Encyclopedia of Primatology represents the first comprehensive encyclopedic reference focusing on the behaviour, biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, and taxonomy of human and non-human primates. Represents the first comprehensive encyclopedic reference relating to primatology Features more than 450 entries covering topics ranging from the taxonomy, history, behaviour, ecology, captive management and diseases of primates to their use in research, cognition, conservation, and representations in literature Includes coverage of the basic scientific concepts that underlie each topic, along with the latest advances in the field Highly accessible to undergraduate and graduate students in primatology, anthropology, and the medical, biological and zoological sciences Essential reference for academics, researchers and commercial and conservation organizations This work is also available as an online resource at www.encyclopediaofprimatology.com
This book is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to primates. It provides both a survey and synthesis of primate history, biology, and behavior. As a survey, it offers a focused review of living and extinct primates in regional and community frameworks. As a synthesis, it applies the community perspective in a unique way to explore primates’ adaptive diversity in the context of how evolution works. The book encourages students to study primates as integrated members of regional communities, ecologically, historically, and evolutionarily. The chapters are organized to emphasize the patterns of primate radiations in the four regions of the world where primates live, and to facilitate comparisons among the radiations. The overviews of communities illustrate how the ecological adaptations of different species and taxonomic or phylogenetic groups enable them to coexist. Illustrations and tools to aid students’ learning include case studies, photographs, figures, tables, charts, key concepts, and quizlets to self-test. This book is an ideal introduction for students studying nonhuman primates, primatology, primate behavior, or primate ecology.
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The book offers a radically new perspective on the origins of the love song and human sexuality in an evolutionary context. By comparing different human societies and animal species, past and present, it reveals that love songs, romantic love and exclusive pair-bonds are not the original evolutionary features of Homo sapiens. One of the key findings of the book is that early humans practiced multiple-partner sexual relations, similar to our closest relatives bonobos and chimpanzees, but, with the emergence of culture and sexual taboo, their behaviour had to adjust. It contends that, since the exodus from Africa and the rise of culture, humans started to distance themselves from the rest of the animal kingdom, drastically restraining their innate sexual nature. The book will appeal to both scholars and laypeople with an interest in evolutionary theory, socio-biology, anthropology, and the origins of culture.