Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2016 -

This priceless reference work, lavishly illustrated and authoritatively written, is a weighty tome in the best sense. The world's 243 bird families are richly described, and 2,347 paintings depict every genus. There are also 243 distribution maps plus 750 new color photographs by 76 photographers.Bird families means taxonomic units, such as wrens, hummingbirds, and sandpipers--not parent birds and their young. Although paintings are derived from the massive, magisterial, 17-volumeHandbook of the Birds of the World (1992-2013), the photographs, text, and numerous taxonomic updates are original. Thirty-six families are represented by only one genus and species. One extreme is 101 genera and 410 species of tyrant flycatchers. For each family, there are sections on related families and similar birds, as well as further information on description, habitat, food, breeding, conservation, and relationships. Range maps, photographs, and superb paintings are also included. Silhouettes show generalized ranges in sizes of family members, in comparison with a human figure, hand, or leg. A helpful glossary defines 113 terms. The bibliography contains over 400 citations. Considering the wealth of text and illustrations, this book is priced well. It is most highly recommended and belongs in every four-year (or higher) academic library.Summing Up: Essential. General readers through professionals and practitioners.

Those individuals looking for a field guide to identify New Guinea birds should refer to the second edition of Pratt and Beehler's similarly titledBirds of New Guinea (2015). The current book under review, by the same authors, offers more technical coverage of New Guinea birds. The book is organized by species and subspecies. The sections on species include a brief but informative discourse on habitat and elevation. The original description citation is given, along with other synonyms. When needed, a notes section is also available. The work's bibliography is extensive (contained within about 45 pages); there is a lengthy gazetteer for localities provided with the book. There are two indexes--one for English common names, and another for scientific names. This is an outstanding book for professionals and advanced amateurs interested in New Guinea birds. The reviewer would also recommend the title to major university libraries and museums.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; professionals.

Those who have taken a course in comparative anatomy might be forgiven for thinking that the evolution of tetrapods has been well understood for a long time. Textbooks confidently detail the saga of the change from fish to modern mammals, birds, and reptiles, with seemingly few gaps in the story. However, as this volume points out, there are still missing pieces in scientific knowledge, and much of what is known was discovered only recently. The book is a collection of review essays and syntheses, several including new data, that detail many of the most important morphological transitions of vertebrate history. It includes chapters on specific aspects of locomotion, anatomy, respiration, and metabolism, along with overviews of methodology and a retelling of the early tetrapod narrative based on current understanding. Several chapters discuss aspects of genetics, ontological development, and ecology, and the interface of these disciplines with paleontological and anatomical studies. This very valuable work would make an excellent text for an upper-level undergraduate or graduate course in vertebrate evolution.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers/faculty.

This much-revised fourth edition ofHerpetology is an excellent replacement for the previous edition (2004). All of the six authors are recognized experts in the field. Taxa chosen to represent a given topic are drawn from around the world. The execution of the numerous full-color range maps, photos, and graphs is exceptional. Writing is uniformly good, especially considering the book's multiple authors. Chapters in part 1 lay the groundwork for understanding cladistics, phylogentics and systematics, and biogeography. Part 2 is devoted to physiology, reproduction, life history, locomotion, and feeding. Part 3 covers ecology, communication modes, mating systems, diet, foraging strategies, and interactions with parasites and predators. When a particular adaptation is found in both amphibians and reptiles, it is discussed in the same section. The 17th (and last) chapter provides a balanced discussion of conservation issues. New to this edition are an informative glossary, an excellent, chapter-by-chapter "literature cited" section, and a taxonomic index followed by a subject index. First published almost two decades ago (CH, Dec'98, 36-2176),Herpetology remains a singularly fine textbook and an equally useful reference book. It is a necessity for experts in the field.Summing Up: Essential. All readers.

The chimpanzees of Mahale National Park in Tanzania are among the world's best-studied animals. Research began there in 1965 under the leadership of the late Toshisada Nishida (formerly, Kyoto Univ., Japan). More than 70 scientists have based their research in the park, and hundreds of scientific papers have been published. Longitudinal and life history data are critical to primatologists' ability to test evolutionary hypotheses, but these data are difficult to obtain from long-lived ape taxa. This ten-part volume includes 50 chapters authored by preeminent primatologists. Each chapter synthesizes research enriched by deep temporal perspective, such as chimpanzee tool-making traditions across decades. Newer topics, such as gerontology and play, are examined but again are infused with a longitudinal orientation. Readers will be enlightened by the volume's research findings and its detailed descriptions of methods, including the combination of data gathered by multiple fieldworkers using diverse technologies. Because of the dedication of many, mostly Japanese, researchers, Mahale has endured through periods of political upheaval; more recently, park staff and scientists confront the challenge of tourism. The close evolutionary relationship between humans and chimpanzees makes these collective findings salient to students of human evolution. Required reading for primatologists and anthropologists.Summing Up: Essential. Primatology and anthropology collections serving upper-division undergraduates through professionals/practitioners.

For any organism, the ability to break the bonds of terrestrial life and sustain flight confers enormous evolutionary advantages. However, powered flight has appeared among only four groups of organisms in the hundreds of millions of years of life on Earth. As Alexander (Univ. of Kansas) makes clear in this book, in each case, whether in insects, pterosaurs, birds, or bats, natural selection acted on a multitude of evolutionary steps as the anatomy of ancestral non-flying creatures changed to allow them to not only glide (a far easier feat one can see today among fish, rodents, lizards, and even snakes) but also fly thousands of kilometers. Early gliding creatures no doubt benefited by escaping predators or capturing prey more efficiently. Another tremendous advantage of flight is the capacity to exploit seasonally abundant resources across vast areas. This book provides a very accessible, well-illustrated synthesis of current understanding of how this most wondrous, rare, and beneficial of adaptations came to be. From birdwatchers to bug collectors, dinosaur enthusiasts, bat lovers, and even pilots, anyone with an interest in nature, evolution, and flight will enjoy this fascinating book.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All library collections.

The passage of the US Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966 paved the way for many ambitious conservation efforts. Earlier efforts at protecting endangered species involved setting up conservation areas and enacting hunting laws that prevented further loss of these organisms. More aggressive efforts included relocation projects and breeding programs. The growth of genetic technologies has provided conservationists with the tools to genetically modify and clone endangered species; these technologies have even offered the potential to de-evolve organisms by cloning the remnant DNA from extinct species.Resurrection Sciencepresents a critical analysis of the later strategies used to preserve endangered species. O'Connor (a reporter) uses actual case studies to show the pros and cons of preservation methods that use selective breeding and genetic technologies. Each case study includes interviews with scientists involved with the projects. The author does a wonderful job explaining the rationale and the science behind each preservation effort. She also provides unbiased, accurate assessments of each strategy. In addition, the book presents compelling arguments related to the long-term complications of and ethical consideration for the undertakings. The author does not condemn the efforts; rather, she views them as learning experiences that could ultimately lead to sustainable ways of preserving wildlife.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.

Seahorses are the most un-fishlike of all fishes, with their horse-like heads, prehensile tails, and near absence of fins. This guide covers every one of the 42 known species of seahorses, plus 15 additional relatives, including the seadragon. In addition to beautiful color photographs of all but the rarest species, the descriptions nicely summarize what is known about the distribution, reproduction, and identifying characters of each. The really striking feature, however, is an elegantly simple one: inclusion of a life-sized shadow/silhouette of each species. It is rather astounding to see that some of the pygmy seahorses are literally no larger than the average housefly! The author, a seahorse specialist who named some of the incredibly tiny species, includes an extensive introduction that covers all aspects of seahorse biology, anatomy, and ecology. Particular emphasis is placed on their unusual reproductive behavior (often monogamous, with males getting "pregnant") and on conservation issues. The latter is of great concern, as many species are heavily overfished for medicinal use and aquaria, and often suffer from habitat destruction and bycatch in shrimp fisheries. This work is strongly recommended for all fish enthusiasts.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.