Marine Mammals

Marine Mammals

Evolutionary Biology

2nd Edition - December 1, 2005

Write a review

  • Authors: Annalisa Berta, James Sumich, Kit Kovacs, Annalisa Berta, James Sumich, Kit Kovacs
  • eBook ISBN: 9780080489346

Purchase options

Purchase options
DRM-free (EPub, PDF, Mobi)
Sales tax will be calculated at check-out

Institutional Subscription

Free Global Shipping
No minimum order

Description

Berta and Sumich have succeeded yet again in creating superior marine reading! This book is a succinct yet comprehensive text devoted to the systematics, evolution, morphology, ecology, physiology, and behavior of marine mammals. The first edition, considered the leading text in the field, is required reading for all marine biologists concerned with marine mammals. Revisions include updates of citations, expansion of nearly every chapter and full color photographs. This title continues the tradition by fully expanding and updating nearly all chapters.

Key Features

  • Comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of the biology of all marine mammals
  • Provides a phylogenetic framework that integrates phylogeny with behavior and ecology
  • Features chapter summaries, further readings, an appendix, glossary and an extensive bibliography
  • Exciting new color photographs and additional distribution maps

Readership

Vertebrate zoologists, mammalogists, marine biologists, and those interested in the natural history, evolution, systematics, and behavior of marine mammals. Researchers, faculty, graduate students and advanced undergraduates interested in mammals, marine biology, and many related disciplines

Table of Contents

  • Preface
    Acknowledgments

    1. Introduction
    1.1. Marine Mammals-""What Are They?""
    1.2. Adaptations for Aquatic Life
    1.3. Scope and Use of This Book
    1.4. Time Scale
    1.5. Early Observations of Marine Mammals
    1.6. Emergence of Marine Mammal Science
    1.7. Further Reading and Resources
    References

    PART I: EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY

    2. Systematics and Classification
    2.1. Introduction: Systematics-What Is It and Why Do It?
    2.2. Some Basic Terminology and Concepts
    2.3. How Do You Do Cladistics?
    2.4. Testing Phylogenetic Hypotheses
    2.5. Going Beyond the Phylogenetic Framework
    2.6. Taxonomy and Classification
    2.7. Summary and Conclusions
    2.8. Further Reading
    References

    3. Pinniped Evolution and Systematics
    3.1. Introduction
    3.2 Origin and Evolution
    3.3. Summary and Conclusions
    3.4. Further Reading
    References

    4. Cetacean Evolution and Systematics
    4.1. Introduction
    4.2. Origin and Evolution
    4.3. Summary and Conclusions
    4.4. Further Reading
    References

    5. Sirenians and Other Marine Mammals:
    Evolution and Systematics
    5.1. Introduction
    5.2. Origin and Evolution of Sirenians
    5.3. The Extinct Sirenian Relatives-Desmostylia
    5.4. The Extinct Marine Bear-Like Carnivoran, Kolponomos
    5.5. The Extinct Aquatic Sloth, Thalassocnus natans
    5.6. The Sea Otter, Enhydra lutris
    5.7. The Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus
    5.8. Summary and Conclusions
    5.9. Further Reading
    References

    6. Evolutionary Biogeography
    6.1. Introduction-What Is Biogeography and Why Is It Important?
    6.2. Ecological Factors Affecting Distributions of Marine Mammals
    6.3. Present Patterns of Distribution
    6.4. Reconstructing Biogeographic Patterns
    6.5. Past Patterns of Distribution
    6.6. Summary and Conclusions
    6.7. Further Reading
    References

    PART II: EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY,
    AND BEHAVIOR

    7. Integumentary and Sensory Systems
    7.1. Introduction
    7.2. Integumentary System
    7.3. Nerves and Sense Organs
    7.4. Summary and Conclusions
    7.5. Further Reading
    References

    8. Musculoskeletal System and Locomotion
    8.1. Introduction
    8.2. Pinnipeds
    8.3. Cetaceans
    8.4. Sirenians
    8.5. Sea Otter
    8.6. Polar Bear
    8.7. Summary and Conclusions
    8.8. Further Reading
    References

    9. Energetics
    9.1. Introduction
    9.2. Metabolic Rates
    9.3. Thermoregulation
    9.4. Energetics of Locomotion
    9.5. Osmoregulation
    9.6. Summary and Conclusions
    9.7. Further Reading
    References

    10. Respiration and Diving Physiology
    10.1. Introduction
    10.2. Problems of Deep and Prolonged Dives for Breath-Holders
    10.3. Pulmonary and Circulatory Adaptations to Diving
    10.4. Diving Response
    10.5. Diving Behavior and Phylogenetic Patterns
    10.6 Summary and Conclusions
    10.7. Further Reading
    References

    11. Sound Production for Communication, Echolocation, and Prey Capture
    11.1. Introduction
    11.2. Sound Propagation in Air and Water
    11.3. Anatomy and Physiology of Sound Production and Reception
    11.4. Functions of Intentionally Produced Sounds
    11.5. ATOC and Low Frequency Military Sonars
    11.6. Summary and Conclusions
    11.7. Further Reading
    References

    12. Diet, Foraging Structures, and Strategies
    12.1. Introduction
    12.2. Seasonal and Geographical Patterns of Prey Abundance
    12.3. Adaptations for Foraging in Pinnipeds
    12.4. Feeding Specializations of Cetaceans
    12.5. Feeding Specializations of Sirenians
    12.6. Feeding Specializations of Other Marine Mammals
    12.7. Summary and Conclusions
    12.8. Further Reading
    References

    13. Reproductive Structures, Strategies, and Patterns
    13.1. Introduction
    13.2. Anatomy and Physiology of the Reproductive System
    13.3. Mating Systems
    13.4. Lactation Strategies
    13.5. Reproductive Patterns
    13.6. Summary and Conclusions
    13.7. Further Reading
    References

    14. Population Structure and Population Dynamics
    14.1. Introduction
    14.2. Abundance and Its Determination in Marine Mammals
    14.3. Techniques for Monitoring Populations
    14.4. Population Structure and Dynamics

    14.6. Further Reading
    References

    15. Exploitation and Conservation
    15.1. Introduction
    15.2. Commercial Exploitation of Marine Mammals
    15.3. Legal Framework for Marine Mammal Conservation and Protection
    15.4. Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals
    15.5. Environmental Contaminants
    15.6. Single Beachings vs Mass Strandings
    15.7. Ecotourism
    15.8. Progress and the Future
    15.9. Summary and Conclusions
    15.10. Further Reading
    References

    Appendix: Classification of Marine Mammals

    Glossary

    Index

Product details

  • No. of pages: 560
  • Language: English
  • Copyright: © Academic Press 2005
  • Published: December 1, 2005
  • Imprint: Academic Press
  • eBook ISBN: 9780080489346

About the Authors

Annalisa Berta

Annalisa Berta is Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology at San Diego State University, San Diego, California and a Research Associate at the San Diego Natural History Museum in San Diego, California and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. She is an evolutionary biologist who for the last 30 years has been studying the anatomy, evolution and systematics of fossil and living marine mammals, especially pinnipeds and whales. She is a past President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and former Senior Editor of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and Associate Editor of Marine Mammal Science. She has written 100 scientific papers and several books for the specialist as well as non-scientist including Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals, 2012, (University of California Press) and the forthcoming book (summer, 2015) Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: a natural history and species guide (University of Chicago Press).

Affiliations and Expertise

San Diego State University, California, U.S.A.

James Sumich

James Sumich is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Grossmont College and is the author of a popular book on gray whales. He has conducted research on gray whales from British Columbia to Baja California for four decades and has taught marine mammal course for nearly that long. His research has focused on the ecological physiology of baleen whales, especially the energetics of their seasonal fasting migrations.

Affiliations and Expertise

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

Kit Kovacs

Kit M. Kovacs is the Biodiversity Research Program Leader for the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsø Norway and a Professor of Biology at University Studies on Svalbard (UNIS). She has worked with marine mammals in Polar Regions for the past 30 years, focusing primarily on studies in the fields of behavioral ecology and population biology. The impact of climate change on ice-associated species has been a topic of principal concern in recent years in her research projects. She is author/co-author of more than 200 primary publications and the author/editor of ten books and numerous popular articles.

Affiliations and Expertise

Biodiversity Research Section Leader, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway, Professor of Biology, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Svalbard, Norway

Annalisa Berta

Annalisa Berta is Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology at San Diego State University, San Diego, California and a Research Associate at the San Diego Natural History Museum in San Diego, California and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. She is an evolutionary biologist who for the last 30 years has been studying the anatomy, evolution and systematics of fossil and living marine mammals, especially pinnipeds and whales. She is a past President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and former Senior Editor of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and Associate Editor of Marine Mammal Science. She has written 100 scientific papers and several books for the specialist as well as non-scientist including Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals, 2012, (University of California Press) and the forthcoming book (summer, 2015) Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: a natural history and species guide (University of Chicago Press).

Affiliations and Expertise

San Diego State University, California, U.S.A.

James Sumich

James Sumich is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Grossmont College and is the author of a popular book on gray whales. He has conducted research on gray whales from British Columbia to Baja California for four decades and has taught marine mammal course for nearly that long. His research has focused on the ecological physiology of baleen whales, especially the energetics of their seasonal fasting migrations.

Affiliations and Expertise

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

Kit Kovacs

Kit M. Kovacs is the Biodiversity Research Program Leader for the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsø Norway and a Professor of Biology at University Studies on Svalbard (UNIS). She has worked with marine mammals in Polar Regions for the past 30 years, focusing primarily on studies in the fields of behavioral ecology and population biology. The impact of climate change on ice-associated species has been a topic of principal concern in recent years in her research projects. She is author/co-author of more than 200 primary publications and the author/editor of ten books and numerous popular articles.

Affiliations and Expertise

Biodiversity Research Section Leader, Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway, Professor of Biology, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Svalbard, Norway

Ratings and Reviews

Write a review

There are currently no reviews for "Marine Mammals"