Buy Evolution of Island Mammals by Alexandra van der Geer
close menu
Bookswagon
search
My Account
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Home > Mathematics and Science books > Biology, life sciences > Zoology and animal sciences > Mammals (mammalogy) > Evolution of Island Mammals
Evolution of Island Mammals

Evolution of Island Mammals


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



Out of Stock


Notify me when this book is in stock
X
About the Book

Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas. Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors. This timely and innovative book is the first to offer a much-needed synthesis of recent advances in the exciting field of the evolution and extinction of fossil insular placental mammals. It provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene. The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species. The authors discuss the human factor in past extinction events and loss of insular biodiversity. This accessible and richly illustrated textbook is written for graduate level students and professional researchers in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, biogeography, zoology, and ecology.

Table of Contents:
Preface. Part I Beyond the Mainland. 1 Introduction. 2 History of Island Studies. 3 Factors that Influence Island Faunas. Types of Islands. Dispersals to Islands. The Candidate Species. Composition of Island Faunas. Part II The Islands and Their Faunas. 4 Cyprus. Geology and Palaeogeography Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 5 Crete. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 6 Gargano. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 7 Sicily. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 8 Malta. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 9 Sardinia and Corsica. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 10 The Balearic Islands. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 11 Madagascar. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 12 Java. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 13 Flores. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 14 Sulawesi. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 15 The Philippines. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 16 Japan. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 17 The Southern and Central Ryukyu Islands. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 18 The Californian Channel Islands. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. 19 The West Indies. Geology and Palaeogeography. Historical Palaeontology. Biozones and Faunal Units. Part III Species and Processes. 20 Elephants, Mammoths, Stegodons and Mastodons. Distribution and Range. Dispersals. Taxonomic Confusions. Common Morphological Traits. Other Common Trends. 21 Rabbits, Hares and Pikas. Distribution and Range. Common Morphological Traits. Other Common Trends. Dispersal of Lagomorphs. 22 Rats, Dormice, Hamsters, Caviomorphs and other Rodents. Distribution and Range. Common Morphological Traits. Remark on Taphonomy. 23 Insectivores and Bats. Distribution and Range. Common Morphological Traits. 24 Cervids and Bovids. Distribution and Range. Common Morphological Traits. Taxonomic Confusions. 25 Hippopotamuses and Pigs. Distribution and Range. Common Morphological Traits. Taxonomic Confusions. 26 Carnivores. Distribution and Range. Common Morphological Traits. Taxonomic Confusions. 27 Patterns and Trends. Dwarfism and Gigantism. Increased Size Variation. Shorter Limbs and Stiff Joints. Increased Grinding Force. Neurological Changes. Changes in Metabolism. 28 Evolutionary Processes in Island Environments. Types of Speciation on Islands. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors. 29 Extinction of Insular Endemics. Natural Disasters. Disappearance of the Island. Competition by New Species. Effects of Exotic Predators. Transmission of Diseases. Habitat Loss. Hunting to Extinction. References. Index.

About the Author :
Alexandra van der Geer is an independent researcher, presently guest researcher at Naturalis, the National Museum of Natural History of the Netherlands and at the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment at the University of Athens, Greece. She publishes on various subjects, including insularity, primatology and the relation between humans and animals. Among her previous books are Animals in Stone and Hoe dieren op eilanden evolueren . George Lyras is curator of the Museum of Geology and Palaeontology of the University of Athens, Greece. His research focuses primarily on the evolution of carnivores and of insular mammals. He currently specialises in evolutionary processes of the mammalian skull under strong selective forces. John de Vos is curator of the Dubois Collection and the Collection of Pleistocene mammal fossils from the Netherlands and the North Sea at Naturalis, the National Museum of Natural History of the Netherlands. His expertise and field of research include the taxonomic, systematic, geographic and stratigraphic research of the Pleistocene mammals of Southeast Asia in relation to fossil humans and fossil island faunas. Michael Dermitzakis is emeritus professor in the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment at the University of Athens, Greece, and former vice-rector of the same university. He is a recognized expert in the field of island biogeography of the Aegean Archipelago and the advocate of international research on the palaeo-ecology of Greek islands.

Review :
"This book is an important addition to the library of any Quaternary mammalian palaeontologist and will likely be useful to those whose interests extend back deeper into the Cenozoic. The book is well illustrated and very well researched, with an excellent set of references. I suspect that it will become the starting point for many future researchers and research projects." ( Geological Journal , 1 March 2013) "I laud the authors on undertaking a work of this magnitude, and commend it to anyone interested in the remarkable beasts that once populated the little places on Earth." ( J Mammal Evol , 1 February 2011) "With many examples and more than 50 pages of up-to-date bibliography, this book is particularly interesting for students and professional researchers in evolution." ( Mammalia , 28 June 2012) "It is generously illustrated and nicely presented. Island biota will continue to provide a fascinating arena for the study of evolution, and this book highlights the value of taking a broader view than the brief snapshot in time provided by contemporary insular biota alone." ( BioScience , 1 April 2012) "Van der Geer et al. Have done a thorough job of providing an up-to-date overview of what is now known about the diversity, adaptations, biogeographical histories, and ultimate extinction of these quite remarkable creatures: elephants the size of large dogs, lemurs that hung from branches like sloths, rodents the size of ponies, and many other examples of adaptation in action." (The Quarterly Review of Biology, 1 June 2011) "Figure quality, including 26 color plates, is excellent. Comprehensive index and reference list included. Highly Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals in paleontology and zoology." (Choice, 1 March 2011) "That aside, there's a lot of material in here that's fascinating to the non-specialist". (Fortean Times, 1 March 2011) "This superb book looks at the evolution, and extinction, of placentals ranging from the Oligocene to the present ... a well published textbook, superbly illustrated with drawings and photographs, that it would be fun to read through a little before sticking it on my shelf as a reference book for the future." (Troglodyte4, 2010)


Best Sellers


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781444323986
  • Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • Publisher Imprint: Wiley-Blackwell (an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Ltd)
  • Height: 250 mm
  • No of Pages: 476
  • Weight: 666 gr
  • ISBN-10: 1444323989
  • Publisher Date: 03 Aug 2010
  • Binding: Other digital
  • Language: English
  • Spine Width: 15 mm
  • Width: 150 mm


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
Evolution of Island Mammals
John Wiley and Sons Ltd -
Evolution of Island Mammals
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

Evolution of Island Mammals

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept


    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!