Return to the Sea

The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals

Inbunden, Engelska, 2012

Av Annalisa Berta

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"Return to the Sea" portrays the life and evolutionary times of marine mammals - from giant whales and sea cows that originated 55 million years ago to the deep diving elephant seals and clam-eating walruses of modern times. This fascinating account of the origin of various marine mammal lineages, some extinct, others extant but threatened, is for the non-specialist. Set against a backdrop of geologic time, changing climates, and changing geography, evolution is the unifying principle that helps us to understand the present day diversity of marine mammals and their responses to environmental challenges. Annalisa Berta explains current controversies and explores patterns of change taking place today, such as shifting food webs and predator-prey relationships, habitat degradation, global warming, and the effects of humans on marine mammal communities.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2012-04-25
Mått152 x 229 x 15 mm
Vikt544 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor224
FörlagUniversity of California Press
IllustratörSumich, James L., Buell, Carl
ISBN9780520270572

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PrefaceAcknowledgments1. Marine MammalsMajor Groups of Marine MammalsDiscovering, Naming, and Classifying Marine MammalsReconstructing the Hierarchy of Marine MammalsAdaptations and ExaptationsWhat Is a Species and How Do New Species Form?Where Do They Live and Why Are They Where They Are?2. Past Diversity in Time and Space,Paleoclimates, and PaleoecologyFossils and TaphonomyThe Discovery of the First Fossil Marine Mammal (a Whale)The Importance of FossilsHow Do We Know the Age of a Fossil?How Do We Know Where Marine Mammals Were?Marine Mammal Diversity and Communities Through TimeWhat Led Marine Mammals Back to the Sea?3. Pinniped Diversity, Evolution, and AdaptationsThe Earliest Pinnipeds: Webbed Feet or Flippers?Crown PinnipedsDesmatophocids: Extinct Phocid RelativesEvolutionary TrendsStructural and Functional Innovations and AdaptationsMating and Social Systems, Reproduction, and Life History4. Cetartiodactylan Diversity, Evolution, and AdaptationsEarly Whales Had Legs!Crown Cetacea (Neoceti)Evolutionary TrendsStructural and Functional Innovations and AdaptationsMating and Social Systems, Reproduction, and Life History5. Diversity, Evolution, and Adaptations of Sireniansand Other Marine MammalsWalking Sea Cows!Crown SireniaEvolutionary TrendsStructural and Functional Innovations and AdaptationsMating and Social Systems, Reproduction and Life HistoryDesmostyliansAquatic SlothsMarine OttersPolar Bears6. Ecology and ConservationWhat Marine Mammals Eat and What Eats ThemInteractions Between Human and Marine Mammals:Lessons LearnedExtinction: The Rule, Not the ExceptionGlossaryFurther Reading and Online SourcesIllustration CreditsIndex

"Engaging... Stimulating... A compelling story of the history and biology of marine mammals that will delight while it informs readers." -- Alexander J. Werth Bioscience "A good introduction to marine mammal evolution." -- Ian Paulsen The Guardian "Rarely does one have the opportunity to read a book that is written in an enjoyable and accessible way, scientifically accurate, and based in a wide and updated range of literature." -- Carolina Loch, University of Otago, New Zealand Marine Mammal Science "The writing is simple and informative, the line drawings and other illustrations are excellent, and we have here a primer of what it is to be a marine animal..." -- Bernd Wursig The Quarterly Review of Biology