United States
£ GBP
Bats are highly charismatic and popular animals that are not only fascinating in their own right, but illustrate most of the topical and important concepts and issues in mammalian biology. This book covers the key aspects of bat biology, including evolution, flight, echolocation, hibernation, reproduction, feeding and roosting ecology, social behaviour, migration, population and community ecology, biogeography, and conservation.
This second edition is fully updated and greatly expanded throughout. More specifically this edition:
- is written in an accessible style by an authority in the field,
- builds on the reputation of the first edition, providing a fully revised, comprehensive, and affordable successor; 60% of the text is new, as is 35% of the illustrations,
- incorporates major recent developments in the use of genetics, and major advances in our understanding of social behaviour, community ecology, macroecology, biogeography, and, a new chapter in this edition, conservation, - puts bat studies into the wider context of mammalian evolution, diversity, ecology, and conservation,
- includes a new 8-page colour plate section, with stunning photographs of bat species from around the world, and, as in the previous edition, has numerous attractive and detailed drawings.
Preface
Introduction
1: Evolution and Diversity
2: Flight
3: Echolocation and Other Senses
4: Torpor and Hibernation
5: Reproduction and Development
6: Roosting and Feeding Ecology
7: Migration, Social Structure, and Population Structure
8: Biogeography, Macroecology, Community Ecology, and the Interactions between Bats and Other Organisms
9: Conservation
References
Index
John Altringham is Professor of Animal Ecology and Conservation at the University of Leeds, UK, where he has been since 1989. He completed his BSc at the University of York, and his PhD at St. Andrews University, where he returned as a research fellow from 1983-1989. During his career he has travelled widely, studying animals as varied as tuna fish and tarantulas before focusing on bat ecology and conservation. He has published over 100 scientific papers, numerous book chapters, and two previous books: "Bats: Biology and Behaviour" (OUP, 1996), and "British Bats" (Harper Collins, 2003). He is also a regular advisor and contributor to BBC Natural History Unit productions for TV and radio, and is a member of a number of conservation advisory groups, including the Nature Conservation Panel of the National Trust. John lives on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales with his wife, Kate, and two children, Alex and Anne.
