Megafauna

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End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals

Author : Ross D E MacPhee
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393249301
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (932 download)

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Book Synopsis End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals by : Ross D E MacPhee

Download or read book End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals written by Ross D E MacPhee and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi thriller—including gorilla-sized lemurs, 500-pound birds, and crocodiles that weighed a ton or more—roamed the earth. These great beasts, or “megafauna,” lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. With a handful of exceptions, all are now gone. What caused the disappearance of these prehistoric behemoths? No one event can be pinpointed as a specific cause, but several factors may have played a role. Paleomammalogist Ross D. E. MacPhee explores them all, examining the leading extinction theories, weighing the evidence, and presenting his own conclusions. He shows how theories of human overhunting and catastrophic climate change fail to account for critical features of these extinctions, and how new thinking is needed to elucidate these mysterious losses. Along the way, we learn how time is determined in earth history; how DNA is used to explain the genomics and phylogenetic history of megafauna—and how synthetic biology and genetic engineering may be able to reintroduce these giants of the past. Until then, gorgeous four-color illustrations by Peter Schouten re-create these megabeasts here in vivid detail.

Megafauna

Author : Richard A. Fariña
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253007194
Total Pages : 458 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Megafauna by : Richard A. Fariña

Download or read book Megafauna written by Richard A. Fariña and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-22 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An enjoyable read that provides a substantial amount of detail on the biology, ecology, and distribution of these fantastic animals . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice More than 10,000 years ago spectacularly large mammals roamed the pampas and jungles of South America. This book tells the story of these great beasts during and just after the Pleistocene, the geological epoch marked by the great ice ages. Megafauna describes the history and way of life of these animals, their comings and goings, and what befell them at the beginning of the modern era and the arrival of humans. It places these giants within the context of the other mammals then alive, describing their paleobiology—how they walked; how much they weighed; their diets, behavior, biomechanics; and the interactions among them and with their environment. It also tells the stories of the scientists who contributed to our discovery and knowledge of these transcendent creatures and the environment they inhabited. The episode known as the Great American Biotic Interchange, perhaps the most important of all natural history “experiments,” is also an important theme of the book, tracing the biotic events of both North and South America that led to the fauna and the ecosystems discussed in this book. “Collectively, this book brings attention to the discovery and natural history of ancient beasts in South America while providing a broader temporal and geographic background that allows readers to understand their evolution and potential immigration to South America.” —Quarterly Review of Biology “An excellent volume . . . This book is likely to facilitate progress in the understanding of fossil mammals from the Americas.” —Priscum

Ice Age Mammals of North America

Author : Ian M. Lange
Publisher : Mountain Press
ISBN 13 : 9780878426805
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (268 download)

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Book Synopsis Ice Age Mammals of North America by : Ian M. Lange

Download or read book Ice Age Mammals of North America written by Ian M. Lange and published by Mountain Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lange untangles the complex evolutionary lineages of mammal families, including the gomphotheres, elephant-like creatures that coexisted with humans at the end of the Pleistocene. You�ll learn about the geologic events that led to the ice ages, along with possible causes for the mass extinctions of so many species.

Whale Sharks

Author : Alistair D.M. Dove
Publisher : CRC Press
ISBN 13 : 1351334751
Total Pages : 442 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (513 download)

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Book Synopsis Whale Sharks by : Alistair D.M. Dove

Download or read book Whale Sharks written by Alistair D.M. Dove and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-08-25 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whale sharks are the largest of all fishes, fascinating for comparative studies of all manner of biological fields, including functional anatomy, growth, metabolism, movement ecology, behavior and physiology. These gentle ocean giants have captured the interest of scientists and the imagination of the public, yet their future is uncertain. The conservation status of whale sharks was upgraded to Endangered on the IUCN Red List and the species faces a range of intense threats from human activities. Can these iconic living animals, who have survived for millions of years, survive us? Written by the world’s leading experts in whale shark biology, ecology, and conservation, Whale Sharks: Biology, Ecology and Conservation is the first definitive volume about the world's biggest fish. Chapters include discussions of satellite-linked tags, used to track whale shark movements; genetic sequencing, to examine evolutionary adaptations; even the use of underwater ultrasound units to investigate the species’ reproduction. The editors hope that by collating what is known, they can make it easier for future researchers, conservationists, and resource managers to fill some of the remaining knowledge gaps, and provide the information they need to join the team. As you work your way through this book, we hope that you will develop a sense of awe and marvel at all of our good fortune to share the ocean, and the planet, with this utterly extraordinary species.

Megafauna

Author : Baz Edmeades
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781544526539
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (265 download)

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Book Synopsis Megafauna by : Baz Edmeades

Download or read book Megafauna written by Baz Edmeades and published by . This book was released on 2021-11-10 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecological competition began as slow arms races. Predators evolved to hunt. Prey evolved to defend themselves. Each improvement was small, barely shifting the odds of survival. Nature remained in equilibrium. Until the dawn of humanity. When our ancestors developed the unique ability to think up new devices and behaviors, humanity became able to overcome nature's defenses far more quickly than natural selection could respond. Humankind spread out of Africa, wiping out most of the megafauna in its path-mammoths, sabertooth cats, elephant-sized sloths, and a great many other species. Today, this formidable, inventive genius of our species-now grown to overwhelming and all-conquering proportions-is threatening to make the earth unlivable, even for ourselves. The only weapon available to us to counter this threat is, ironically, the same one that unleashed our destructiveness in the first place: the analytical and creative power of the human brain.

God, the Moon, and Other Megafauna

Author : Kellie Wells
Publisher : University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN 13 : 0268102287
Total Pages : 145 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (681 download)

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Book Synopsis God, the Moon, and Other Megafauna by : Kellie Wells

Download or read book God, the Moon, and Other Megafauna written by Kellie Wells and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kellie Wells is a writer of startling imagination whose "phantasmal stories," Booklist says, "shimmer with a dreamlike vibrancy." God, the Moon, and Other Megafauna, Wells's second collection of short stories and winner of the Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction, is populated with the world's castoffs, cranks, and inveterate oddballs, the deeply aggrieved, the ontologically challenged, the misunderstood mopes that haunt the shadowy wings of the world?s main stage. Here you will find a teacup-sized aerialist who tries to ingest the world's considerable suffering; a lonely god growing ever lonelier as the Afterlife swells with monkeys and other improbable occupants; a father fluent in the language of the Dead who has difficulty communicating with his living son; and Death himself, a moony adolescent with a tender heart and a lack of ambition. God-haunted and apocalyptic, comic and formally inventive, these stories give lyrical voice to the indomitability of the everyday underdog, and they will continue to resonate long after the last word has been read.

Prehistoric Giants

Author : Danielle Clode
Publisher : Danielle Clode
ISBN 13 : 9780980381320
Total Pages : 72 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (813 download)

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Book Synopsis Prehistoric Giants by : Danielle Clode

Download or read book Prehistoric Giants written by Danielle Clode and published by Danielle Clode. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Step back to a time when giant goannas and marsupial lions stalked the Australian bush. Imagine herds of two-tonne Diprotodon roaming the plains, and flocks of flightless ducks bigger than emus striding across the shallow inland sea.

American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene

Author : Gary Haynes
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 9789048179893
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (798 download)

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Book Synopsis American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene by : Gary Haynes

Download or read book American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene written by Gary Haynes and published by Springer. This book was released on 2010-11-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume contains summaries of facts, theories, and unsolved problems pertaining to the unexplained extinction of dozens of genera of mostly large terrestrial mammals, which occurred ca. 13,000 calendar years ago in North America and about 1,000 years later in South America. Another equally mysterious wave of extinctions affected large Caribbean islands around 5,000 years ago. The coupling of these extinctions with the earliest appearance of human beings has led to the suggestion that foraging humans are to blame, although major climatic shifts were also taking place in the Americas during some of the extinctions. The last published volume with similar (but not identical) themes -- Extinctions in Near Time -- appeared in 1999; since then a great deal of innovative, exciting new research has been done but has not yet been compiled and summarized. Different chapters in this volume provide in-depth resumés of the chronology of the extinctions in North and South America, the possible insights into animal ecology provided by studies of stable isotopes and anatomical/physiological characteristics such as growth increments in mammoth and mastodont tusks, the clues from taphonomic research about large-mammal biology, the applications of dating methods to the extinctions debate, and archeological controversies concerning human hunting of large mammals.

Fragment

Author : Warren Fahy
Publisher : Delacorte Press
ISBN 13 : 0440338573
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis Fragment by : Warren Fahy

Download or read book Fragment written by Warren Fahy and published by Delacorte Press. This book was released on 2009-06-16 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aboard a long-range research vessel, in the vast reaches of the South Pacific, the cast and crew of the reality show Sealife believe they have found a ratings bonanza. For a director dying for drama, a distress call from Henders Island—a mere blip on any radar—might be just the ticket. Until the first scientist sets foot on Henders—and the ultimate test of survival begins. For when they reach the island’s shores, the scientists are utterly unprepared for what they find—creatures unlike any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in time; this is Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path for half a billion years—a fragment of a lost continent, with an ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards.

The Ghosts Of Evolution

Author : Connie Barlow
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0786724897
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (867 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ghosts Of Evolution by : Connie Barlow

Download or read book The Ghosts Of Evolution written by Connie Barlow and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2008-08-05 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new vision is sweeping through ecological science: The dense web of dependencies that makes up an ecosystem has gained an added dimension-the dimension of time. Every field, forest, and park is full of living organisms adapted for relationships with creatures that are now extinct. In a vivid narrative, Connie Barlow shows how the idea of "missing partners" in nature evolved from isolated, curious examples into an idea that is transforming how ecologists understand the entire flora and fauna of the Americas. This fascinating book will enrich and deepen the experience of anyone who enjoys a stroll through the woods or even down an urban sidewalk. But this knowledge has a dark side too: Barlow's "ghost stories" teach us that the ripples of biodiversity loss around us now are just the leading edge of what may well become perilous cascades of extinction.

Vanished Giants

Author : Anthony J. Stuart
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022643298X
Total Pages : 317 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (264 download)

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Book Synopsis Vanished Giants by : Anthony J. Stuart

Download or read book Vanished Giants written by Anthony J. Stuart and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring numerous illustrations, this book explores the many lessons to be learned from Pleistocene megafauna, including the role of humans in their extinction, their disappearance at the start of the Sixth Extinction, and what they might teach us about contemporary conservation crises. Long after the extinction of dinosaurs, when humans were still in the Stone Age, woolly rhinos, mammoths, mastodons, sabertooth cats, giant ground sloths, and many other spectacular large animals that are no longer with us roamed the Earth. These animals are regarded as “Pleistocene megafauna,” named for the geological era in which they lived—also known as the Ice Age. In Vanished Giants: The Lost World of the Ice Age, paleontologist Anthony J. Stuart explores the lives and environments of these animals, moving between six continents and several key islands. Stuart examines the animals themselves via what we’ve learned from fossil remains, and he describes the landscapes, climates, vegetation, ecological interactions, and other aspects of the animals’ existence. Illustrated throughout, Vanished Giants also offers a picture of the world as it was tens of thousands of years ago when these giants still existed. Unlike the case of the dinosaurs, there was no asteroid strike to blame for the end of their world. Instead, it appears that the giants of the Ice Age were driven to extinction by climate change, human activities—especially hunting—or both. Drawing on the latest evidence provided by radiocarbon dating, Stuart discusses these possibilities. The extinction of Ice Age megafauna can be seen as the beginning of the so-called Sixth Extinction, which is happening right now. This has important implications for understanding the likely fate of present-day animals in the face of contemporary climate change and vastly increasing human populations.

Corridors to Extinction and the Australian Megafauna

Author : Steve Webb
Publisher : Newnes
ISBN 13 : 0124078400
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis Corridors to Extinction and the Australian Megafauna by : Steve Webb

Download or read book Corridors to Extinction and the Australian Megafauna written by Steve Webb and published by Newnes. This book was released on 2013-02-27 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extinctions have always occurred and always will, so what is so surprising about the megafauna extinctions? They were caused by humans and were the first of many extinctions that eventually led to the extinction of the Moa, Steller's Sea Cow, the Dodo, Great Auk and countless other species great and small, all attributed to human agency. Therefore, the megafauna were humans' first great impact on the planet. There is now an increasing realization that the 'blitzkrieg' view of these extinctions may have been wrong. A growing body of evidence and long-term field work is beginning to show that at least Australia's megafauna did not succumb to human agency, not because humans probably did not hunt the odd animal but because the an infinitely more logical reason lies in the climatic conditions of the Quaternary Ice Ages and the affect they had on continental geography, environment, climate and, most importantly, the biogeography of the megafauna. This book presents the evidence of this theory, demonstrating the biogeographic approach to Australia's megafauna extinction. - Written clearly to benefit a diverse level of readers, from those with a passing interest to professionals in the field. - Examines future climate change and its effects on the planet by looking at examples buried in the past - Presents new evidence from extensive field research

Twilight of the Mammoths

Author : Paul S. Martin
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520252438
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis Twilight of the Mammoths by : Paul S. Martin

Download or read book Twilight of the Mammoths written by Paul S. Martin and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Paul S. Martin's innovative ideas on late quaternary extinctions and wildlife restoration have fueled one of science's most stimulating recent debates. He expounds them vividly here, and defends them eloquently. A must-read."—David Rains Wallace, author of Beasts of Eden "This is a marvelous read, by a giant in American prehistory, about one of the greatest mysteries in the earth sciences."—Tim Flannery, author of The Eternal Frontier "Whether or not you agree with Paul Martin, he has shaped how we think about our Pleistocene ancestors and their role in transforming this planet."—Ross D. E. MacPhee, Curator of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History

Once and Future Giants

Author : Sharon Levy
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199831548
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis Once and Future Giants by : Sharon Levy

Download or read book Once and Future Giants written by Sharon Levy and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-22 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until about 13,000 years ago, North America was home to a menagerie of massive mammals. Mammoths, camels, and lions walked the ground that has become Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and foraged on the marsh land now buried beneath Chicago's streets. Then, just as the first humans reached the Americas, these Ice Age giants vanished forever. In Once and Future Giants, science writer Sharon Levy digs through the evidence surrounding Pleistocene large animal ("megafauna") extinction events worldwide, showing that understanding this history--and our part in it--is crucial for protecting the elephants, polar bears, and other great creatures at risk today. These surviving relatives of the Ice Age beasts now face the threat of another great die-off, as our species usurps the planet's last wild places while driving a warming trend more extreme than any in mammalian history. Deftly navigating competing theories and emerging evidence, Once and Future Giants examines the extent of human influence on megafauna extinctions past and present, and explores innovative conservation efforts around the globe. The key to modern-day conservation, Levy suggests, may lie fossilized right under our feet.

Extinct Madagascar

Author : Steven M. Goodman
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022615694X
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (261 download)

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Book Synopsis Extinct Madagascar by : Steven M. Goodman

Download or read book Extinct Madagascar written by Steven M. Goodman and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-09-04 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The landscapes of Madagascar have long delighted zoologists, who have discovered, in and among the island’s baobab trees and thickets, a dizzying array of animals, including something approaching one hundred species of lemur. Madagascar’s mammal fauna, for example, is far more diverse, and more endemic, than early explorers and naturalists ever dreamed of. But in the past 2,500 or so years—a period associated with natural climatic shifts and ecological change, as well as partially coinciding with the arrival of the island’s first human settlers—a considerable proportion of Madagascar’s forests have disappeared; and in the wake of this loss, a number of species unique to Madagascar have vanished forever into extinction. In Extinct Madagascar, noted scientists Steven M. Goodman and William L. Jungers explore the recent past of these land animal extinctions. Beginning with an introduction to the geologic and ecological history of Madagascar that provides context for the evolution, diversification, and, in some cases, rapid decline of the Malagasy fauna, Goodman and Jungers then seek to recapture these extinct mammals in their environs. Aided in their quest by artist Velizar Simeonovski’s beautiful and haunting digital paintings—images of both individual species and ecosystem assemblages reproduced here in full color—Goodman and Jungers reconstruct the lives of these lost animals and trace their relationships to those still living. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of Simeonovski’s artwork set to open at the Field Museum, Chicago, in the fall of 2014, Goodman and Jungers’s awe-inspiring book will serve not only as a sobering reminder of the very real threat of extinction, but also as a stunning tribute to Madagascar’s biodiversity and a catalyst for further research and conservation.

Meet the Megafauna 2

Author : Elaine Ouston
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780648878230
Total Pages : 24 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (782 download)

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Book Synopsis Meet the Megafauna 2 by : Elaine Ouston

Download or read book Meet the Megafauna 2 written by Elaine Ouston and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-13 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet the Megafauna introduces children to the large and unusual animals that lived in Australia before and just after humans arrived. Some of them became the animals we have now but many are now extinct.

American Serengeti

Author : Dan Flores
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 070062466X
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis American Serengeti by : Dan Flores

Download or read book American Serengeti written by Dan Flores and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-01-16 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's Great Plains once possessed one of the grandest wildlife spectacles of the world, equaled only by such places as the Serengeti, the Masai Mara, or the veld of South Africa. Pronghorn antelope, gray wolves, bison, coyotes, wild horses, and grizzly bears: less than two hundred years ago these creatures existed in such abundance that John James Audubon was moved to write, "it is impossible to describe or even conceive the vast multitudes of these animals." In a work that is at once a lyrical evocation of that lost splendor and a detailed natural history of these charismatic species of the historic Great Plains, veteran naturalist and outdoorsman Dan Flores draws a vivid portrait of each of these animals in their glory—and tells the harrowing story of what happened to them at the hands of market hunters and ranchers and ultimately a federal killing program in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Great Plains with its wildlife intact dazzled Americans and Europeans alike, prompting numerous literary tributes. American Serengeti takes its place alongside these celebratory works, showing us the grazers and predators of the plains against the vast opalescent distances, the blue mountains shimmering on the horizon, the great rippling tracts of yellowed grasslands. Far from the empty "flyover country" of recent times, this landscape is alive with a complex ecology at least 20,000 years old—a continental patrimony whose wonders may not be entirely lost, as recent efforts hold out hope of partial restoration of these historic species. Written by an author who has done breakthrough work on the histories of several of these animals—including bison, wild horses, and coyotes—American Serengeti is as rigorous in its research as it is intimate in its sense of wonder—the most deeply informed, closely observed view we have of the Great Plains' wild heritage.