Overview

Reptiles demonstrate remarkable diversity across the landscape. From inland habitats of deserts and grasslands to coastal plains and oceans, the unique adaptations and life histories of reptiles have been shaped by a suite of abiotic and biotic factors. It is the interface between the organism and its environment that present biologists with the opportunity to explore how reptiles behaviourally and physiologically respond to their environments and to determine what factors govern their ecology. This book captures the interests of all readers with a text that is foundational for the novice herpetologist, while informative for beginning students and seasoned research scientists. This book offers its readers a glimpse into the passions of scientists who find reptiles fascinating creatures of study. You will see how reptiles serve as organismal models that continue to advance our knowledge and understanding of complex biological processes and systems. Dr William I Lutterschmidt (Professor of Physiological Ecology) has invited top researchers from around the world to share their personal research interests and illustrate how environment influences the ecology, physiology, and behaviour of reptiles. This book will introduce a diversity of research fields and reptilian species, from how web-footed geckos move in desert sands to how sea snakes cope physiologically with high salinity. Topics include invasive species, urban ecology, mathematical simulation, sexual selection, hybridisation and gene flow, chemical ecology, neurobiology, spatial ecology, conservation biology, biodiversity, immunology, and molecular biology.

Full Product Details

Author:   William I Lutterschmidt
Publisher:   Nova Science Publishers Inc
Imprint:   Nova Science Publishers Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 18.00cm , Height: 3.50cm , Length: 26.00cm
Weight:   1.148kg
ISBN:  

9781628085990

ISBN 10:   1628085991
Pages:   557
Publication Date:   01 September 2013
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Foreword; Preface; Introduction; A Philosophical View of Reptiles as Animal Models: The Role of Context & the Need for Research; Life & Locomotion in a Sea of Sand: Evolution of Web-Footed Geckos of the Namib; Town & Country Lizards: Physiological Ecology of Side-Blotched Lizards across a Variable Landscape; Life on the Cliffs: The Ontogeny of Habitat Selection & Diet Shifts in Spiny-Tailed Iguanas; Reptile Species Richness & Distribution: What Can We Learn from Arid & Semiarid Environments?; Reptile Tracks: An Indicator for Identifying Areas of High Diversity in Arid Zones of Mexico; Visual & Chemical Signals of Social Communication: Providing the Link to Habitat & Environment; Adrenal Cell Secretion in the Italian Wall Lizard: Actions of Regulatory Neuropeptides; Coping with Invasive Invaders: Behavioral & Morphological Modifications of the Texas Horned Lizard; Horned Lizard Responses to Diverse Threats from Diverse Predators: Mental Constructs & Cognitive Worlds?; The Virtual Reptile: Mathematical Models & Simulations of Thermoregulatory Strategy; Social Life on the Rocks: Behavioral Diversity & Sexual Selection in Collared Lizards; Life at the Edge: The Nesting Ecology of the World's Most Northerly Oviparous Snake & its Implications for Conservation; Keeping Time in the Dark: The Neuroendocrinology of Seasonal Reproduction in Garter Snakes; From Forests to Grasslands: Life-History, Road Mortality, & Genetic Diversity of Box Turtles; Near the Water's Edge: Cottonmouth Spatial Ecology, Behavior, Cognition & Neurobiology; Crossing Higher Ground: Terrestrial Activity & Seasonal Timing of Reproduction in the Fully Aquatic Mud Snake; From Marshes to Medicine: The Role of Immunological Defense in the American Alligator; Hidden Giants: Problems Associated with Studying Secretive Invasive Pythons; Reptile Ecology, Adaptive Management & Assessment Techniques: Problems, Developments & Prospects; Reptiles as Animal Models: Examples of their Utility in Genetics, Immunology & Toxicology; Long-Term Ecological Research on America's Only Estuarine Turtle: The Diamondback Terrapin; Movement Mysteries Unveiled: Spatial Ecology of Juvenile Green Sea Turtles; A Desert in the Sea: Water Relations of Marine Snakes; Index.

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