Best of
Biology

1981

Principles of Neural Science


Eric R. Kandel - 1981
    It discusses neuroanatomy, cell and molecular mechanisms and signaling through a cognitive approach to behaviour. It features an expanded treatment of the nervous system, neurological and psychiatric diseases and perception.

After Man: A Zoology of the Future


Dougal Dixon - 1981
    Looking 50 million years into the future, this text explores the possible development or extinction of the animal world through the eyes of the time-traveller.

Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind


Donald C. Johanson - 1981
    Bursting with all the suspense and intrigue of a fast paced adventure novel, here is Johanson’s lively account of the extraordinary discovery of “Lucy.” By expounding the controversial change Lucy makes in our view of human origins, Johanson provides a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of the history of pealeoanthropology and the colorful, eccentric characters who were and are a part of it. Never before have the mystery and intricacy of our origins been so clearly and compellingly explained as in this astonighing and dramatic book.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies


Robert Michael Pyle - 1981
    It features a durable vinyl biding, color plates visually arranged by shape and color, and thumb-tab silhouettes for quick and easy identification of butterflies in the field. The species account for each butterfly provides measurements, descriptions of each stage of the life cycle, and information on coloring or distinguishing markings, flight period, habitat, and range.

An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology


Nicholas B. Davies - 1981
    In this edition, new examples are introduced throughout, many illustrated with full color photographs. In addition, important new topics are added including the latest techniques of comparative analysis, the theory and application of DNA fingerprinting techniques, extensive new discussion on brood parasite/host coevolution, the latest ideas on sexual selection in relation to disease resistance, and a new section on the intentionality of communication. Written in the lucid style for which these two authors are renowned, the text is enhanced by boxed sections illustrating important concepts and new marginal notes that guide the reader through the text. This book will be essential reading for students taking courses in behavioral ecology. The leading introductory text from the two most prominent workers in the field. Second colour in the text. New section of four colour plates. Boxed sections to ilustrate difficult and important points. New larger format with marginal notes to guide the reader through the text. Selected further reading at the end of each chapter.

A New View of a Woman's Body


The Federation of Feminist Women's Health Centers - 1981
    Presents clear, detailed descriptions of vaginal and breast self examination, the complete anatomy of the clitoris, common infections, lab tests, fertility detection, donor insemination, birth control, menstrual extraction, abortion care, surgical procedures and home remedies. Beautiful illustrations by Suzann Gage.

Bodybuilding, the Weider Approach


Joe Weider - 1981
    Everything the bodybuilder needs to know, from the basics to the fine points.

A New Science of Life: The Hypothesis of Morphic Resonance


Rupert Sheldrake - 1981
    For instance, when laboratory rats have learned a new maze, rats elsewhere seem to learn it more easily. Rupert Sheldrake describes this process as morphic resonance, in which the forms and behaviours of the past shape living organisms in the present.

The Education of Koko


Francine Patterson - 1981
    

Field Guide To The Trees And Shrubs Of Britain (Nature Lover's Library)


Reader's Digest Association - 1981
    This illustrated handbook contains sections on forest and botanic gardens, forest parks and estates.

The Woman That Never Evolved


Sarah Blaffer Hrdy - 1981
    Surprising to those feminists who mistakenly think that biology can only work against women. And surprising to those biologists who incorrectly believe that natural selection operates only on males.In The Woman That Never Evolved we are introduced to our nearest female relatives competitive, independent, sexually assertive primates who have every bit as much at stake in the evolutionary game as their male counterparts do. These females compete among themselves for rank and resources, but will bond together for mutual defense. They risk their lives to protect their young, yet consort with the very male who murdered their offspring when successful reproduction depends upon it. They tolerate other breeding females if food is plentiful, but chase them away when monogamy is the optimal strategy. When promiscuity is an advantage, female primates--like their human cousins--exhibit a sexual appetite that ensures a range of breeding partners. From case after case we are led to the conclusion that the sexually passive, noncompetitive, all-nurturing woman of prevailing myth never could have evolved within the primate order.Yet males are almost universally dominant over females in primate species, and Homo sapiens is no exception. As we see from this book, women are in some ways the most oppressed of all female primates. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy is convinced that to redress sexual inequality in human societies, we must first understand its evolutionary origins. We cannot travel back in time to meet our own remote ancestors, but we can study those surrogates we have--the other living primates. If women --and not biology--are to control their own destiny, they must understand the past and, as this book shows us, the biological legacy they have inherited.

Incredible Life: A Handbook of Biological Mysteries


William R. Corliss - 1981
    

A Natural History of Raccoons


Dorcas MacClintock - 1981
    Topics covered include: behavioral characteristics (curiosity, raccoons in motion, winter denning); feeding habits, controlling their numbers (disease, parasites and predators); mating, and cubs; and habitat requirements. The book includes a chapter on caring for raccoons, which will be especially helpful for those who - like the author - have been called upon to nurture orphaned raccoon cubs. Raccoons are ecologic opportunists of the first order, living in forest, marsh and coastal environments, and forever exploring new habitats in suburb and city. Many people who have only occasionally glimpsed these predominantly nocturnal creatures will welcome this opportunity to become more familiar with them. Dorcas MacClintock is a mammalogist who is currently a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences and a Curatorial Affiliate at Yale Peabody Museum. She is on familiar terms with raccoons, having reared a number of orphaned cubs. J. Sharkey Thomas's sensitive interpretations of wildlife are familiar to animal lovers throughout North America. Two solo exhibitions of her art in New York City have established a widening circle of collectors. "Delightful, painstakingly researched work that introduces the reader to just about every aspect of the structure, habits and life history of the raccoon. Packed with information. While the treatment is thoroughly scientific, the brisk writing style makes for easy, enjoyable reading. Illustrated with many truly exquisite sketches. A fine book." The Conservationist "MacClintock supplies here just about everything you could think to ask about raccoons. Thoroughly informative and smoothly integrated." Kirkus Reviews "A sprightly and detailed study of the appealing animal. The many drawings here are striking." Booklist "Informative and charmingly illustrated." Country Journal

Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process,


Charles J. Lumsden - 1981
    Charles Lumsden and Edward O. Wilson thereby argue compellingly that human nature is neither arbitrary nor predetermined. They identify mechanisms that energize the upward translation from genes to culture and assess the properties of genetic evolution of mind within emergent cultural patterns." Lumsden and Wilson explore the rich and sophisticated data of developmental psychology and cognitive science in a fashion that, for the first time, aligns these disciplines with human sociobiology. The authors also draw on population genetics, cultural anthropology, and mathematical physics to set human sociobiology on a predictive base, and so trace the main steps that lead from the genes through human consciousness to culture.

The Natural Sciences Know Nothing of Evolution


A.E. Wilder-Smith - 1981
    But proof exists to dispute that theory as a hoax. Dr. Wilder-Smith gives one proof after another disputing the evolutionary philosophy of life. Every theory surrounding evolution is discussed and examined in length, and then compared with the undisputed truth that we are all created by God.

The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor


Walter Auffenberg - 1981
    

Mechanistic & Nonmechanistic Science: An Investigation into the Nature of Consciousness & Form


Richard L. Thompson - 1981
    Thompson shows how physics is incapable of dealing with the phenomenon of consciousness and how biology is unable to account for the existence of complex living forms. Arguing that valid scientific theory does not have to be mechanistic, the author outlines a nonmechanistic science and rounds out the human quest for understanding.

Symbiosis in Cell Evolution


Lynn Margulis - 1981
    The author offers insights into the genetic and metabolic interactions of the bacterial comunities that became protocists. Among these diverse organisms, the earliest eukaryotes, including some that are fossilized in the Proterozoic record, are those that then evolved to become animals, plants and fungi. The book presents a perspective on evolution during the Archaen and Proterozoic eons of pre-Phanerozoic time, with consequences for taxonomy. A single dipartite phylogenetic tree includes all major groups of organisms.

Biomechanics: Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues


Y.C. Fung - 1981
    My three-volume set of Bio- mechanics has been completed. They are entitled: Biomechanics: Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues; Biodynamics: Circulation; and Biomechanics: Motion, Flow, Stress, and Growth; and this is the first volume. The mechanics prerequisite for all three volumes remains at the level of my book A First Course in Continuum Mechanics (3rd edition, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1993). In the decade of the 1980s the field of Biomechanics expanded tremen- dously. New advances have been made in all fronts. Those that affect the basic understanding of the mechanical properties of living tissues are described in detail in this revision. The references are brought up to date.

National Geographic Book of Mammals


National Geographic Society - 1981
    -- A complete family reference guide with more than 850 photosThis acclaimed book is filled with marvelous photographs of over 500 animals in their natural habitat.

A Field Guide To Pacific States Wildflowers: Field Marks Of Species Found In Washington, Oregon, California, And Adjacent Areas: A Visual Approach Arranged By Color, Form, And Detail


Theodore Niehaus - 1981
    Grouped by color, each species description includes field marks, size, habitat, range, flowering season, and common and scientific names.

The Liberation of Life: From the Cell to the Community


Charles Birch - 1981
    It falls into a tradition of writings about human problems from a perspective informed by biology. It rejects the mechanistic model of life dominant in the Western world and develops an alternative ‘ecological model’ which is applicable to the life of the cell and the life of the human community. For the first time it brings together in one work the insights of modern biology with those of a modern holistic philosophy and a liberal theology in a way which challenges conventional approaches to science, agriculture, sociology, politics, economics, development and liberation movements.

All about Perennials


A. Cort Sinnes - 1981
    There are tips on designing perennial borders, coordinating colors and flower seasons, and choosing the best perennials. The encyclopedia contains complete information on the choicest perennials.