Best of
Biology

1991

Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History


Stephen Jay Gould - 1991
    . . . Gould is the Stan Musial of essay writing. He can work himself into a corkscrew of ideas and improbable allusions paragraph after paragraph and then, uncoiling, hit it with such power that his fans know they are experiencing the game of essay writing at its best."--John Noble Wilford, New York Times Book Review

Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist


Adrian J. Desmond - 1991
    The authors bring to life Darwin's reckless student days in Cambridge, his epic five-year voyage on the Beagle, and his grueling struggle to develop his theory of evolution.Adrian Desmond and James Moore's gripping narrative reveals the great personal cost to Darwin of pursuing inflammatory truths—telling the whole story of how he came to his epoch-making conclusions.

The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal


Jared Diamond - 1991
    Now, faced with the threat of nuclear weapons and the effects of climate change, it seems our innate tendencies for violence and invention have led us to a crucial fork in our road. Where did these traits come from? Are they part of our species immutable destiny? Or is there hope for our species’ future if we change? With fascinating facts and his unparalleled readability, Diamond intended his book to improve the world that today’s young people will inherit. Triangle Square’s The Third Chimpanzee for Young People is a book for future generation and the future they’ll help build.

Plant Physiology


Lincoln Taiz - 1991
    Many new or revised figures and photographs, study questions and a glossary of key terms have been added.

Cellular and Molecular Immunology


Abul K. Abbas - 1991
    Readers will continue to enjoy the current, concise, and straightforward approach to the field that made previous editions so popular. They'll understand the experimental observations that underlie the science of immunology at the molecular, cellular, and whole organism level-and explore the conclusions that can be drawn from those observations.The smart way to study!Elsevier titles with STUDENT CONSULT will help you master difficult concepts and study more efficiently in print and online! Perform rapid searches. Integrate bonus content from other disciplines. Download text to your handheld device. And a lot more. Each STUDENT CONSULT title comes with full text online, a unique image library, case studies, USMLE style questions, and online note-taking to enhance your learning experience.Highlights the implications of immunologic science for the management of human disease.Features over 365 full-color illustrations that highlight important processes and concepts, and bring the three-dimensional structures of molecules to life. Offers a wealth of reader-friendly features including major concepts highlighted in bold italics - at-a-glance boxes that present specialized information and explanations of current technological approaches - a wealth of tables that summarize key information - a glossary of terms - a CD Molecule Appendix that reflects the latest properties of known CD Molecules - an appendix on immunologic laboratory techniques - and more.Includes free access to a full-text online version, a downloadable collection of full-color images, sophisticated immunologic animations, integration links to bonus content in other STUDENT CONSULT titles, content clipping for handhelds, and more - all through the STUDENT CONSULT website at www.studentconsult.com.Incorporates the newest understandings of basic science as well as the newest research findings.Includes new information on the organization of lymphoid organs and mechanisms of innate immunity.Presents enhanced, more straightforward explanations of subjects such as of antigen-presenting cells and the biology of T cell activation.

Beyond The Human Condition


Jeremy Griffith - 1991
    Tim Macartney-Snape AM, who says of the book `Griffith's explanations have clarified so much that was inexplicable about myself and what goes on in the world. It is like having mist lift from country you've never seen in clear weather. This book could well have as much impact on humanity as the Bible.' It examines issues such as science & religion, politics and psychiatry.Beyond The Human Condition received many reviews, reproduced below: ‘[Griffith] gives us a genuinely original and inspiring way of understanding ourselves and our place in the universe.’The late Professor Charles Birch, Templeton-prize winner and world-renowned biologist________________________________________‘Mr. Griffith makes several original claims in the book, and advances a thought-provoking hypothesis about the origins of human angst from the process of empathy-related indoctrination and learning that is unique and interesting…Mr. Griffith’s book is provocative and well-written, and surfaces a large number of important issues in an intelligent manner. His project is important to think about, and while there are some things to debate from a scientific and philosophical perspective in his book Beyond The Human Condition, there is also much that would be considered true by members of the relevant scientific disciplines.’ Dr William Casebeer, Cognitive scientist and philosopher; USAF, Chief of Eurasian Intelligence Analysis, NATO Military Headquarters________________________________________‘Beyond…contains an interesting and thoughtful combination of materials and I hope it will be successful and widely read.’Professor Adrienne Zihlman, Professor of Anthropology at UCLA Santa Cruz________________________________________‘Mr. Griffith’s work is important and significant to my field of psychiatry. I also consider that it is of significance to all of science. In my view, it explains the nature of “The Human Condition”.The first two books I read, 'Free' and 'Beyond', are amazing platforms which describe the basic findings made and explanations put forward, by Mr Griffith. Mr Griffith’s subsequent writings do not change in basic concept but we see increasing elaboration, background and opportunity scientifically to understand the Human Condition and ameliorate it. These writings in many ways further basic evolutionary concepts and thus are seen by some as controversial, but the majority of scientists, anthropologists and sociologists whom I know to have considered these works have become very excited and perhaps had their own thinking take a leap forward as they have read and re-read Mr Griffith’s work. Even the nay-sayers, in my view, have not been able to put forward evidence which refutes Mr Griffith’s ideas in a scientific way. The persons who have taken negative views of Mr. Griffith’s notions are not to be belittled, but in no criticism that I have seen is there a truly scientific rebuttal. In my opinion, the scientific validity of Mr Griffith’s work is supported in every way possible, from archaeology, primatology, genetics and evolutionary facts.’ Professor Prosen concluded that ‘In my opinion, Mr Griffith’s work, including 'Beyond', is of the highest scientific merit.’ Professor Harry Prosen, former President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association; Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin________________________________________‘Griffith’s explanations have clarified so much that was inexplicable about myself and what goes on in the world. It is like having mist lift from country you’ve never seen in clear weather. This book could well have as much impact on humanity as the Bible.’Tim Macartney-Snape, twice-honoured Order of Australia recipient, world renowned mountaineer, biologist, author and a founding director of the WTM/FHA________________________________________I too have always been puzzled by the innate cruelty that seems to be incorporated in much of human nature, particularly in our dealings with the other creatures of the earth. I commend you for probing this phenomenon.’Daphne Sheldrick, renowned African conservationist and founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi ________________________________________‘Your book is certainly thought-provoking and will no doubt be the subject of much debate within the scientific and general communities. My congratulations.’R. J. L. Hawke, the then, Prime Minister of Australia________________________________________‘…the line of reasoning in 'Beyond the Human Condition' is exactly continuous…[Jeremy Griffith] accurately accounts for data from the fossil record...from the behavioral ecology of living primates (especially great ape behavior), and from comparative anatomy…I am able to relate his arguments to my own understanding of the issues he raises. His focus on the evolution of consciousness is a central theme in evolutionary anthropology. His attempts to explain the evolution of bipedality, matriarchal social systems, comparative primate life histories (how long is infancy, childhood, adolescence, etc) draw from established and central references on these topics in the professional literature (such as the publications of Adolph Schultz, Roger Lewin, Adrienne Zihlman, Frances White, Randall Susman and Diane Fossey).’Professor Walter Hartwig, Associate Professor and Chair of Department of Basic Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Touro University, California________________________________________‘On 29 Sept 1992, Jeremy Griffith presented his new book, 'Beyond The Human Condition', at a special Kenya Museum Society lecture. Once in a long while you come across an “aha” book. Every few pages of Jeremy Griffith’s biological synthesis of human behaviour stretching back millions of years, I found myself, a scientific layman, saying, “aha, that makes sense!"'Doug Rigby, Swara, East African Wildlife Society magazine________________________________________‘I’ve looked at your book but I’m unable to review it because its subject is too daunting.’Journalist Jane Frazer, in 1991 after she had been asked to review Jeremy Griffith’s book by her literary editor at The Australian newspaper________________________________________‘He has been hailed as a prophet. His theories reconcile science and religion, idealism and realism, good and evil, holism and mechanism, instinct and intellect…His book Beyond The Human Condition…quotes freely from the Bible, Sir Laurens van der Post, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Richard Leakey, Bob Dylan, Eugene Marais, Einstein, Olive Schreiner and Dian Fossey, along with a host of other sources. It also draws on practical anthropological and zoological studies to explain our self-destructive behaviour…Despite the biblical illustrations, Griffith’s philosophy is free from religious cant. It explains how the Green and New Age movements contain portions of the truth, and offers rational and logical answers. Chanting mantras or the wearing of saffron robes is not required… A final analogy—fitting when Griffith is a former rugby player who once made the Wallaby trials—is that for the last two million years mankind has been playing a ferocious football game with no purpose, rules or result. Many of us are so exhausted and embattled from being at the bottom of the scrum that we have lost our ideals. Now Griffith is offering to blow the final whistle and send us to the showers.’ Journalist Rowan Dodds, The New Zealand Herald newspaper________________________________________‘The closer we get to the edge of existence the more we appear to need to explain where we have been—presumably in the hope it will show us where we are going. Out of the horror have emerged seers and philosophers offering solace to anyone tormented by the idea that the world has become too complex for us to deal with. Many of these are charlatans …Fortunately, there are also some thinkers of such stature that their thoughts may genuinely change the way of the world. With his new book Jeremy Griffith is seeking to join these ranks…like many significant works, it [Beyond] prompts responses from the reader like “why didn’t I think of that?”…It is a bold and inspiring work.’ Journalist Mark Thornton, The West Australian newspaper________________________________________‘Mr Griffith’s work is extraordinarily insightful and I am quite pleased to have the benefit of his wisdom.’James Balog, an award-winning photographer for National Geographic magazine

Chasing the Dragon's Tail: The Struggle to Save Thailand's Wild Cats


Alan Rabinowitz - 1991
    It was hoped his research would help protect the many species that live in that fragile reserve, which was being slowly depleted by poachers, drug traffickers, and even the native tribes of the area. Chasing the Dragon's Tail is the remarkable story of Rabinowitz's life and adventures in the forest as well as the streets of Bangkok, as he works to protect Thailand's threatened wildlife.Based on Rabinowitz's field journals, the book offers an intimate and moving look at a modern zoologist's life in the field. As he fights floods, fire-ant infestations, elephant stampedes, and a request to marry the daughter of a tribal chief, the difficulties that come with the demanding job of species conservation are dramatically brought to life. First published in 1991, this edition of Chasing the Dragon's Tail includes a new afterword by the author that brings the story up to date, describing the surprising strides Thailand has made recently in conservation.Other titles by Alan Rabinowitz include Beyond the Last Village and Jaguar.

Introduction to Protein Structure


Carl Branden - 1991
    The first few chapters introduce the general principles of protein structure both for novices and for non-specialists needing a primer. Subsequent chapters use specific examples of proteins to show how they fulfill a wide variety of biological functions. The book ends with chapters on the experimental approach to determining and predicting protein structure, as well as engineering new proteins to modify their functions.

Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition


Merlin Donald - 1991
    This bold and brilliant book asks the ultimate question of the life sciences: How did the human mind acquire its incomparable power? In seeking the answer, Merlin Donald traces the evolution of human culture and cognition from primitive apes to artificial intelligence, presenting an enterprising and original theory of how the human mind evolved from its presymbolic form.

The Neuron: Cell and Molecular Biology


Irwin B. Levitan - 1991
    The first part of the book covers the properties of the many ion channels that shape the way a single neuron generates varied patterns of electrical activity, as well as the molecular mechanisms that convert electrical activity into the secretion of neurotransmitter hormones at synaptic junctions between neurons. The second part covers the biochemical pathways that are linked to the action of neurotransmitters and can alter the cellular properties of neurons or sensory cells that transduce information from the outside world into the electrical code used by neurons. The final section reviews our rapidly expanding knowledge of the molecular factors that induce an undifferentiated cell to become a neuron, and then guide it to form appropriate synaptic connections with its partners. This section also focuses on the role of ongoing experience and activity in shaping these connections, and finishes with an account of mechanisms thought to underlie the phenomena of learning and memory.

Plant Form: An Illustrated Guide to Flowering Plant Morphology


Adrian D. Bell - 1991
    An understanding of plant form-plant morphology-is essential to appreciating the wonders of the plant world and to the study of botany and horticulture at every level. In this ingeniously designed volume, the complex subject becomes both accessible and manageable. The first part of the book describes and clearly illustrates the major plant structures that can be seen with the naked eye or a hand lens: leaf, root, stem, reproductive organs, and seedlings; special sections focus on vegetative propagation, and the morphology of grasses, orchids, and cacti. However, plants are dynamic organisms, constantly growing, changing, and becoming more elaborate, and understanding the development of a plant or plant part is as important as describing its final form. Part II focuses on how plants grow: bud development, the growth of reproductive organs, leaf arrangement, branching patterns, and the accumulation and loss of structures. This classic book, now revised and expanded to include the latest information on plant morphology, more than 1000 exquisite line drawings including 119 that are new to this edition, and nearly twice as many photographs as the previous edition, is remarkable for its user-friendly organization, high-quality illustrations, and extensive cross-referencing. Aimed at students of botany and horticulture, enthusiastic gardeners and amateur naturalists, it functions as an illustrated dictionary, a basic course in plant morphology, and an intriguing and enlightening book to dip into.

Marine Biology


Peter Castro - 1991
    This introductory, one-semester text is designed for non-majors.

Dinosaur!


David Norman - 1991
    "From cover to cover, this openly invites the reader to discover the delights of dinosaurs. The visual appeal is impressive. The text is informative. Fossilization, skeleton reconstruction, and a superb time scale round out a stunning and compelling book. Complete, authoritative, exact, and imaginative, it is sure to survive when other dinosaur books become extinct."--(starred) "Science Books & Films."

Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck?


David M. Raup - 1991
    Using this example as a springboard, David M. Raup leaps into an egaging discussion of the theories, assumptions, and difficulties associated with the science of species extinction. Woven is along the way are stories of the trilobite eye, tropical reefs, flying reptiles, and the fate of the heath hen on Martha's Vineyard, a very modern extinction.

One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought


Ernst W. Mayr - 1991
    Its effects on our view of life have been wide and deep. One of the most world-shaking books ever published, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, first appeared in print over 130 years ago, and it touched off a debate that rages to this day.Every modern evolutionist turns to Darwin's work again and again. Current controversies in the life sciences very often have as their starting point some vagueness in Darwin's writings or some question Darwin was unable to answer owing to the insufficient biological knowledge available during his time. Despite the intense study of Darwin's life and work, however, many of us cannot explain his theories (he had several separate ones) and the evidence and reasoning behind them, nor do we appreciate the modifications of the Darwinian paradigm that have kept it viable throughout the twentieth century.Who could elucidate the subtleties of Darwin's thought and that of his contemporaries and intellectual heirs--A. R. Wallace, T. H. Huxley, August Weismann, Asa Gray--better than Ernst Mayr, a man considered by many to be the greatest evolutionist of the century? In this gem of historical scholarship, Mayr has achieved a remarkable distillation of Charles Darwin's scientific thought and his enormous legacy to twentieth-century biology. Here we have an accessible account of the revolutionary ideas that Darwin thrust upon the world. Describing his treatise as "one long argument," Darwin definitively refuted the belief in the divine creation of each individual species, establishing in its place the concept that all of life descended from a common ancestor. He proposed the idea that humans were not the special products of creation but evolved according to principles that operate everywhere else in the living world; he upset current notions of a perfectly designed, benign natural world and substituted in their place the concept of a struggle for survival; and he introduced probability, chance, and uniqueness into scientific discourse.This is an important book for students, biologists, and general readers interested in the history of ideas--especially ideas that have radically altered our worldview. Here is a book by a grand master that spells out in simple terms the historical issues and presents the controversies in a manner that makes them understandable from a modern perspective.

Great Cats


John Seidensticker - 1991
    A global look at all 37 species--including tigers, pumas, lions, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, snow leopards, and bobcats. The work of 40 experts from around the world, this knowledgeable text discusses how the cats live, socialize, breed, eat, and more. Over 200 color illustrations.

The Great Auk


Allan W. Eckert - 1991
    He is destined to be long remembered by whoever reads about his life. His is a great auk.The great auks were the only flightless species of North Atlantic bird. Their tiny wings were not capable of raising their large bodies into the air. Yet these ridiculous flipper-like appendages—pumping in perfect harmony with the vast splayed feet with their tough rubbery webbing—could propel the birds on or beneath the billowing ocean surface faster than six strong men could row a boat. When standing upright, the great auks resembled penguins.These noble birds have been extinct for more than one hundred years, but they live again in this amazing novel that follows them and their last leader from their North Atlantic summer mating grounds on Eldey Island south top the Carolinas. On the island and along three-thousand-mile migration route lurk many perils—storms, killer whales, fishhooks, scientists, and the "terrible tune of swishthump" that marks the onslaught of profiteering hunters with their murderous clubs. Before the story is finished, we witness the growth of the young great auk from the dramatic moment of hatching, into his adventures as a timorous fledgling, until the time when he himself becomes the monarch of hi dwindling flock. As the seven remaining birds begin their return to Eldey Island, the reader fears what he knows is inevitable, that these great auks are the last, that there will be no more. Such is the power of Allan Eckert's novel and its remarkable characters.

Key Guide to Australian Mammals


Leonard Cronin - 1991
    This book, the third in the Cronin's Key Guide series, is packed with information about the behavior, development, food, and habitat of Australia's remarkable mammals. Each entry fully describes a species and its way of life; it even includes clues for finding certain obscure, often nocturnal, creatures by the telltale traces they leave behind. Colorfully illustrated throughout with detailed artwork and with maps showing where each animal occurs, this is a handy family reference or a perfectguide for the bushwalker or traveler.

Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates


James H. Thorp - 1991
    Each chapter contains ecological and morphological information and a key to genera (or family, for insects). The text has been aimed at researchers, upper-undergraduates and graduate students. The book also includes information on taxa distributed in Canada.

Emotion and Adaptation


Richard S. Lazarus - 1991
    The text should appeal to both advanced students and professional psychologists working in personality, social and clinical psychology, as well as in cognitive and developmental psychology. The work may also be used as a supplementary textbook in courses on the psychology of adjustment and the psychology of emotion and feeling.

Life Itself: A Comprehensive Inquiry Into the Nature, Origin, and Fabrication of Life


Robert Rosen - 1991
    The answers to this question would allow humanity to make an enormous leap forward in our understanding of the principles at work in our world.For centuries, it was believed that the only scientific approach to the question "What is life?" must proceed from the Cartesian metaphor (organism as machine). Classical approaches in science, which also borrow heavily from Newtonian mechanics, are based on a process called "reductionism." The thinking was that we can better learn about an intricate, complicated system (like an organism) if we take it apart, study the components, and then reconstruct the system-thereby gaining an understanding of the whole.However, Rosen argues that reductionism does not work in biology and ignores the complexity of organisms. Life Itself, a landmark work, represents the scientific and intellectual journey that led Rosen to question reductionism and develop new scientific approaches to understanding the nature of life. Ultimately, Rosen proposes an answer to the original question about the causal basis of life in organisms. He asserts that renouncing the mechanistic and reductionistic paradigm does not mean abandoning science. Instead, Rosen offers an alternate paradigm for science that takes into account the relational impacts of organization in natural systems and is based on organized matter rather than on particulate matter alone.Central to Rosen's work is the idea of a "complex system," defined as any system that cannot be fully understood by reducing it to its parts. In this sense, complexity refers to the causal impact of organization on the system as a whole. Since both the atom and the organism can be seen to fit that description, Rosen asserts that complex organization is a general feature not just of the biosphere on Earth-but of the universe itself.

Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality


Lynn Margulis - 1991
    A universally appealing subject presented with clarity, creativity, and conviction.--Booklist. Lynn Margulis is a leading evolutonary biologist and Sagan is a writer.

Human Body (DK Visual Dictionaries)


Bryn Walls - 1991
    The photographs are outstanding.... The brief text compresses many details into a few sentences, The vocabulary is scholarly...and charts combined with the text give a clear overview of the subject s]". -- RQCome explore the human body from the inside out! This visual dictionary looks at the inner workings of human anatomy including cells, organs, the skeleton, the brain, and much more. Open these pages and find:Over 200 outstanding original photographs and graphic illustrations.Exploded views and cutaway photographs that reveal even the tiniest parts of human anatomy.A fascinating new kind of dictionary that can be used by the entire family.Concise text and carefully researched definitions that are user-friendly for people of all ages.Instant access to a 3,000-word specialist vocabulary.

The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia


Louis Glowinski - 1991
    By learning which plants to plant near each other, you can increase the productivity of your garden, improve plant health, reduce pests and disease and condition the soil. There are useful chapters on designing, composting, mulching and homemade liquid plant-foods, and a host of gardening tips.

California's Changing Landscapes: Diversity and Conservation of California Vegetation


California Native Plant Society - 1991
    Enjoy a wide range of high quality drawings and beautiful color and black-and-white photographs of California's plants and landscapes. Learn the history of how California's vegetation has changed due to human activities over the past two centuries. Travel from seaside to the Eastern Sierra, observing the interaction of groups of plants species as they form communities. Discover how plants were used by native Californians in pre-European times. See three possible futures fo California's plant cover, including successful examples of plant restoration.

A Dictionary of Zoology


Michael Allaby - 1991
    Allaby covers all aspects of the study of animals in more than 5,250 clearly written entries--many new to this edition, including alarm pheromone, Fick's laws, manometer, and synanthrope. Illustrated with many line drawings, the book defines terms from animal behavior, evolution, earth history, zoogeography, genetics, and physiology, provides full taxonomic coverage of arthropods and other invertebrates, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, and introduces new material on behavioral ecology and conservation biology. In many entries, he recommends web links, which are kept up to date through the Dictionary of Zoology's companion website. Finally, the book includes detailed appendices covering the universal genetic code, endangered animals, the geologic time scale, and SI units. An invaluable dictionary for students of zoology and the related fields of biological and biomedical sciences, A Dictionary of Zoology is also ideal for amateur naturalists and anyone with an interest in animals.

Fossils: The Evolution and Extinction of Species


Niles Eldredge - 1991
    This rhythm of life--a concept developed by Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould known as punctuated equilibria in evolution-- is revealed by the fossilized remains of the earth's ancient flora and fauna. Distinguished photographer Murray Alcosser augments Eldredge's text with 160 luminous color plates illustrating more than 250 different fossil specimens. In this new paperback edition, Fossils becomes an accessible text with appeal to a broad audience, including natural history readers and students.

Gray's Anatomy: A Fact Filled Coloring Book


Freddy Stark - 1991
    Each book features a ready-to-color 17" x 22" poster to hang on the wall.Embark on a voyage of discovery through the human body, based on the classic work by Henry Gray. Children and adults will enjoy learning about the various systems of the body and their particular functions. Then they can get creative, coloring in the detailed illustrations of those systems.

The Algorithmic Beauty of Sea Shells


Hans Meinhardt - 1991
    This fascinating and beautifully illustrated book conveys the intuitive appeal and the "touch of magic" that accompany the current research. A diskette, packaged with the book, contains the algorithms and simulations necessary to replicate the results. 150 illustrations.

Chemical Evolution: Origins of the Elements, Molecules, and Living Systems


Stephen F. Mason - 1991
    It relates the history of chemicals, from the earliest generation of the light elements in the Big Bang, to their transformation into heavier atoms and their subsequent molecular evolution intomyriad forms, including life on Earth. Spanning both organic and inorganic chemical combinations, the survey thus covers billions of years and involves evidence coming from the analysis of long-extinct as well as ongoing processes. The techniques used in this fascinating study are also described.They include the analysis of many sources: isotopes from ancient nuclear reactions and still-active radionuclides; molecules from space--frozen in meteorites or continuously generated in vast interstellar clouds; and the detritus of volcanic and geochemical activity. This is also the story of theorigin of life, which can be biochemically detected through the modern descendants of early microbial life-forms and from laboratory experiments in prebiotic chemistry. The author also describes the history of ideas in the study of chemistry and the development of modern theories on chemicalevolution. This is a highly readable account of central issues and ideas in modern science that will be read with absorbing interest by a wide range of students, researchers, and general readers.

Crane Music: A Natural History of American Cranes


Paul A. Johnsgard - 1991
    The sandhill, most often seen, is within easy reach of bird-watchers in the center of the continent. Less visible is the whooping crane, struggling back from near extinction. Paul Johnsgard follows these elegant birds through a year’s cycle, describing their seasonal migrations, natural habitats, breeding biology, call patterns—angelic to the bird-lover’s ear—and fascinating dancing.The largest and most spectacular migratory concentration of cranes happens each spring when the Platte River valley becomes the staging ground for an amazing gathering of four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand sandhills en route from the South to the Arctic tundra. Johnsgard describes this incredible event as well as memorable personal encounters with the cranes. His knowledge of them transcends natural history, covering their importance in religion and mythology.

Bioprocess Engineering: Basic Concepts


Michael L. Shuler - 1991
    It introduces techniques with wide applicability in pharmaceuticals, biologics, medicine, environmental engineering, and beyond.

Artificial Life II


Christopher G. Langton - 1991
    In addition to uncovering new ways to study life as we know it, a life extends research to the larger domain of life as it could be, whatever it might be made of and wherever it might be found in the universe.This proceedings volume, based on the second artificial life workshop held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1990, reflects the evolution and horizons of this rich field of study, and builds on the proceedings of the seminal first workshop, held at Los Alamos in 1987 (also available from Addison Wesley). This compendium includes more than 30 papers spanning the spectrum of a-life research, from studies of the origin of life to models of complex systems.

Radiobiology for the Radiologist


Eric J. Hall - 1991
    Written by practicing, active radiobiologists, the book brings together basic laboratory research and practical, clinical applications. The easy-to-read text and informative illustrations ensure comprehension, and summaries at the end of each chapter facilitate quick review.The first section covers topics applicable to diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, and radiation oncology; the second section offers material specifically for radiation oncologists. This edition includes new material about doses and risks in interventional radiology and cardiology.

Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach


John R. Krebs - 1991
    A completely new set of contributions has been brought together once more to take account of the many exciting new developments in the field. Each chapter presents a balanced view of the subject, integrating a clear exposition of the theory with a critical discussion of how predictions have been tested by experiments and comparative studies. In addition, the book points to unreconciled issues and possible future developments. Edited by two of the most highly regarded experts in the field, this new volume contains contributions from an international authorship and continues the tradition of clarity and accessibility established by the three previous editions. The latest edition of a classic in behavioural ecology.Divided into three sections: Mechanisms and Individual Behaviour, From Individual Behaviour to Social Systems, and Life Histories, Phylogenies and Populations.Contributions from the world's leading researchers.

Laboratory Manual to Accompany Introductory Plant Biology


Kingsley R. Stern - 1991
    It includes sufficient information for some shorter introductory botany courses open to both majors and nonmajors, and is arranged so that certain sections can be omitted without disrupting the overall continuity of the course. Stern emphasizes current interests without giving short shrift to botanical principles.

Wildflowers Along the Alaska Highway


Verna E. Pratt - 1991
    AK.This book is arranged by color and has color bars on the edges of pages.

The Development and Evolution of Butterfly Wing Patterns


H. Frederik Nijhout - 1991
    Integrating the results of comparative morphology, experiments on pattern development, the genetics of color patterns, and theoretical modeling of pattern formation, Nijhout shows that the enormous diversity of natural patterns arises largely from quantitative variations in a small set of readily understandable generating rules.

Earth Lines: Poems For The Green Age


Pat Moon - 1991
    The author's poems celebrate Earth and reflect a concern for its survival in an age of pollution.

Life as a Geological Force: Dynamics of the Earth


Peter Westbroek - 1991
    Since that time, the sciences have specialized into physics, chemistry, biology and geology - specialization that has brought advances, but has unfortunately obscured our view of the unique role that life and death play on our planet.

Living Fossil: The Story of the Coelacanth


Keith S. Thomson - 1991
    It was a coelacanth, which thrived concurrently with dinosaurs and pterodactyls—an animal of major importance to those who study the history of vertebrate life.Living Fossil describes the life and habitat of the coelcanth and what scientists have learned about it during fifty years of research. It is an exciting and very human story, filled with ambitious and brilliant people, that reveals much about the practice of modern science.

Rehabilitation Specialist's Handbook


Jules M. Rothstein - 1991
    ...an amazing volume of useful information. Just browsing through it can be a fascinating pastime and educational experience.--Advance for Physical Therapists and PT Assistants, review of 2nd Edition