Vertebrate Life

, by F. Harvey Pough; William N. McFarland; John B. Heiser

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ISBN: 9780023963704 | 0023963700
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 8/1/1995

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Verterbrate Life is the only book that integrates the ecology, behavior, morphology, and physiology of vertebrates in a phylogenetic context. It focuses on how animals work and the consequences--in ecological and evolutionary time--of working one way versus another.

Preface	p. xvii
Vertebrate Diversity, Function, and Evolution	p. 1
The Diversity, Classification, and Evolution of Vertebrates	p. 2
The Vertebrate Story	p. 2
Classification of Vertebrates	p. 6
Traditional and Cladistic Classifications	p. 7
Earth History and Vertebrate Evolution	p. 12
Vertebrate Relationships and Basic Structure	p. 16
Vertebrates in Relation to Other Animals	p. 16
Definition of a Vertebrate	p. 21
Basic Vertebrate Structure	p. 22
Early Vertebrates: Jawless Vertebrates and the Origin of Jawed Vertebrates	p. 47
Reconstructing the Biology of the Earliest Vertebrates	p. 47
Extant Jawless Fishes	p. 51
The Radiation of Paleozoic Jawless Vertebrates--"Ostracoderms"	p. 59
The Transition from Jawless to Jawed Vertebrates	p. 64
Extinct Paleozoic Jawed Fishes	p. 72
Aquatic Vertebrates: Cartilaginous and Bony Fishes	p. 81
Living in Water	p. 82
The Aquatic Environment	p. 82
Water and the Sensory World of Fishes	p. 89
The Internal Environment of Vertebrates	p. 96
Exchange of Water and Ions	p. 97
Responses to Temperature	p. 103
Radiation of the Chondrichthyes	p. 113
Chondrichthyes--The Cartilaginous Fishes	p. 113
Evolutionary Specializations of Chondrichthyes	p. 114
The Paleozoic Chondrichthyan Radiation	p. 114
The Early Mesozoic Elasmobranch Radiation	p. 117
The Extant Radiation--Sharks, Skates, and Rays	p. 119
Holocephali--The Bizarre Chondrichthyans	p. 128
Dominating Life in Water: The Major Radiation of Fishes	p. 131
The Appearance of Bony Fishes	p. 131
Extant Sarcopterygii--Lobe-Finned Fishes	p. 134
Extant Actinopterygii--Ray-Finned Fishes	p. 142
Actinopterygian Reproduction and Conservation	p. 153
The Adaptable Fish--Teleost Communities in Contrasting Environments	p. 157
Geography and Ecology of the Paleozoic	p. 167
Earth History, Changing Environments, and Vertebrate Evolution	p. 167
Continental Geography of the Paleozoic	p. 170
Paleozoic Climates	p. 170
Paleozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems	p. 172
Early Paleozoic Extinctions	p. 176
Terrestrial Ectotherms: Amphibians, Turtles, Lepidosaurs, and Archosaurs	p. 177
Origin and Radiation of Tetrapods and Modifications for Life on Land	p. 178
Modifications for Life on Land	p. 178
Tetrapod Origins	p. 193
Radiation and Diversity of Nonamniote Paleozoic Tetrapods	p. 201
Amniotes	p. 210
Salamanders, Anurans, and Caecilians	p. 221
Amphibians	p. 221
Diversity of Life Histories of Amphibians	p. 233
Amphibian Metamorphosis	p. 252
Exchange of Water and Gases	p. 253
Poison Glands and Other Defense Mechanisms	p. 259
Mimicry	p. 262
Why are Amphibians Vanishing?	p. 263
Turtles	p. 270
Everyone Recognizes a Turtle	p. 270
But What Is a Turtle? Phylogenetic Relationships of Turtles	p. 273
Turtle Structure and Functions	p. 274
Ecology and Behavior of Turtles	p. 280
Conservation of Turtles	p. 289
The Lepidosaurs: Tuatara, Lizards, and Snakes	p. 294
The Lepidosaurs	p. 294
Radiation of Sphenodontids and the Biology of Tuatara	p. 294
Radiation of Squamates	p. 297
Ecology and Behavior of Squamates	p. 309
Thermoregulation	p. 326
Temperature and Ecology of Squamates	p. 334
Ectothermy: A Low-Cost Approach to Life	p. 341
Vertebrates and Their Environments	p. 341
Heat--Ectotherms in Deserts	p. 344
Cold--Ectotherms in Subzero Conditions	p. 353
The Role of Ectothermal Tetrapods in Terrestrial Ecosystems	p. 356
Geograzphy and Ecology of the Mesozoic	p. 361
Mesozoic Continental Geography	p. 361
Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems	p. 363
Mesozoic Diapsids: Dinosaurs, Crocodilians, and Others	p. 367
Mesozoic Fauna	p. 367
Phylogenetic Relationships among Diapsids	p. 369
The Archosauromorpha	p. 371
Archosauria	p. 371
Dinosaurs	p. 379
The Ornithischian Dinosaurs	p. 381
The Saurischian Dinosaurs	p. 391
Dinosaur Soft Parts and Temperature Regulation	p. 399
Marine Diapsids--Placodonts, Plesiosaurs, and Ichthyosaurs	p. 401
Terrestrial Vertebrates of the Late Mesozoic	p. 402
Late Cretaceous Extinctions	p. 403
Endotherms: Birds and Mammals	p. 408
The Evolution of Birds and the Origin of Flight	p. 409
The Evolution of Endothermy	p. 409
Activity and Metabolism	p. 410
Birds as Feathered Dinosaurs	p. 410
Archaeopteryx and the Origin of Flight	p. 412
Early Birds	p. 416
Birds as Flying Machines	p. 420
Body Form and Flight	p. 432
Feeding, Digestion, and Excretion	p. 435
The Hindlimbs and Locomotion	p. 439
The Ecology and Behavior of Birds	p. 446
Birds as Model Organisms	p. 446
The Sensory Systems	p. 454
Social Behavior and Reproduction	p. 458
Imprinting and Learning	p. 473
Migration and Navigation	p. 473
The Synapsida and the Evolution of Mammals	p. 479
The Origin of Synapsids	p. 479
Diversity of Nonmammalian Synapsids	p. 482
Evolutionary Trends in Synapsids	p. 488
The First Mammals	p. 497
Geography and Ecology of the Cenozoic	p. 505
Cenozoic Continental Geography	p. 505
Cenozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems	p. 506
Cenozoic Climates	p. 509
Cenozoic Extinctions	p. 513
Mammalian Characteristics and Diversity	p. 515
Features Shared by All Mammals	p. 515
Major Lineages of Mammals	p. 528
Cenozoic Mammal Evolution	p. 541
Mammalian Specializations	p. 552
Mammalian Reproduction	p. 552
Some Extreme Eutherian Reproductive Specializations	p. 559
Are Eutherians Reproductively Superior to Marsupials?	p. 559
Specializations for Feeding	p. 561
Specializations for Locomotion	p. 570
Specializations of the Sensory Systems	p. 576
Endothermy: A High-Energy Approach to Life	p. 582
Endothermal Thermoregulation	p. 582
Energy Budgets of Vertebrates	p. 585
Endotherms in the Arctic	p. 588
Migration to Avoid Difficult Conditions	p. 591
Torpor as a Response to Low Temperatures and Limited Food	p. 593
Endotherms in Deserts	p. 598
Body Size, Ecology, and Sociality of Mammals	p. 617
Social Behavior	p. 617
Population Structure and the Distribution of Resources	p. 618
Advantages of Sociality	p. 622
Body Size, Diet, and the Structure of Social Systems	p. 623
Primate Societies	p. 632
Primate Evolution and the Emergence of Humans	p. 640
Primate Origins and Diversification	p. 640
Origin and Evolution of the Hominoidea	p. 648
Origin and Evolution of Humans	p. 653
Evolution of Human Characteristics--Bipedality, Larger Brains, and Language	p. 662
The Impact of Humans on Other Species of Vertebrates	p. 673
Humans and the Pleistocene Extinctions	p. 674
Humans and Recent Extinctions	p. 678
Organismal Biology and Conservation	p. 680
The Paradoxes of Conservation	p. 696
Glossary	p. 1
Credits	p. 1
Subject Index	p. 1
Author Index	p. 1
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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Vertebrate Life

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Table of Contents

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