Marine Mammals: Biology and Conservation [Paperback]

Peter G.H. Evans (Editor), Juan Antonio Raga (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0306465736 | ISBN-13: 978-0306465734 | Edition: 1

The field of marine mammal science has made enormous strides in the last ten years as well as attracting a large amount of interest, due no doubt to the public appeal of whales, dolphins, and seals, which are never out of media attention. The purpose of this book is to review key topics through chapters on the major disciplines from invited authorities around the world. Subjects covered include evolution and genetics, life histories, ecology, physiology, behaviour, medicine (diseases, parasitology), survey methodology, and all the main conservation issues (pollution, fisheries interactions, and sound disturbance). The book has an ecological and conservation emphasis since these are subject areas calling for the most attention in the modern world, but other areas such as evolution, physiology, and medicine are also given in-depth treatment. The book is written at the level of the undergraduate or above, although its style should appeal to anyone with a serious interest in marine mammal science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: 'This book is simply an outstanding read regarding the evolution, ecology, behaviour, health, and conservation of marine mammalsI highly recommend this book to graduate students.' Douglas P. DeMaster, National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, WA `If you are interested in marine mammals this book will certainly be a very useful addition to your library.' Helene Marsh, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia 'The book is generally of a high editorial standard. I intend to recommend the book as background reading for my course and to use some chapters as the basis for restructuring some of my lectures. For example, I was particularly impressed by Martin Hall and Greg Donovan's chapter entitled "Environmentalists, fisherman, cetaceans and fish: [ If you are interested in marine mammals this book will certainly be a very useful addition to your library.' Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, August (2002) "This text is aimed primarily at advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying marine mammal science. The focus is on evolution, ecology, behavior, and marine mammal health and conservation, with an emphasis on the applied aspects of research. This makes the book valuable for those working on the conversation problems facing marine mammals. … this book is an excellent resource for marine mammal specialists." (Northeastern Naturalist, Vol. 12 (4), 2005)

Product Details

• Paperback: 626 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306465736
• ISBN-13: 978-0306465734
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,013,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from Marine Mammal Science, Vol. 18, No. 4, 2002, December 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Marine Mammals: Biology and Conservation (Paperback)

"Let's cut to the chase, this book is simply an outstanding read regarding the evolution, behavior, health, and conservation of marine mammals... the following five topics are covered in a very complete fashion: (1) life history and ecology; (2) sensory systems; (3) survey and study techniques; (4) health, parasites, and pathogens; and (5) conservation and management. No one of these sections in necessarily better than the other, as they are all provide excellent summaries of the available literature. The text is written in a style appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. One of the things I found particularly appealing about the book is that the editors clearly emphasized to each of the contributing authors that they should include some of the cutting edge questions, where future research needs to be directed to move the various fields forward. Therefore, the text is replete with ideas and suggestions for Masters and Ph.D. level research. In addition, I think the editors, who obviously worked closely with the authors of each chapter, found the right balance between emphasizing the underlying discipline...and the wonderment of knowledge about marine mammals... this is a textbook that belongs in the bookshelves of practicing marine mammal biologists and academics interested in vertebrate biology. In addition, I highly recommend this book to graduate students interested in applying the tools of a particular discipline to a specific hypothesis that can be tested using marine mammal data. As far as textbooks go, this text has "legs" and I would venture to guess that its useful shelf-life will exceed 10 years in most disciplines covered." - Douglas P. DeMaster, National Marine Mammal Laboratory

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from The Quaterly Review of Biology, March 2003, August 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Marine Mammals: Biology and Conservation (Paperback)

"The editors have successfully defined and filled this niche. The book has two distinctive viewpoints. First, all of the chapters focus on issues relating to conservation. For example, sensory systems are covered because such knowledge is relevant for the later chapters to deal with net entanglement and noise pollution...this provides an often subtle, but refreshing alternative viewpoint to most other recent books on marine mammals."

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from Journal of Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology, August 26, 2002

By 

Jasmine Benzvi (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marine Mammals: Biology and Conservation (Hardcover)

"This book is generally of high editorial standard... I intend to recommend the book as background reading for my course and to use some chapters as the basis for restructuring some of my lectures... If you are interested in marine mammals this book will certainly be a very useful addition to your library."- by Helen Marsh, James Cook University