Overview

As natural habitat continues to be lost and the world steadily becomes more urbanized, biologists are increasingly studying the effect this has on wildlife. Birds are particularly good model systems since their life history, behaviour, and physiology are especially influenced by directly measurable environmental factors such as light and sound pollution. It is therefore relatively easy to compare urban individuals and populations with their rural counterparts. This accessible text focuses on the behavioural and physiological mechanisms which facilitate adaptation and on the evolutionary process that ensues. It discusses topics such as acoustics, reproductive cues, disease, and artificial feeding, and includes a series of case studies illustrating cutting edge research on these areas. Avian Urban Ecology is suitable for professional avian biologists and ornithologists as well as graduate students of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation. It will also be of relevance and use to a more general audience of urban ecologists and conservation biologists.

Full Product Details

Author:   Diego Gil (, Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales) ,  Henrik Brumm (, Max-Planck Institute for Ornithology, Communication and Social Behaviour Group)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 19.50cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 33.80cm
Weight:   0.690kg
ISBN:  

9780199661572

ISBN 10:   019966157
Pages:   234
Publication Date:   14 November 2013
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part 1: The Urban Environment 1: The challenges of urban living 2: The impact of artificial light on avian ecology 3: Wild bird feeding (probably) affects avian urban ecology Part 2: Behaviour and Physiology 4: Attention, habituation, and antipredator behaviour: implications for urban birds 5: Behavioral and ecological predictors of urbanization 6: Acoustic communication in the urban environment: patterns, mechanisms, and potential consequences of avian song adjustments 7: The impact of anthropogenic noise on avian communication and fitness 8: Reproductive adaptations of urban birds: environmental cues and mechanisms 9: The impacts of urbanization on avian disease transmission and emergence Part 3: Evolutionary Processes 10: Understanding the mechanisms of phenotypic responses following colonization of urban areas: From plastic to genetic adaptation 11: Landscape genetics of urban bird populations 12: Reconciling innovation and adaptation during recurrent colonization of urban environments: molecular, genetic, and developmental bases Part 4: Case Studies 13: Acoustic, morphological and genetic adaptations to urban habitats in the silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) 14: Human-induced changes in the dynamics of species coexistence: an example with two sister species 15: The application of signal transmission modelling in conservation biology: on the possible impact of a projected motorway on avian communication 16: The importance of wooded urban green areas for breeding birds: a case study from Northern Finland

Reviews

an interesting book, with a large potential readership amoung bird watchers and professional biologists * Pat Morris, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society * The information presented here is high in factual quality, and accessible to a reader with a broad background. * Emma Rosenfeld, Ibis of Avian Urban Ecology * This book includes not only up-to-date findings on the subject but it also highlights research questions that require further investigation, making it an informative read for anyone interested in the field * Daria Dadam, British Trust for Ornithology * This book will appeal to students in search of a challenge, and practitioners will learn much too, especially from the case studies * British Ecological Society Bulletin * An excellent resource for undergraduate- and graduate-level students looking for an introduction to the current status of urban ecology knowledge and future research directions.The authoritative and extensive coverage of many topics related to behavioural and physiological adaptations of birds in urban environments can also provide a valuable reference text for established urban ecology researchers. * Amy Hahs, Austral Ecology *

An excellent resource for undergraduate- and graduate-level students looking for an introduction to the current status of urban ecology knowledge and future research directions.The authoritative and extensive coverage of many topics related to behavioural and physiological adaptations of birds in urban environments can also provide a valuable reference text for established urban ecology researchers. Amy Hahs, Austral Ecology This book will appeal to students in search of a challenge, and practitioners will learn much too, especially from the case studies British Ecological Society Bulletin This book includes not only up-to-date findings on the subject but it also highlights research questions that require further investigation, making it an informative read for anyone interested in the field Daria Dadam, British Trust for Ornithology The information presented here is high in factual quality, and accessible to a reader with a broad background. Emma Rosenfeld, Ibis of Avian Urban Ecology an interesting book, with a large potential readership amoung bird watchers and professional biologists Pat Morris, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

The information presented here is high in factual quality, and accessible to a reader with a broad background. Emma Rosenfeld, Ibis of Avian Urban Ecology

Author Information

Diego Gil is a senior scientist at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC), and he is based at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid. His main interests are the study of bird song and the transmission of hormones in avian eggs. He combines an evolutionary ecology perspective with the study of the proximal physiological mechanisms that underpin evolutionary adaptations. He has published more than 50 research articles, and has been editor of Animal Behaviour. Henrik Brumm heads a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany. He is a former Editor of Behaviour and an Editor of Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology In 2005, he was appointed as a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study Berlin. He has been studying bird behaviour and ecology in many parts of the world and published over 50 articles and scientific papers.

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