University of Chicago Press: New Titles in Biological Sciences: Biology--Systematics

Perú: Cerros de Kampankis

Nigel Pitman — Wed, 15 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The Kampankis mountains are a knife-thin ridge in northern Peru that rises 1,435 m above the surrounding Amazon lowlands. For three weeks, a group of researchers explored both the biological diversity and cultural values of the Cerros de Kampankis landscape, with the aim of promoting the long-term conservation of the area by the local Awajún and Wampis indigenous peoples. Field Museum and Peruvian scientists recorded over 1,700 species of plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, including 25 species that appear to be new to science. The report is presented in Spanish and English, and includes conservation recommendations, a technical report on the biological and social findings, appendices, and an executive summary in Wampis and Awajún.

Population Fluctuations in Rodents

Charles J. Krebs — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

How did rodent outbreaks in Germany help to end World War I? What caused the destructive outbreak of rodents in Oregon and California in the late 1950s, the large population outbreak of lemmings in Scandinavia in 2010, and the great abundance of field mice in Scotland in the spring of 2011? Population fluctuations, or outbreaks, of rodents constitute one of the classic problems of animal ecology, and in Population Fluctuations in Rodents, Charles J. Krebs sifts through the last eighty years of research to draw out exactly what we know about rodent outbreaks and what should be the agenda for future research.

Krebs has synthesized the research in this area, focusing mainly on the voles and lemmings of the Northern Hemisphere—his primary area of expertise—but also referring to the literature on rats and mice. He covers the patterns of changes in reproduction and mortality and the mechanisms that cause these changes—including predation, disease, food shortage, and social behavior—and discusses how landscapes can affect population changes, methodically presenting the hypotheses related to each topic before determining whether or not the data supports them. He ends on an expansive note, by turning his gaze outward and discussing how the research on rodent populations can apply to other terrestrial mammals. Geared toward advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and practicing ecologists interested in rodent population studies, this book will also appeal to researchers seeking to manage rodent populations and to understand outbreaks in both natural and urban settings—or, conversely, to protect endangered species.

Evaluación Ecológica Rápida de la Biodiversidad de los Tepuyes de la Cuenca Alta del Río Nangaritza, Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador (A Rapid Biological Assessment of the Tepuis in the Upper Nangaritza River Basin, Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador)

Juan M. Guayasamin; Elisa Bonaccorso — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:00:00 GMT

This report contains the findings from a rapid biological assessment of the Tepuis in the Upper Nangaritza River Basin, Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador. The purpose of the survey was to provide data to support increased protection for the newly created Colon-Shuar Nangaritza Tepuis Conservation Area, a private protected forest. The biological assessment was conducted in paramillo, dwarf forest, and premontane wet forest. The team encountered high levels of biodiversity and endemism, including thirty-one apparently new species from plants to insects and amphibians. Detailed conservation recommendations are provided.