1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9911097231903321

Autore

Rappole John H

Titolo

The avian migrant : the biology of bird migration / / John H. Rappole

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Columbia University Press, , 2013

ISBN

9781785392719

1785392719

9780231518635

0231518633

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (898 p.)

Classificazione

WS 1000

Disciplina

598.156/8

Soggetti

Birds - Migration

Migratory birds

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- Breeding period -- Post-breeding period -- Fall transient period -- Wintering period -- Spring transient period -- Population ecology -- Evolution, ornithogeography, and climate change -- Migratory birds and pathogen movement -- Connectivity and conservation -- Conclusions -- Appendix A. Population dynamics of periodic breeders -- Appendix B. Age-structured periodic breeders.

Sommario/riassunto

The purpose of migration, regardless of the distance involved, is to exploit two or more environments suitable for survival or reproduction over time, usually on a seasonal basis. Yet individual organisms can practice the phenomenon differently, and birds deploy unique patterns of movement over particular segments of time. Incorporating the latest research on bird migration, this concise, critical assessment offers contemporary readers a firm grasp of what defines an avian migrant, how the organism came to be, what is known about its behavior, and how we can resolve its enduring mysteries.John H. Rappole's sophisticated survey of field data clarifies key ecological, biological, physiological, navigational, and evolutionary concerns. He begins with the very first migrants, who traded a home environment of greater stability for one of greater seasonality, and uses the structure of the annual cycle to examine the difference between migratory birds and



their resident counterparts. He ultimately connects these differences to evolutionary milestones that have shaped a migrant lifestyle through natural selection. Rather than catalogue and describe various aspects of bird migration, Rappole considers how the avian migrant fits within a larger ecological frame, enabling a richer understanding of the phenomenon and its critical role in sustaining a hospitable and productive environment. Rappole concludes with a focus on population biology and conservation across time periods, considering the link between bird migration and the spread of disease among birds and humans, and the effects of global warming on migrant breeding ranges, reaction norms, and macroecology.

2.

Record Nr.

UNINA9911095342203321

Autore

Ford Kenneth William <1926->

Titolo

101 quantum questions : what you need to know about the world you can't see / / Kenneth W. Ford

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass. : , : Harvard University Press, , 2011

ISBN

0-674-06093-8

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xi, 291 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

530.12  ‡2 22

Soggetti

Quantum theory

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

The subatomic world -- Digging deeper -- The small and the swift -- Quantum lumps and quantum jumps -- Atoms and nuclei -- And more about nuclei -- Particles -- And more particles -- Interactions -- Constancy during change -- Waves and particles -- Waves and probability -- Quantum physics and technology -- Quantum physics at every scale -- Frontiers and puzzles.

Sommario/riassunto

This reader-friendly, richly illustrated book provides an engaging overview of quantum physics, from "big ideas" like probability and uncertainty and conservation laws to the behavior of quarks and photons and neutrinos, and on to explanations of how a laser works and why black holes evaporate.



3.

Record Nr.

UNINA9911094093003321

Autore

Ruse Michael

Titolo

The evolution-creation struggle / / Michael Ruse

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass., : Harvard University Press, 2005

ISBN

9780674042971

0674042972

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (327 p.)

Classificazione

BN 4300

Disciplina

202.4

Soggetti

Human evolution - Religious aspects - Christianity

Religion and science

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Originally published: 2005.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Prologue -- 1. Christianity and Its Discontents -- 2. From Progress to Evolution -- 3. Growth of a Pseudoscience -- 4. Charles Darwin -- 5. Failure of a Professional Science -- 6. Social Darwinism -- 7. Christian Responses -- 8. Fundamentalism -- 9. Population Genetics -- 10. Evolution Today -- 11. Nature as Promise -- 12. Earth's Last Days? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References and Reading -- Acknowledgments -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In his latest book, Ruse uncovers surprising similarities between evolutionist and creationist thinking. Exploring the underlying philosophical commitments of evolutionists, he reveals that those most hostile to religion are just as evangelical as their fundamentalist opponents. But more crucially, and reaching beyond the biblical issues at stake, he demonstrates that these two diametrically opposed ideologies have, since the Enlightenment, engaged in a struggle for the privilege of defining human origins, moral values, and the nature of reality.