Megaherbivores

The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology

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Paperback | 4 May 1992

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388 Pages

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The largest land mammals are constrained in their activities by their large body size, a theme that is emphasized in this account of their general ecology. The book begins by raising the question as to why these once abundant and widely distributed 'megaherbivores' - elephants, rhinos, hippos and giraffes - have all but gone extinct, and ends by considering the implications of the answer for the conservation of the remaining populations. Existing megaherbivores are placed in the context of the more numerous species which occurred worldwide until the end of the last Ice Age, and knowledge of the ecology of surviving species is used to analyse the cause of the extinctions. The information and ideas contained in this book are of crucial importance to all concerned with halting the rapidly worsening conservation status of remaining elephant and rhinoceros species, and carries a wider message for those concerned with the ramifying effects of man on ecosystem processes. Graduate students and research scientists in ecology, conservation biology and wildlife management will find this book of value.

Industry Reviews

"This book shows well how various elements of their biology are interrelated, transcending phylogenetic boundaries, a tribute to convergent evolution." Quarterly Review of Biology "This book deserves to be bought and widely read by all ecologists, paleobiologists, and wildlife managers with an interest in large animals." Journal of Animal Ecology ."..a model example of this ecological-role based comparative approach, as well as being a highly informative review of what is known about the extant megaherbivore species." John Damuth, Ecology

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Preface	p. xiii
Prologue	p. 1
Morphology, evolutionary history and recent distribution	p. 6
Introduction	p. 6
Morphology	p. 6
Evolutionary origins and relationships	p. 16
Paleontological diversity	p. 20
Distribution of extant species	p. 21
Food and other habitat resources	p. 30
Introduction	p. 30
Food	p. 30
Water and other habitat needs	p. 45
Comparisons with smaller ungulates	p. 50
Space--time patterns of habitat use	p. 53
Introduction	p. 53
Temporal patterning of activities	p. 53
Utilization of space	p. 61
Comparisons with smaller ungulates	p. 67
Body size and nutritional physiology	p. 69
Introduction	p. 69
Metabolic requirements	p. 70
Gut anatomy	p. 71
Food intake and digestion	p. 72
Body size and feeding ecology	p. 82
Introduction	p. 82
Diet quality	p. 82
Foraging time	p. 87
Home range extent	p. 95
Trophic ecology of megaherbivores: summary	p. 98
Social organization and behavior	p. 101
Introduction	p. 101
Group structure	p. 101
Male dominance relations	p. 109
Courtship and mating	p. 116
Responses to predators	p. 124
Comparisons with smaller ungulates	p. 131
Life history	p. 133
Introduction	p. 133
Infancy and juvenilehood	p. 133
Adolescence and puberty	p. 138
Reproduction by females	p. 144
Reproduction by males	p. 151
Mortality and lifespan	p. 152
Comparisons with smaller ungulates	p. 159
Body size and sociobiology	p. 160
Introduction	p. 160
Grouping patterns	p. 160
Male dominance systems	p. 167
Female mate choice	p. 177
Summary	p. 179
Body size and reproductive patterns	p. 181
Introduction	p. 181
Seasonality of reproduction	p. 183
Age at first conception	p. 185
Birth intervals	p. 186
Maternal investment in reproduction	p. 190
Offspring sex ratio	p. 195
Summary	p. 198
Demography	p. 200
Introduction	p. 200
Population structure	p. 200
Population growth	p. 212
Population density and biomass	p. 221
Comparisons with smaller ungulates	p. 225
Community interactions	p. 226
Introduction	p. 226
Impact on vegetation	p. 226
Effects on other large herbivores	p. 239
Comparisons with smaller ungulates	p. 245
Body size and population regulation	p. 246
Introduction	p. 246
Demographic models	p. 248
Interactions with vegetation	p. 257
Dispersal	p. 260
Summary	p. 264
Body size and ecosystem processes	p. 265
Introduction	p. 265
Biomass levels	p. 265
Energy flux	p. 274
Nutrient cycling	p. 277
Ecosystem stability and disturbance	p. 278
Late Pleistocene extinctions	p. 280
Introduction	p. 280
Pattern of extinctions	p. 281
Climatic change	p. 284
Human predation	p. 289
The role of megaherbivores	p. 292
Summary	p. 296
Conservation	p. 297
Introduction	p. 297
Conservation objectives	p. 298
Problems of overabundance	p. 299
Problems of overexploitation	p. 307
Summary	p. 308
Epilogue: the megaherbivore syndrome	p. 309
Faunal patterns	p. 309
Social and life history patterns	p. 312
Demographic patterns	p. 313
Community and ecosystem patterns	p. 314
Appendixes	p. 317
Appendix I	p. 317
Appendix II	p. 325
References	p. 331
Index	p. 364
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Megaherbivores

The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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