Author: Chris JohnsonPublisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521686600
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Publisher description
Australia's Mammal Extinctions
Author: Chris JohnsonPublisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521849180
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Book Description
Of the forty mammal species known to have vanished in the world in the last 200 years, almost half have been Australian. Our continent has the worst record of mammal extinctions, with over 65 mammal species having vanished in the last 50 000 years. It began with the great wave of megafauna extinctions in the last ice-age, and continues today, with many mammal species vulnerable to extinction. The question of why mammals became extinct, and why so many became extinct in Australia has been debated by experts for over a century and a half and we are no closer to agreement on the causes. This book introduces readers to the great mammal extinction debate. Chris Johnson takes us on a detective-like tour of these extinctions, uncovering how, why and when they occurred.
The Action Plan for Australian Mammals 2012
Author: Andrew BurbidgePublisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643108742
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 1053
Book Description
The Action Plan for Australian Mammals 2012 is the first review to assess the conservation status of all Australian mammals. It complements The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010 (Garnett et al. 2011, CSIRO Publishing), and although the number of Australian mammal taxa is marginally fewer than for birds, the proportion of endemic, extinct and threatened mammal taxa is far greater. These authoritative reviews represent an important foundation for understanding the current status, fate and future of the nature of Australia. This book considers all species and subspecies of Australian mammals, including those of external territories and territorial seas. For all the mammal taxa (about 300 species and subspecies) considered Extinct, Threatened, Near Threatened or Data Deficient, the size and trend of their population is presented along with information on geographic range and trend, and relevant biological and ecological data. The book also presents the current conservation status of each taxon under Australian legislation, what additional information is needed for managers, and the required management actions. Recovery plans, where they exist, are evaluated. The voluntary participation of more than 200 mammal experts has ensured that the conservation status and information are as accurate as possible, and allowed considerable unpublished data to be included. All accounts include maps based on the latest data from Australian state and territory agencies, from published scientific literature and other sources. The Action Plan concludes that 29 Australian mammal species have become extinct and 63 species are threatened and require urgent conservation action. However, it also shows that, where guided by sound knowledge, management capability and resourcing, and longer-term commitment, there have been some notable conservation success stories, and the conservation status of some species has greatly improved over the past few decades. The Action Plan for Australian Mammals 2012 makes a major contribution to the conservation of a wonderful legacy that is a significant part of Australia’s heritage. For such a legacy to endure, our society must be more aware of and empathetic with our distinctively Australian environment, and particularly its marvellous mammal fauna; relevant information must be readily accessible; environmental policy and law must be based on sound evidence; those with responsibility for environmental management must be aware of what priority actions they should take; the urgency for action (and consequences of inaction) must be clear; and the opportunity for hope and success must be recognised. It is in this spirit that this account is offered.
End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals
Author: Ross D E MacPheePublisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393249301
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi thriller—including gorilla-sized lemurs, 500-pound birds, and crocodiles that weighed a ton or more—roamed the earth. These great beasts, or “megafauna,” lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. With a handful of exceptions, all are now gone. What caused the disappearance of these prehistoric behemoths? No one event can be pinpointed as a specific cause, but several factors may have played a role. Paleomammalogist Ross D. E. MacPhee explores them all, examining the leading extinction theories, weighing the evidence, and presenting his own conclusions. He shows how theories of human overhunting and catastrophic climate change fail to account for critical features of these extinctions, and how new thinking is needed to elucidate these mysterious losses. Along the way, we learn how time is determined in earth history; how DNA is used to explain the genomics and phylogenetic history of megafauna—and how synthetic biology and genetic engineering may be able to reintroduce these giants of the past. Until then, gorgeous four-color illustrations by Peter Schouten re-create these megabeasts here in vivid detail.
Into Oblivion?
Author: James Andrew FitzsimonsPublisher:
ISBN: 9780646538211
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Since European settlement, the deepest loss of Australian biodiversity has been the spate of extinctions of endemic mammals. Historically, these losses occurred mostly in inland and in temperate parts of the country and largely between 1890 and 1950. A new wave of extinctions is now threatening Australian mammals, this time in northern Australia, and the main drivers are too much fire and predation by feral cats. This publication seeks to alert the Australian community and decision makers to this urgent issue and provides some answers.
Platypus Matters
Author: Jack AshbyPublisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022678925X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 396
Book Description
"Naturalist and Assistant Director of the Museum of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, Jack Ashby shares his love for the platypus and other Australian mammals, including wombats, echidnas, and kangaroos. Informed by stories of his experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia and his close contact with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last 200 years, Ashby's book explains historical mysteries and debunks myths about these mammals and especially the platypus-which lays eggs, feeds its young on milk, has venom spurs, and sports a bill that can detect electricity. In evaluating how humans have considered these special mammals, he makes clear that calling these animals "weird" or "primitive"- or incorrectly implying that Australia is an "evolutionary backwater"-has only added to the challenges for their conservation. One outcome of these descriptions is that Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of anywhere on Earth. Ashby argues that many of the ways that the world thinks about Australia's mammals can be traced back to the country's colonial history"--
A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia
Author: Peter MenkhorstPublisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
A comprehensive guide to identifying all 379 species of mammals known in Australia. Provides concise and accurate details of the appearance, diagnostic features, distribution of habitat and key behavioural characteristics of all mammals known to have occurred in Australia or its waters since European settlement.
A Bat's End
Author: John WoinarskiPublisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 1486308651
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 370
Book Description
On the evening of 26 August 2009, the last known pipistrelle emerges from its day-time shelter on Christmas Island. Scientists, desperate about its conservation, set up a maze of netting to try to catch it. It is a forlorn and futile exercise – even if captured, there is little future in just one bat. But the bat evades the trap easily, and continues foraging. It is not recorded again that night, and not at all the next night. The bat is never again recorded. The scientists search all nearby areas over the following nights. It has gone. There are no more bats. Its corpse is not, will never be, found. It is the silent, unobtrusive death of the last individual. It is extinction. This book is about that bat, about those scientists, about that island. But mostly it is an attempt to understand that extinction; an unusual extinction, because it was predicted, witnessed and its timing is precise. A Bat's End is a compelling forensic examination of the circumstances and players surrounding the extinction of the Christmas Island pipistrelle. A must-read for environmental scientists, policy-makers, and organisations and individuals with an interest in conservation.
Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines
Author: R SchoddePublisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643102930
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 887
Book Description
Recent classifications of Australian birds have been limited to lists of "species" which are inadequate as biodiversity indicators. The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines fills a huge gap in ornithological knowledge by separating out and listing not only 340 species of song-birds but also the 720 distinct regional forms. Covering about half the national bird fauna, the Directory provides science and the community with baseline information about what bird it is and where it lives in an Australia-wide context. Identity is taken down to the level of distinct regional population. No other compendium on Australian birds does this.
Recovering Australian Threatened Species
Author: Stephen GarnettPublisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 1486307426
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 361
Book Description
Australia’s nature is exceptional, wonderful and important. But much has been lost, and the ongoing existence of many species now hangs by a thread. Against a relentless tide of threats to our biodiversity, many Australians, and government and non-government agencies, have devoted themselves to the challenge of conserving and recovering plant and animal species that now need our help to survive. This dedication has been rewarded with some outstanding and inspiring successes: of extinctions averted, of populations increasing, of communities actively involved in recovery efforts. Recovering Australian Threatened Species showcases successful conservation stories and identifies approaches and implementation methods that have been most effective in recovering threatened species. These diverse accounts – dealing with threatened plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals – show that the conservation of threatened species is achievable: that it can be done and should be done. They collectively serve to inform, guide and inspire other conservation efforts. This is a book of hope and inspiration. It shows that with dedication, knowledge and support, we can retain and restore our marvellous natural heritage, and gift to our descendants a world that is as diverse, healthy and beautiful as that which we have inherited.
