(Part 2) Best marine mammals biology books according to redditors

You are totally right. The history of the buffalo is far more complicated than this title makes out.

It should be noted that Native Americans tribes used to run entire herds of buffalo off cliffs. Far more than the tribe could consume.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_jump

I'm not saying that this is a justification by any means, just that history is dirty, mean and complicated.

I highly recommend reading Steven Rinella's book American Buffalo for an amazing insight into Bison history.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orcas-Men-Killer-Whales-Teach/dp/1468313029

Of orcas and men. Really great book

Go read Freeing Keiko, it's not very long. It was published in 2005, 5 years before Tillikum killed Dawn Brancheau and 8 before Blackfish. In order to explain why Keiko was in such bad shape and why he needed so much rehab after first being moved out of Mexico, the author (a journalist) spent a good bit of time researching and detailing just how horrible captivity is on dolphins, and it's pretty much word for word what they detail in Blackfish. This info has been around for quite a while, but people only started paying attention after Tilly killed Dawn.

Fun fact: David Neiwert, author of the must-read 2015 book [Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us] (https://www.amazon.com/Orcas-Men-Killer-Whales-Teach/dp/1468308653) is also an investigative journalist who has reported for decades on hard right and neo-fascist movements in the Pacific Northwest. He calls his work spyhopping the right.

Broadly speaking, there's no other answer the one /u/pulsus_mortuss_equus gives, hit the literature. I guess for someone with little to no background, I might suggest the top down approach of just going the table of contents at places like Annual Reviews Genetics or Nature Reviews Genetics for the past few years (but even here you're going to have to be selective, simply because the volume of the literature is so vast). Then just apply the strategy of working backwards into the literature cited in these reviews.

Another suggestion, perhaps to get started, might be a book like Aravinda Chakravarti's new edited collection Human Variation: A Genetic Perspective on Diversity, Race, and Medicine. I literally just got a copy in my hands about 15 minutes ago, and after reading bits and pieces of a few chapters, it seems to be targeted toward the non-expert scientists, which sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

You mention 1000 genome project and the like. There are a lot of large research consortia focused on a lot of different things. Other diversity studies besides 1000G include "HapMap" and the HGDP, while consortia such as GIANT are focused on using massive datasets to understand the genetics of complex traits like height (e.g. http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.3097.html), and things like GTEx are focused on understanding the biology of gene expression and its downstream effects.

written about these crisps in https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hedgehog-Animal-Reaktion-Books-Warwick/dp/1780232756/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=91RDBKJR2Z1A5ZEZXHDX - luckily no hogs were harmed ... as for cooking - in A Prickly Affair - my first book - there is a recipe for Hedgehog Spaghetti Carbonara ....

Many of these questions I won't be able to help you since they are UK specific. You'll want to seek out Bat Conservation Trust and other local groups. Certainly you can still walk around in the evening with a bat detector like a BatBox Baton or other model and listen for the differences in their songs. I've heard that with practice, some amateurs are able to pick out different species this way. I can only tell roughly who is a hoary bat and who is either a big brown/silverhaired and who is a myotis in my area. There are a ton of bat non-profits on facebook, start following them and you'll eventually start getting suggestions for some of the smaller, more local ones you may not have been aware of.

I can recommend this textbook as a very good read on bat biology. It's fairly accessible if you have some biology knowledge, but keep in mind that research is always changing and we've probably discovered (or otherwise reclassified) at least two dozen species since the last revision. This is also supposed to be excellent, but I haven't grabbed a copy yet.

I'd also recommend keeping in mind that many of the skills useful for bat field work, are transferable from other field work, particularly birds (although opposite schedule). If you can find an opportunity to volunteer with any sort of fieldwork, don't pass it up. As your instructors if they might know of any opportunities. Anything described as requiring "a good sense of humor" has the potential to give you a good story and build your acumen.

The Grandest of Lives is the other book I was trying to find earlier. =)

There's actually a really interesting book about captive animal escapes and resistance

http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Animal-Planet-Resistance-Counterpunch/dp/1849350264

>A Siberian tiger at the San Francisco Zoo leaps a 12-foot high wall and mauls three visitors who had been tormenting her, killing one. A circus elephant tramples and gores a sadistic trainer, who had repeatedly fed her lit cigarettes. A pair of orangutans at the San Diego Zoo steal a crowbar and screwdriver and break-out of their enclosure. An orca at Sea World snatches his trainer into the pool and holds her underwater until she drowns.


>What's going on here? Are these mere accidents? Simply cases of animals acting on instinct? That's what the zoos and animal theme parks would have you believe. But historian Jason Hribal tells a different story. In the most provocative book on animal rights since Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, Hribal argues persuasively that these escapes and attacks are deliberate, that the animals are acting with intent, that they are asserting their own desires for freedom. Fear of the Animal Planet is a harrowing, and curiously uplifting, chronicle of resistance against the captivity and torture of animals.

No they are not. Internet mythology is not fact. Dogs possess all of the physiological characteristics of carnivores, and none of the physiological characteristics of omnivores. Dogs are the same species as wolves, and decades of observation has shown wolves are carnivorous in behavior, just as their physiology suggests. Every biology and veterinary text is 100% clear. See the bible of mammal physiology for example: https://www.amazon.com/Mammalogy-Adaptation-Diversity-George-Feldhamer/dp/1421415887

Probably copies of this

ah, thank you! this is really helpful :)

with that, I'm sure that this first suggestion is deeply unhelpful for your current level, but when I was about 11, my absolute favorite book was Child of the Wolves, about a husky (husky cross?) who gets adopted by a wolf pack. I read it probably 6 times over! but it is definitely geared towards younger readers... if you have any nieces/nephews/young cousins/whatever, I'd suggest it!

do you like nonfiction? if you're passionate about wolves, I strongly, strongly recommend these two: The Wolves of Yellowstone, and - in my personal opinion only! - even more dynamic, Decade of the Wolf. wolves played such an incredibly important role in North America's ecosystem for so long, and with the advent of settlers, they were nearly exterminated. the role they play in environmental health can't be overlooked, and I've felt these books do them justice - especially as there's acknowledgement of the individual members of these packs!

I'll keep racking my brain to see if any other dog/wolf (as not just a secondary partner type of character!) books come to mind :D

Short answer is that after some research it is clear we are in a bit of a method explosion, where methods are developed for specific systems, rather than as a readily transferable toolbox. That makes sense, we are yet to discover which type of protocol proves the most efficacious.

A partial collection:

• For various reasons I am interested in fungi and this article goes into CRISPR for that system.
  
• I did find a CRISPR laboratory manual, but I don't have access so I couldn't make any assessment of its utility or detail.
  
• Springer also have a book on CRISPR protocols, but again one I can't access to evaluate.
  
• Then an early paper that goes really deep into a protocol was found. However, I suspect best practices have evolved since.
  
  But this is by no means exhaustive and just an observation of what may be available.

Not sure if you are including the African painted wolves in your quest but if so, there are a few books I can recommend. Prices vary a lot - as with all these things, the more specialised ones tend to be more expensive and some are more difficult to get hold of than others.

• There is a really old classic called 'Solo' by Hugo van Lawick which has a lot of close observations of the wild dogs behaviour. It shows really well how, just as with domestic dogs, there are many different characters in a pack - the alpha female struck me as being a little on the psychotic side! No two dogs have identical markings and the same is probably true for their character. Peter Blinston, expert on the species and director of Painted Dog Conservation has said that it was this book which started his fascination for the species.
  
  
• Speaking of Peter Blinston - he and Nick Dyer, renown naturalist and photographer, have just published a coffee table book called 'Painted Wolves: A Wild Dog's Life' which is available from the [Painted Wolf Foundation](https://paintedwolf.org/the-book/
  ) which will receive all of the profits. Currently waiting for my copy to arrive so I can only say that I have seen a lot of images from it on various site and they are stunning. Given that Nick was virtually living with the pack at times and Peter has over twenty years in the field as conservationist with them, the text should be pretty comprehensive, too.
  
  
• The BBC are about to bring out a new nature series called 'Dynasties' which will feature the painted wolves as one of five species. I would imagine that the accompanying book should be pretty good, too, although it will feature the dogs for only a part. The painted wolves in question are the same packs as those in the book by Dyer and Blinston who were involved with the programme as consultants but who had already been studying them prior to the BBC.
  
  
• The two above both feature wild dogs in Zimbabwe where the areas available for the dogs to roam are larger - for a book detailing very different problems in connection with Lycaon pictus try African wild dogs: On the front line by Brendan Whittington-Jones. The book is all about the problems encountered when managing these packs of highly mobile carnivores in the smaller parks of Kwa-Zulu Natal. It starts off a bit slow but the reader is soon enmeshed in one break-out escapade after another with a dose of park politics thrown in. It covers a period of seven years and came out about three years ago but I did a double take the other day as there is a current problem which is pretty much an action re-take of an incident from the book. Conservationists are still fighting the same odds.
  
  
• I know you are not currently looking for a scientific book but should the day arrive... This one has got figures and statistics by the bucket load.
  
  Hope you are successful in your search :-)
  
  Edit: typo

I didn't see any mention of the work done by L. David Mech.

He wrote a book on these wolves.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Isle-Royale-David-Mech/dp/1410202496

I have no experience with the US or Canada, but I grew up in southern africa, so maybe I can help you there. First thing is you should probably focus on a certain subset of animals that interest you, such as birds or mammals. Even then there is a vast range of species within that subset, each with their own characteristics and traits. So focusing a bit more would help you from getting overwhelmed by the sheer volume of knowledge that there is to be had.


For mammals, I have always found The Safari Companion a good book to learn about animal behaviour. For quick identification of mammals, scat and spoor, i would suggest Signs of the Wild. Whilst not the systematic guide that you are looking for, they are great field guides.


For birds there is the immense Roberts VII which will cover almost anything you want to know about southern african birds. For more of a field guide I am very pleased with Sasol's guide.

Unfortunately I do not know of any books that take a systematic approach to actually teaching zoology, though I must admit I don't have very much experience in that matter.

The single best advice that I can give you is just to go out and observe. Along with a good guide this is hands down the best way to learn about animals and to identify them. To become quick at identifying species may seem frustrating work at first when you have to look everything up, but after just a bit of experience it will become a lot easier. I also wouldn't worry too much about not having a zoological background. Some of the most knowledgeable people I know have no formal background at all, they've learnt everything just by being out there.

Photography can also be a useful motivator for learning about animals. I spend about 3-4 months of the year in africa and do a lot of wildlife photography. Just by sitting by an animal and waiting to get a good shot, you will learn a lot about the animal's behaviour and mannerisms. Just be careful not to get too absorbed in your life through the lens that you miss out on the world outside it.

This book by John Russ is our bible for bat call analysis in the UK, and I would recommend 100% if you’re serious about learning to identify bat calls from their sonograms. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/190780725X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_eDAMDbF1AX4RH

Careful, it’s a rabbit hole and the more you learn, the more you realise we don’t know (bats definitely don’t always follow the rules...)

Alternatively if you’re just interested in what they ‘sound’ like on (heterodyne) detectors the Bristol Uni website has some sound files to download. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/research/behaviour/batlab/downloads/echolocation/

Excellent book on the subject:
https://www.amazon.com/Teeth-Reveal-about-Human-Evolution/dp/1107442605/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511793811&sr=8-1&keywords=what+teeth+reveal+about+human+evolution

Start by reading this book.

Then you will know a bit about population dynamics and predator ethology.

And then we can talk.

Sorry, wee bit late and on the phone. Let me pull up the documents so then I'm not leaving a broad trail here.

The Limbic System: https://books.google.ca/books?id=NiTLf7g1n04C&pg=PA120&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030100820500002X

The Limbic system is what holds our processes for emotions and the memory thereof. I won't go into tonnes of details beyond that is what it is for sake of what I posted before.

Reptile limbic system: I cannot seem to link the Snake Almanac here. http://www.amazon.com/Snake-Almanac-Edward-R-Ricciuti/dp/1585741787/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452072350&sr=8-1&keywords=snake+almanac Is an incredible source of information and studies. I am frustrated I have no way to get you the important information on the study between empathy and memory between snakes and how they lack the ability and brain capacity to form those links.

Iguanas: Professor Scott McRobert (http://www.sju.edu/about-sju/faculty-staff/faculty-experts/scott-mcrobert-phd) did a little test with their dept.'s iguana, Fido: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg16321931-200-oh-its-you/

I don't have any research papers on Geckos.... and I doubt many exist because they are so common. From first hand knowledge of having a Gecko I can tell you that as long as their cage is big enough and they've eaten, you can handle them just fine. They don't hop around or look for anyone in particular. (But I did have a Gecko that didn't like my neighbor if he wore his cologne, so I imagine that's because lizards have particular olfactory glands)

Anoles are very similar to Geckos and haven't fallen far from the evolutionary tree, but I believe they are closer related to the Iguana. So far there's not been any behaviour studies on them because they're a common species, like the Gecko in Australia. I do have research papers on their amazing abilities to adapt (should I post that?)

Turtles: Common snapping turtle: http://www.chelydra.org/snapping_turtle_question_answer026.html also: http://www.chelydra.org/snapping_turtle_handling.html - I quote this website even if it's garish because it has extremely good information for people who are thinking about turtles for pets AND that was the nature of the question.

Snapping turtles strength: According to http://uahost.uantwerpen.be/funmorph/publications/herrel%20et%20al%202002%20j%20evol%20biol.pdfa snapping turtle's actual jaw strength registered between 208 and 226 Newtons of force. Snapping turtles evolved in an aggressive way, they see something and snap! they get it. When they see a finger coming at them, their natural reaction is to snap at it. In an amazing article you can read here: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9304140038/reptile-that-stakes-survival-snap-decisions details the snapping turtle's history and learned/evolved behaviours.

Now which turtles and tortoises would I need to post on common information for domesticated turtles from pet shops and/or the wild?

While I would love to display and give tonnes of scientific data, there isn't enough or as much as we could have. What little research done on reptiles has come to the same conclusions: without the ability to form memory attachments and empathy, an animal (in general) will not bond with a human. But we should never blanket statement an entire species, because some individual animals defy the rules. (see above post on Dr Scott McRobert and the iguana, Fido)