Return to the Sea

The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals

By: Annalisa Berta, James L. Sumich (Illustrator), Carl Buell (Illustrator)

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Hardcover | 18 May 2012 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
224 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.08 x 16.41 x 1.7

Hardcover

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Return to the Sea portrays the life and evolutionary times of marine mammals—from giant whales and sea cows that originated 55 million years ago to the deep-diving elephant seals and clam-eating walruses of modern times. This fascinating account of the origin of various marine-mammal lineages—some extinct, others extant but threatened—is for the nonspecialist. Against a backdrop of geologic time and changing climates and geography, this volume takes evolution as its unifying principle to help us to understand today’s diversity of marine mammals and their responses to environmental challenges. Annalisa Berta explains current controversies and explores patterns of change now taking place, such as shifting food webs and predator-prey relationships, habitat degradation, global warming, and the effects of humans on marine-mammal communities.

Industry Reviews

"Engaging... Stimulating... A compelling story of the history and biology of marine mammals that will delight while it informs readers." -- Alexander J. Werth Bioscience "A good introduction to marine mammal evolution." -- Ian Paulsen The Guardian "Rarely does one have the opportunity to read a book that is written in an enjoyable and accessible way, scientifically accurate, and based in a wide and updated range of literature." -- Carolina Loch, University of Otago, New Zealand Marine Mammal Science "The writing is simple and informative, the line drawings and other illustrations are excellent, and we have here a primer of what it is to be a marine animal..." -- Bernd Wursig The Quarterly Review of Biology

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Science Biology, Life Sciences Zoology & Animal Sciences Zoology & Vertebrates Zoology & Mammals Nature & The Natural World Hydrobiology Marine Biology Life Sciences in General Evolution

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Marine Mammals	p. 1
Major Groups of Marine Mammals	p. 2
Discovering, Naming, and Classifying Marine Mammals	p. 4
Reconstructing the Hierarchy of Marine Mammals	p. 5
Adaptations and Exaptations	p. 11
What Is a Species and How Do New Species Form?	p. 12
Where Do They Live and Why Are They Where They Are?	p. 19
Past Diversity in Time and Space, Paleoclimates, and Paleoecology	p. 29
Fossils and Taphonomy	p. 29
The Discovery of the First Fossil Marine Mammal (a Whale)	p. 30
The Importance of Fossils	p. 32
How Do We Know the Age of a Fossil?	p. 33
How Do We Know Where Marine Mammals Were?	p. 33
Marine Mammal Diversity and Communities Through Time	p. 36
What Led Marine Mammals Back to the Sea?	p. 50
Pinniped Diversity, Evolution, and Adaptations	p. 51
The Earliest Pinnipeds: Webbed Feet or Flippers?	p. 53
Crown Pinnipeds	p. 54
Desmatophocids: Extinct Phocid Relatives	p. 59
Evolutionary Trends	p. 60
Structural and Functional Innovations and Adaptations	p. 61
Mating and Social Systems, Reproduction, and Life History	p. 72
Cetartiodactylan Diversity, Evolution, and Adaptations	p. 79
Early Whales Had Legs!	p. 80
Crown Cetacea (Neoceti)	p. 84
Evolutionary Trends	p. 102
Structural and Functional Innovations and Adaptations	p. 106
Mating and Social Systems, Reproduction, and Life History	p. 121
Diversity, Evolution, and Adaptations of Sirenians and Other Marine Mammals	p. 127
Walking Sea Cows!	p. 128
Crown Sirenia	p. 130
Evolutionary Trends	p. 132
Structural and Functional Innovations and Adaptations	p. 132
Mating and Social Systems, Reproduction and Life History	p. 140
Desmostylians	p. 141
Aquatic Sloths	p. 142
Marine Otters	p. 143
Polar Bears	p. 147
Ecology and Conservation	p. 151
What Marine Mammals Eat and What Eats Them	p. 151
Interactions Between Human and Marine Mammals: Lessons Learned	p. 159
Extinction: The Rule, Not the Exception	p. 167
Glossary	p. 175
Further Reading and Online Sources	p. 185
Illustration Credits	p. 191
Index	p. 195
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Return to the Sea

The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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