The Design of Mammals
The Design of Mammals
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Despite an astonishing 100 million-fold range in adult body mass from bumblebee bat to blue whale, all mammals are formed of the same kinds of molecules, cells, tissues and organs and to the same overall body plan. A scaling approach investigates the principles of mammal design by examining the ways in which mammals of diverse size and taxonomy are quantitatively comparable. This book presents an extensive reanalysis of scaling data collected over a quarter of a century, including many rarely or never-cited sources. The result is an unparalleled contribution to understanding scaling in mammals, addressing a uniquely extensive range of mammal attributes and using substantially larger and more rigorously screened samples than in any prior works. An invaluable resource for all those interested in the 'design' of mammals, this is an ideal resource for postgraduates and researchers in a range of fields from comparative physiology to ecology.
- The most extensive study of scaling in mammals yet published, offering a unique resource for postgraduates and researchers in a range of fields from comparative physiology to ecology
- Presents a detailed analysis of scaling data collected over a quarter of a century, including many rarely or never-cited sources
- Takes a quantitative approach, using elementary mathematics (including statistics) to address an extensive range of mammal attributes and using substantially larger and more rigorously screened samples than in any prior works
Product details
June 2020Paperback
9781108828864
386 pages
180 × 255 × 20 mm
0.74kg
79 b/w illus. 168 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Part I. Background:
- 1. Introduction
- 2. The mammals
- 3. The nature of scaling
- 4. Towards a standardized body weight table
- 5. A reader's guide
- Part II. Empirical Analyses:
- 6. Body length, girth and surface area
- 7. Body size distribution in adult mammals
- 8. Body composition
- 9. Circulatory system
- 10. Digestive system
- 11. Integumentary system
- 12. Musculoskeletal system
- 13. Neuroendocrine system
- 14. Reproductive system
- 15. Respiratory system
- 16. Urinary system
- 17. Function
- 18. Lethal limits
- Part III. Survey of Results:
- 19. Structural summary
- 20. Functional summary
- 21. End-sample, mid-sample and FDS
- 22. Human scaling
- Part IV. Methodology:
- 23. Scaling statistics
- 24. Scaling sums
- Part V. A Broader View:
- 25. A Sense of scale
- Appendix 1. Recommended reading
- Appendix 2. Guidelines for data screening
- Appendix 3. Summary of Brody's findings
- References
- Index.
