Avian Growth and Development
Subtitle: Evolution within the Altricial-Precocial Spectrum (Oxford Ornithology Series)
Contributors: J. Matthias Starck (Editor); Robert E. Ricklefs (Editor)
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: January 30, 1998
Language: eng
Number of pages: 452
ISBN-13: 9780195106084
First sentence: Since the Late Triassic, the time of Protoavis texensis (Chatterjee 1991), over 200 million years of evolutionary diversification of birds have resulted in about 8900 living species.
Description: "This book is the first re-appraisal in 50 years of concepts of development in birds. Although much has been written about life history evolution, few systems are as complex or rich in the potential for understanding evolutionary adaptation as the altricial-precocial spectrum of young birds. This book makes use of this rich potential and offers a unique integration of organismal biology, from comparative and functional approaches in phylogeny, morphology, and physiology, to endocrinology, behavioral science, ecology, immunology, and genetics. The comprehensive discussion provides a model system for studying life history evolution and developmental biology on the organism level."--Jacket.