Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias

Book Description

Now available in paperback, the first comprehensive reference on Great White sharks separates fact from fiction and presents real evidence of the ecology and behavior of these remarkable animals. The volume begins with the evolution of the white shark and its relatives and continues with sections on its anatomy, behavior, ecology, distribution, population dynamics, and interactions with humans. Included in the volume are many illustrations, maps, diagrams, graphs and photos.

Key Features
* Covers all biological aspects of Great White sharks
* Includes contributions from an international team of leading authorities
* Heavily illustrated with maps, diagrams, graphs, and photos

Customer Reviews:

Great White Sharks : The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias.......2005-07-28

Great. No problems. would buy from again. thank you.

The most thorough book ever about Great Whites.......2000-05-29

It's absolutely great! You will learn everything about biology, behaviour and social interaction of the Great Whites. This is a MUST have!

shear brilliance.......1999-05-25

I think this book is great but a bit too expensive for my liking Danielle Mullins

Want to really know everything about the Great White?.......1997-11-11

In recent years, public opinion on the Great White Shark has turned away from the fierce bloodlust inspired by fiction and returned to the more civilized sense of awe and wonder at the amazing size and ferocity of these giant predators common to the days before Hollywood brought us 'Jaws' in its technicolor (mostly red) splendor. With specials common to PBS and the Discovery Channel, public awareness of the GW is higher now than ever before, making the shark more and more popular to study. The results of this scrutiny are brought to light in 'Great White Sharks : The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias', a collection of scientific papers edited by A. Peter Klimley and David G. Ainley. In this fascinating work, the picture of the GW as bloodthirsty killer is erased and replaced with the image of the predator's role as king of the sea. There are papers dedicated to nearly every scientific aspect of the animal from its ancestry to its behavior to its populations in oceans around the world. Nearly every serious question about the GW is explored, if not answered. The only thing that makes this book a little inaccessible is the fact that is geared for academic use and research. It is not a book written for the masses, such as Ellis and McCosker's 'The Great White Shark', another excellent book on the subject. But if it is depth you are looking for, Klimley and Ainley & Co. provide it. This book is not to missed by serious students of the GW.

Book Description

This is the first volume to provide comprehensive coverage of acetogenesis. Leading experts present state-of-the-art research, investigating the structure and function relationship of key acetogenic processes, including synthesis of ATP, the conservation of energy, and intersecting metabolic pathways. It explores the interactions between acetogenic bacteria and the flow of matter and energy, giving the reader an integrated perspective on acetogens and the environment. It presents landmark advances in the biochemistry, phylogeny, and molecular biology of acetogens, with lucid explanations of background material, making this volume accessible to newcomers to the subject. It discusses diverse functions of acetogenesis in soils, and gastrointestinal tracts, as well as current and potential commercial and environmental applications. This volume will serve as a broad and in-depth review of basic and emerging issues in acetogenesis for microbiologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, and ecologists, and as a stimulus for future research.

Book Description

For lovers of the outdoors, few places parallel Alaska. As the last American frontier, Alaska's otherworldly beauty is common but never ordinary. Awe-inspiring works of nature fill the state's vast breadth, from the fjord-laced Southeast to the majestic peaks of expansive mountain ranges. Our local writers have scoured the cities and towns that punctuate the breathtaking landscape to find the best hotels, restaurants, attractions and activities to make your trip unforgettable. Before you leave on your trip be sure to pack your Fodor's guide to ensure you don't miss a thing.

The San Francisco Chronicle sums it up best "Fodor's guides are saturated with information."

- Two-color interior design makes it easier to find the information you need
- Fodor's Choice Ratings flag must-see sights and hidden treasures
- Hotel and restaurant reviews cover all budgets
- Plus multi-day itineraries to help you build the right trip for you and/or your family

Customer Reviews:

Only for the "Bus People".......2004-07-28

We just returned from 18 days of independent travel in Alaska. We had three travel guides: Fodor's, Lonely Planet, and The Milepost. Fodor's is the most generic of the three. If you're on a cruise and you only intend to see what everyone else sees, this book is probably ok; otherwise, opt for Lonely Planet and the Milepost. The bulky section on Vancouver and Victoria is a waste. I love British Columbia, but I already have several BC guides and didn't need it with the AK guide. This may seem petty, but the paper quality of this guide is the worst (too pulpy), and it doesn't stand up to too much abuse - it's not good for backpacks. The one bright spot - we found our lodging in Denali NP in Fodor's and it was one of the (many) highlights of our trip.

Customer Reviews:

Good and informed.......2001-02-12

this book is just what it says it it tells what it was like.

Book Description

All of life is a game and evolution by natural selection is no exception. The evolutionary game theory developed in this book provides the tools necessary for understanding many of nature’s mysteries, including co-evolution, speciation, extinction and the major biological questions regarding fit of form and function, diversity, procession, and the distribution and abundance of life. Mathematics for the evolutionary game are developed based on Darwin's postulates leading to the concept of a fitness generating function (G-function). G-function is a tool that simplifies notation and plays an important role developing Darwinian dynamics that drive natural selection. Natural selection may result in special outcomes such as the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS). An ESS maximum principle is formulated and its graphical representation as an adaptive landscape illuminates concepts such as adaptation, Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection, and the nature of life’s evolutionary game.

Download Description

All of life is a game and evolution by natural selection is no exception. The evolutionary game theory developed in this book provides the tools necessary for understanding many of nature's mysteries, including co-evolution, speciation, extinction and the major biological questions regarding fit of form and function, diversity, procession, and the distribution and abundance of life. Mathematics for the evolutionary game are developed based on Darwin's postulates leading to the concept of a fitness generating function (G-function). G-function is a tool that simplifies notation and plays an important role developing Darwinian dynamics that drive natural selection. Natural selection may result in special outcomes such as the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS). An ESS maximum principle is formulated and its graphical representation as an adaptive landscape illuminates concepts such as adaptation, Fisher's Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection, and the nature of life's evolutionary game.

Customer Reviews:

A little bit disappointing.......2006-04-19

I am not a biologist, but an engineer interested in evolution and mathematics.
The mathematics of the book is very easy, the only (very) confusing issue are the indices.
The G-function is introduced a bit ad-hoc, but as a definition, this might not matter much. It is very clear, that by allowing the strategy to vary, one can get optimal (at least stationary) values. The strategy dynamics are introduced in a rather confusing way, without much of an explanation.

For the rest, it seems, that 80% of the book are numerical examples, which seem to prove mostly, that with nonlinear differential equations, the behaviour of (e.g.) stationary points can vary quite a bit, if the coefficients in those equations are changed.

Maybe a professional biologist gets a lot out of this book, but for the interested layman it offers little (except upteen numerical examples, see above)

Mathematical Darwinism.......2005-11-17

First, full disclosure: I am a colleague and friend of the authors, Thomas L. Vincent and Joel S. Brown, and I reviewed the entire book during its writing.

Game theory is a fairly recent development in mathematics, having been introduced in the 1940's. Evolutionary Game Theory is more recent yet - Maynard Smith and Price put it on the map with their publication in Nature in 1973 on the Logic of Animal Conflict. Maynard Smith then more fully elaborated the application of matrix games to evolution with his 1982 volume, Evolution and the Theory of Games. Vincent and Brown trace their contribution to the pioneering developments of Maynard Smith, but in this volume, they go much further. As I reviewed the eleven chapters as they were first written, I felt the privilege of observing, first hand, the construction of a great edifice. In this edifice, the dynamics of ecology is dovetailed with the dynamics of heritable strategies. The tool that accomplishes this is the fitness generating function, known as the G-function. Particularly brilliant is the invention of the virtual strategy, a scalar or vector "place holder" in the G-function. The great virtue of the virtual strategy is that it represents any focal individual taking on any strategy within the entire strategy set of the species. The fitness generating function then determines the fitness for that virtual strategy within the biotic and abiotic environment defined by the set of arguments (e.g., resident strategies, their population sizes, abundance of resources, etc.) defining the G-function. With G-function in hand, Evolutionary Game Theorists now have a mathematical Darwinism - a formal mathematical expression of Darwin's three postulates: a) like begets like; b) organisms struggle for existence; c) heritable traits help determine the outcome of the struggle. With the G-function, we can predict both the dynamics of heritable strategies and the adaptive outcome of natural selection.

Vincent and Brown begin, in Chapter 1, with an historical and philosophical overview of Evolutionary Game Theory and its relationship to the more traditional approach of Evolutionary Genetics. They then proceed to lay the mathematical foundations (Chapters 2 - 7), constructing the theory of Evolutionary Games and the G-function. These chapters each contain useful examples, teaching the student of evolutionary games how to apply the G-function. Noteworthy is that most all of the examples in these chapters represent continuous, as opposed to matrix games. In matrix games, which constitute the bulk of early development of Evolutionary Game Theory, and with which most readers are probably most familiar, strategies are discrete rather than continuous. However, the continuous games elaborated by Vincent and Brown (and now, many others) are of far more useful application in Evolutionary Ecology. Key contributions here are the precise mathematical definition of Maynard Smith's seminal Evolutionarily Stable Strategy (ESS) in Chapter 6, and the formulation of the ESS Maximum Principle in Chapter 7. This principle establishes the well-recognized properties of the ESS of invasion resistance and convergent stability, but also the fit of form and function - the ESS strategy is an adaptation - it maximizes individual fitness given the circumstances.

Chapter 8, which treats species concepts, speciation, and extinction, is particularly enlightening. Here the G-function shines! Under traditional approaches, a huge chasm, conceptual and methodological, separates microevolution and macroevolution. Vincent and Brown, armed with the G-function, unify the two: Microevolution is repeatable and reversible evolutionary dynamics within a G-function. Macroevolution is the production of novel G-functions. They demonstrate the versatility of the G-function approach to Evolutionary Game Theory in their discussion of three contexts for extinction (which is as integral to evolution as is speciation). Vincent and Brown introduce many key concepts in Chapter 8. Perhaps most important is their strategy species concept, which relies on their definition of the species archetype. They provide a particularly cogent definition of a species that is ecologically keystone (its presence promotes the persistence, in ecological time, of other species in the community), but they also point out that a species can by evolutionarily keystone - when its presence increases the numbers of species at an ESS. Using these developments, Vincent and Brown investigate mechanisms of speciation, including sympatric speciation, allopatric speciation, adaptive radiations, coevolution, Wright's shifting balance theory, and incumbent replacement. They conclude with a tour de force: a concise and brilliant discussion of the Procession of Life. As they aptly demonstrate, with the G-function approach to the Game of Life, theories such as Punctuated Equilibrium, oft cited as a contradiction of Darwinian Evolution, instead result naturally from Darwin's three postulates!

Chapter 9 is perhaps the least exciting chapter, but it serves the utilitarian purpose of melding the matrix approach to Evolutionary Game Theory with the G-function approach. This is, indeed, required reading for those who think matrix games are the only game in town.

Chapters 10 and 11 are well worth the wait and development. In these chapters, Vincent and Brown apply the G-function to an impressive diversity of problems arising in the beautiful metaphor of Hutchinson, the Ecological Theater and Evolutionary Play. Though the diversity of topics covered in these two chapters is impressive, as Vincent and Brown state, it represents only a subset of the problems that can be investigated with G-functions. Chapter 10 addresses "basic" issues of Evolutionary Ecology - a who's who of fundamental subjects. These include: Habitat selection and the ideal free distribution; Consumer-resource games, with examples on plant competition and root-shoot ratio; Carcinogenesis (a must read for all interested in Darwinian Medicine); Flowering time for annual plants; Root competition; and Foraging games.

Chapter 11 turns to the G-function as a fundamental tool for Applied Evolutionary Ecology. Here Vincent and Brown examine: Evolutionary responses to harvesting; Resource management and conservation; and Chemotherapy-driven evolution. They contrast management based on ecological enlightenment with that based on evolutionary enlightenment (prescriptions based on each emphasis are not always identical!). They point out the resemblance of control of a cancer with chemotherapy with control of a population through hunting. The analysis is striking, with the main message that if all cancer cells are not destroyed by a chemotherapy session, the survivors will evolve as the first step of what they call chemotherapy-driven evolution. If ever Evolutionary Ecologists were looking for a raison d'être, here they have it!

Life is a game.......2005-08-29

Evolutionary Game Theory, Natural Selection, and Darwinian Dynamics by Thomas L. Vincent and Joel S. Brown is a book that not only belongs among the classics of evolutionary theory, but should have pride of place on the shelf right after Darwin's Origin of Species and Maynard Smith's Evolution and the Theory of Games.

This book makes a novel, interesting and readable contribution to the proper understanding of Darwinian processes in evolution. Based on more than twenty years of collaboration between the authors, the book is a comprehensive review of Darwinian theory newly cast in an over-arching mathematical framework. Unlike Stephen Jay Gould's recent overview of evolutionary theory (The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, 2002, 1433 pages), Vincent & Brown's book is concise (382 pages), uncluttered, and supported by an elegant skeleton of mathematical theory.

Don't let the math dissuade you however. If you have read Origin of Species and have a familiarity with classic evolutionary games, you won't have trouble understanding this book. Text and numerous examples provide a clear conceptual explanation of equations throughout.

The book's premise is that life is a game and its players have strategies. Understood as such, the authors present fitness-generating functions (G-functions) that encompass strategy, population, and Darwinian dynamics to model evolutionary outcomes. The first chapter introduces this philosophy; the next six chapters develop the theory, presenting classic population models (Ch. 2) and evolutionary games (Ch. 3), then forging new theory through deriving G-functions (Ch. 4), modeling Darwinian dynamics (Ch. 5), finding the evolutionary stable strategies (ESS, Ch. 6) and developing their general ESS maximum principle (Ch. 7).

The authors are able to side-step population-genetics models (and notably, are able to explain WHY this is possible), and build a general model of Darwinian evolution. An immediate insight of their general model is the concept of flexible landscapes, which re-envisions the notion that natural selection cannot cross valleys on evolutionary landscapes, one of the fundamental criticisms of Darwinian theory since the New Synthesis. Exploration of Vincent & Brown's model illustrates that flexible landscapes can shift under evolving populations so that "valleys" are spanned by continuously uphill routes, re-forming behind evolving populations after they have passed. Further, Vincent & Brown derive the general conditions where flexible landscapes will or will not occur (frequency-dependent vs. -independent evolution respectively).

Armed with their general theory, Vincent & Brown are not content to stop after illuminating the valley conundrum, however, and go on in subsequent chapters to apply their theory to classic problems in evolution (Ch. 8; sympatric and allopatric speciation, co-evolution, the difference between micro- and macro-evolution) and ecology (Ch. 9 & 10; sex ratios, cooperation, ideal free distribution, consumer-resource competition), and even medicine (Ch. 10; the ontogenesis of cancer, chemotherapy) and ecosystem management (Ch. 11, evolutionary stable and ecologically enlightened resource management).

In short, Vincent and Brown have written a marvelous book; and from the day it was published, any evolutionary scholar who has not read it has been behind in the field, and has some catching up to do. It should also be read by ecologists, behaviorists, medical researchers and resource managers interested in evolutionary aspects of their work.

A Mathematical Approach to Evolution.......2005-08-03

Charles Darwin published his primary thesis 'The Origin of Species' in 1859. It was a masterpiece of logical deduction based on the observations he had made while serving as a naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle on a scientific expedition around the world. His views were both orthodox for the day and flawed.

Only seven years later Mendel published the results of his research on genetics. Over time these sciences were merged together into what is now called the 'Modern Synthesis.' Genetics explains the why and the how of species begetting species, and how changes in the species are made when a change is made in the genes.

In 1944, with the advances in mathematics, von Neumann and Morgenstern published 'Theory of Games and Economic Behavior.' Over time the modern synthesis of the genertic approach to evolution has been fit into game theory to help understand how the randomness of genetic evolution can be predicted using game theory.

This book gives a rigorous introduction to the mathematics of game theory as applied to Natural Selection. The book presents the tools necessary for understanding many of Nature's mysteries.

EVOLUTIONARY GAME THEORY, NATURAL SELECTION, AND DARWINIAN DYNAMICS

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EVOLUTIONARY GAME THEORY, NATURAL SELECTION, AND DARWINIAN DYNAMICS
THOMAS BROWN, JOEL VINCENT
Manufacturer: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5DDE2

Book Description

This volume shows how to invest assets over time to achieve satisfactory returns subject to uncertainties, various constraints and liability commitments. The papers utilize several approaches and integrate a number of techniques as well as discussing a variety of models that have either been implemented, are close to being implemented or represent new innovative approaches that may lead to future novel applications, that is, financial engineering. This is essential reading for all involved in analyzing the financial markets.

Customer Reviews:

Understand other's models to build yours.......2000-05-19

I was looking for mathematical models to build an ALM software and obtain the best performances from this software. None of the theories shown in this book perfectly matches my customers' requests, I could proudly build my own model, joining some of the models I read to grant my customers' satisfaction. Thanks to the Newton Institute, I could find both existing and currently building models.

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Worldwide Asset and Liability Modeling
John M. Mulvey
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MVFCM8

Book Description

`Upon her neck and breast was blood, and upon her throat were the marks of teeth having opened the vein: - to this the men pointed, crying, simultaneously struck with horror, "a Vampyre, a Vampyre!"' John Polidori's classic tale of the vampyre was a product of the same ghost-story competition that produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Set in Italy, Greece, and London, Polidori's tales is a reaction to the dominating presence of his employer Lord Byron, and transformed the figure of the vampire from the bestial ghoul of earlier mythologies into the glamorous aristocrat whose violence and sexual allure make him literally a 'lady-killer'. Polidori's tale introduced the vampire into English fiction, and launched a vampire craze that has never subsided. `The Vampyre' was first published in 1819 in the London New Monthly Magazine. The present volume selects thirteen other tales of the macabre first published in the leading London and Dublin magazines between 1819 and 1838, including Edward Bulwer's chilling account of the doppelganger, Letitia Landon's elegant reworking of the Gothic romance, William Carleton's terrifying description of an actual lynching, and James Hogg's ghoulish exploitation of the cholera epidemic of 1831-2.

Customer Reviews:

Chilling candlelight read.......2007-08-27

With the shift from agriculture to industry and advancements in technology and scientific understanding, the 19th century was one of rapid change. This collection of horror stories, anchored by John Polidori's "The Vampyre," reflects the popular tastes and issues of the the times.

A sense of vice, moral ambiguity, and lawlessness pervades many of the stories. Polidori's vampyre does not simply drain blood and life in the literal sense; he tempts the innocent, further corrupts those who are debauched, and supports the sinner financially whenever he can. He is known for his social and emotional vampirism because even the most rational members of mainstream society can witness these evident depravities.

Criminals, living and supernatural, appear in stories such as "Sir Guy Eveling's Dream," "Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman," "The Victim," and "Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess." A contemporary fascination with madness manifests itself in "Monos and Daimonos," "The Red Man," "The Curse," and "The Bride of Lindorf." The interest in medicine and medical research, exploited in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, appear here in "The Victim," "Post-Mortem Recollections of a Medical Lecturer," and, less successfully, "Some Terrible Letters from Scotland." "Life in Death" touches upon one of Frankenstein's themes: man's imperfect and arrogant attempts to mimic or best God and nature.

The most horrifying of these stories rely strongly on either realism or fantasy. "Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman," based on an actual event, takes the reader into the inner circle of a criminal brotherhood for whom brutality mocks and replaces morality and spirituality. William Carleton's description of the group's meeting and the atrocities it subsequently commits resonates of a satanic mass and hell itself, complete with a ring of fire. In "The Victim," coincidences are stretched, but the murder of people for medical research specimens was headline news fresh in the minds of readers.

On the other side, "Monos and Daimonos" is written in a dark fairy-tale style, narrated by a giant rejected by society, yet unable to shake his sociable tormentor. The supernatural tale of "The Master of Logan" is wonderfully spun, with the forces of good and evil engaging in near-comic repartee and an exchange of witty compliments before the unmasking. "The Red Man" may be the most disturbing of the tales, as it blends recent history (the French Revolution) with medieval horrors and tortures.

Some stories, like "The Bride of Lindorf" and "Passages in the Secret History of an Irish Countess," are weak because the short story format seems to rush and constrain the narrative. The novel form of Uncle Silas allowed LeFanu to explore themes such as murder, religion, alcoholism, drug abuse, sexuality, and incest while developing a greater sense of the Gothic mystery, atmosphere, and shadows surrounding the title character and the terror of the heroine's helpless situation. For example, the shady French maid of "Countess" is replaced in the novel by the sadistic and depraved Madame de la Rougierre, a memorable accomplice.

The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre is a fascinating and varied collection of stories published in the UK in the early 1800s. For today's reader, the language and style may present an obstacle to enjoyment and even understanding. To me, however, the writing creates a sense of time and place that enhances the richness and even the timelessness of these tales, best read late at night by candlelight.

Sink your fangs into this one!.......2006-05-03

Out of these 14 stories, I thought 6 were excellent, 5 were quite good. 2 did nothing for me.

A couple of caveats. These stories were written in the early 19th century. Atmosphere counted for a lot. If you've read a lot of modern horror stories, and especially if you watch horror movies, these stories might seem tame to you. The horror often focuses on the situation and psychological experience rather than physical detail. It aims for a deeper level. Also, in most stories, the language is old-fashioned. I feel it adds to the sense of ancient horrors, but it's not everyone's cuppa java.

The Vampyre - This vampire seems rather human. (Not a very nice human, mind you.) Vampiredom is presented as only one of many evils in the world, part of life's tapestry. Humans, we're reminded, have been as cruel as, or crueler than, vampires. The supernatural element is there, but played down. In a way, this makes Lord Ruthven even more frightening because he's an accepted part of society; women love him. Lord Ruthven is said to be based upon Lord Byron, whom the author knew (and apparently didn't like too well).

Sir Guy Eveling's Dream - Bloodcurdling! However, the archaic language gets in the way and makes for difficult reading.

Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman - An ugly revenge tale. The horror here is how heartless and evil people can be, and how mob rule can make us do things that we might not do otherwise. Lots of psychological insight. Supposedly based on a true event. This one will get you in the gut.

Monos and Daimonos - It has a folklore feel to it. Enjoyable.

The Master of Logan - Excellent! Very gothic, supernatural and suspenseful, loaded with atmosphere. Gripping, with nice plot twists. Suspenseful from beginning to end.

The Victim - Harrowing. One of many stories from the time about Resurrection Men from whom medical schools and students bought bodies on which to practice their anatomy. Sometimes digging up a corpse is just too much trouble. The ending was a bit flat, otherwise a powerful heartbreaker.

Some Terrible Letters from Scotland - I didn't see much of a point in this. Three unrelated men write letters to the editor about different aspects of the cholera plague.

The Curse - Rousing horror story about revenge. Nice use of foreshadowing and suspense, with a delicious plot twist.

Life in Death - The old 'scientist tries to beat God at his own game' routine. Downright creepy tale that'll send chills down your spine.

My Hobby,--Rather - A dud. Hope the author kept his day job.

The Red Man - Excellent! A dark, gloomy, gothic atmosphere is built up creatively and very effectively, this time in not-so-gay Paris. A terrible and sad tale of obsession and revenge.

Post-mortem Recollections of a Medical Lecturer - Inside the mind of a doctor entering a state of delirium while giving a lecture on insanity. We remain in his mind as he dies, and possibly (hard to tell) shortly after he dies. Fascinating.

The Bride of Lindorf - Great start, but then it went downhill. We're introduced to two fascinating characters. One we never hear of again; the other becomes ordinary. I felt as though I had read the beginning of one story and the end of another.

Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess - Starts out slow, but once the suspense starts, it doesn't let up. I consider this a psychological thriller. More mystery than supernatural (not a bad thing, just not expected). This is the plot Le Fanu later expanded into his novel, "Uncle Silas." Excellent!

The Vampyre and other tales of the Macabre

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The Vampyre and other tales of the Macabre
John Polidori
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK8DT6

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