The Golden Mouse: Ecology and Conservation / Edition 1

by Gary W. Barrett, George A. Feldhamer

Overview

No group of mammals has more species than Rodentia. With close to 2300 recognized species throughout the world, Rodents comprise about forty-two percent of all living mammalian species. These mammals can have major impacts on human life-they can be major crop depredators, vectors of disease, and important models for scientific research. When we hear the familiar phrase charismatic mammalian megafauna, we immediately envision large, powerful carnivores like lions and grizzly bears, or sleek, graceful ungulates like deer and antelope. But we rarely hear about charismatic mammalian microfauna, such as mice. The golden mouse is considered by many to be the most charismatic and ecologically unique of the mammalian microfauna. This volume is the first attempt to draw together what is known about the golden mouse ranging from systematics, natural history, and population dynamics to coexistence, nesting behavior, and semi-arboreal living in managed and natural ecological systems. In this scholarly work, the golden mouse is used as a model to explore conceptual issues in ecology across levels of organization from organism to landscape, integrating reductionism and holistic ecological science. Chapters also include ecological processes such as behavior, energetics, evolution, and regulation that transcend these levels of organization. Future integrative research studies across levels of organization also are addressed. The Golden Mouse: Ecology and Conservation will interest students and professionals in conservation biology, ecology, mammalogy, and wildlife management, as well as readers interested in natural history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780387336657
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	12/06/2007
Edition description:	2008
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	1.70(w) x 2.70(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Gary Barrett, Odum Professor of Ecology at the University of Georgia, is the author of Landscape Ecology of Small Mammals, published by Springer in 1999, which has sold 846 copies. He is also the author with the late Eugene Odum of Fundamentals of Ecology, 5/e, published in 2004.

George A. Feldhamer is Professor of Zoology, and Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.

Table of Contents

Foreword.- Preface.- Acknowledgments.- INTRODUCTION: The Golden Mouse: A Levels-of-Organization Perspective.- The Golden Mouse: Taxonomy and Natural History.- LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION: Population Ecology of the Golden Mouse.- Community Ecology of the Golden Mouse.- Ecosystem Ecology of the Golden Mouse.- Landscape Ecology of the Golden Mouse.- TRANSCENDING PROCESSES: Relative Abundance and Conservation: Is the Golden Mouse a Rare Species?- The Golden Mouse: A Model of Energetic Efficiency.- Nesting Ecology of the Golden Mouse: An Oikos Engineer.- Ectoparasites, Bots, and Vector-Borne Diseases Associated with the Golden Mouse.- NEW PERSPECTIVES AND FUTURE CHALLENGES: Landscape Aesthetics of the Golden Mouse.- Future Challenges and Research Opportunities: What Do We Really Know?- Index.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

"A concise scholarly volume that summarizes the natural history of the Golden Mouse … . Highly recommended reading for students and professionals in mammalogy, ecology, wildlife biology, as well as readers with an interest in natural history." (Southeastern Naturalist, Issue 7/3, 2008)

"In The Golden Mouse: Ecology and Conservation, Barrett and Feldhamer have compiled a set of chapters that give us a glimpse into the intriguing world of their study species … . I found this to be an interesting and generally enjoyable read. … it will be of greatest appeal to ecologists and conservation biologists who likewise share a passion for small mammals. … it should serve as a valuable guide for those investigating other species with which the golden mouse interacts." (Catherine E. Burns, Journal of Mammal Evolution, Vol. 16, 2009)

From the Publisher