The Biology of Small Mammals is the first exploration of the lives of small mammals undertaken in decades. Mammalogist Joseph F. Merritt offers an engaging, in-depth discussion about a diverse array of small mammals, from the rare Kitti's hog-nosed bat of Southeast Asia to the bizarre aye-aye of Madagascar to the familiar woodchuck of North America.Small mammals include those mammals weighing under five kilograms (approximately eleven pounds). Merritt introduces the various species that fall under this heading, then follows with chapters that cover such topics as behavior, modes of feeding, locomotion, habitat use, reproduction, and coping with heat loss. Animals of this size face different physiological and ecological challenges than larger mammals. Merritt describes in rich detail how mammals across the globe have adapted to compensate for their small stature, showing how they contribute to and survive in diverse environments in many fascinating ways. For example, arctic foxes, weighing just 3 to 4.3 kilograms, are champion survivors in the cold. They cope with their harsh environs by decreasing activity, seeking shelter in temporary dens and snow burrows, growing a lush winter fur, and undergoing complex physiological changes to insulate themselves from chilling temperatures. Beautifully illustrated throughout, The Biology of Small Mammals provides a valuable and updated reference on nature's more diminutive creatures.
Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction What Is a Small Mammal? Advantages and Disadvantages of Being a Small Mammal The Protagonists Monotremes and Marsupials Afrosoricida, Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha, Macroscelidea, Scandentia, and Dermoptera Chiroptera Primates Carnivora Rodentia Lagomorpha Hyracoidea Part I: Modes of Feeding 2. Insectivory General Characteristics Dilambdodont Dentition Terrestrial Insectivores Venomous Saliva Long, Protrusile Tongue Arboreal Insectivores Elongated Digits Semiaquatic and Fossorial Insectivores Sensory Mucous Glands Eimer's Organs Underwater Sniffing Subterranean Insectivores Seismic Sensitivity Aerial Insectivores Wings Echolocation 3. Herbivory General Characteristics Ever-Growing Incisors Coprophagy Granivores Food Hoarding Cheek Pouches Frugivores Piercing Teeth Prehensile Tail and Protrusile Tongue Nectarivores Brush-Tipped Tongue Gummivores Folivores Foregut versus Hindgut Fermentation Gliding Membranes and Pectinate Teeth Case Study: Rock Badgers: Gutsy Cliff-Dwellers 4. Carnivory General Characteristics Carnassial Teeth Flesh-Eating Carnivores Felids Mustelids Canids Piscivores Claws, Cheek Pouches, and a Sixth Finger Sanguinivores Knifelike Teeth and Heat-Sensitive Nasal Pits 5. Omnivory Omnivorous Carnivores Procyonids Herpestids Viverrids Euplerids Case Studies: The Hero Shrew: Mysterious Insectivore Dietary Nonconformists Gleaning, Hawking, Hovering, and Perch-Hunting Part II: Environmental Adaptations 6. Endothermy 7. Heterothermy Torpor Hibernation 8. Coping with Cold Insulatory Changes Countercurrent Heat Exchange: The Miraculous Net Reduced Level of Activity Reduction of Body Mass (Dehnel's Phenomenon) Fat Tails Social Thermoregulation Increased Heat Production 9. Coping with Heat and Aridity Conserving Water Dietary Water Intake Evaporative Cooling Sweating, Panting, and Saliva Spreading Respiratory Heat Exchange Pelage Insulation Behavioral Avoidance of Heat 10. Ecogeographic Rules Modified Size of Appendages (Allen's Rule) Seasonal Color Dimorphism (Gloger's Rule) Body Mass and Latitude (Bergmann's Rule) Case Studies: Communal Nesting Hedgehogs: Spiny Hibernators Part III: Reproduction 11. Reproductive Variations Delayed Fertilization Delayed Implantation Delayed Development Embryonic Diapause 12. Mating Systems and Reproductive Strategies High Fecundity Monogamy, Housekeeping, and Mate Guarding Absentee Maternal Care Lek Behavior Eusociality Semelparity: Breeding and Sudden Death 13. Population Cycles: Lemmings and Snowshoes Hares Appendix: Useful Web Sites Glossary References Index
""The book is written to appeal to a broad readership, including naturalists, wildlife biologists, ecologists, and students of science. The book will certainly please those with a genuine interest in small mammal biology.""
