Coastal Dolphins and Porpoises: Ridgway and Harrison's Handbook of Marine Mammals, Volume One, the first volume in the Handbook of Marine Mammals series, covers some of the world's most beautiful, intelligent, and highly adapted mammals that inhabit our seas and oceans. As our knowledge of marine mammals grows, the need exists for a reliable and complete reference to the ecology and biology of these fascinating creatures. Scientists, conservationists, and informed laypersons will find books in this series to be a definitive review of all the world's living whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, sea cows, and marine otters and bears.This volume consists of species review chapters written by leading global experts on a variety of coastal marine species of dolphins and porpoises. Each chapter includes a description of the species followed by sections on distribution and abundance, anatomy, physiology, behavior, ecology, reproduction, parasites, diseases, and the impacts of human activities on the species. - Provides in-depth reviews of bottlenose, humpback, and other coastal dolphins, as well as the closely related porpoises - Addresses the evolution, anatomy, ecology, distribution, and behavior of these marine mammal species - Features numerous photos of live and specimen animals, skulls, and anatomical details, along with distribution maps
Autorentext
Dr. Thomas Jefferson's main interests are the development of marine mammal identification aids, and the systematics and population ecology of the more poorly known species of dolphins and porpoises. His work since receiving his PhD in 1983 has been related to conservation and management of marine mammals threatened by human activities. His current primary research focuses on the conservation biology of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) populations in Hong Kong and surrounding waters. I am also working on other projects looking at the systematics and ecology of these species throughout their ranges. In addition, I am involved in many other projects, including those on the conservation of the critically endangered vaquita (Phocoena sinus) and on the taxonomy and population ecology of common dolphins (Delphinus spp.)