Carnivores Of Australia

The Australian continent provides a unique perspective on the evolution and ecology of carnivorous animals. In earlier ages, Australia provided the arena for a spectacular radiation of marsupial and reptilian predators. The causes of their extinctions are still the subject of debate. Since European settlement, Australia has seen the extinction of one large marsupial predator (the thylacine), another (the Tasmanian devil) is in danger of imminent extinction, and still others have suffered dramatic declines. By contrast, two recently-introduced predators, the fox and cat, have been spectacularly successful, with devastating impacts on the Australian fauna. Carnivores of Australia: Past, Present and Future explores Australia's unique predator communities from pre-historic, historic and current perspectives. It covers mammalian, reptilian and avian carnivores, both native and introduced to Australia. It also examines the debate surrounding how best to manage predators to protect livestock and native biodiversity. Readers will benefit from the most up-to-date synthesis by leading researchers and managers in the field of carnivore biology. By emphasising Australian carnivores as exemplars of flesh-eaters in other parts of the world, this book will be an important reference for researchers, wildlife managers and students worldwide.

The Australian continent provides a unique perspective on the evolution and ecology of carnivorous animals. In earlier ages, Australia provided the arena for a spectacular radiation of marsupial and reptilian predators. The causes of their extinctions are still the subject of debate. Since European settlement, Australia has seen the extinction of one large marsupial predator (the thylacine), another (the Tasmanian devil) is in danger of imminent extinction, and still others have suffered dramatic declines. By contrast, two recently-introduced predators, the fox and cat, have been spectacularly successful, with devastating impacts on the Australian fauna. Carnivores of Australia: Past, Present and Future explores Australia's unique predator communities from pre-historic, historic and current perspectives. It covers mammalian, reptilian and avian carnivores, both native and introduced to Australia. It also examines the debate surrounding how best to manage predators to protect livestock and native biodiversity. Readers will benefit from the most up-to-date synthesis by leading researchers and managers in the field of carnivore biology. By emphasising Australian carnivores as exemplars of flesh-eaters in other parts of the world, this book will be an important reference for researchers, wildlife managers and students worldwide.

The Australian continent provides a unique perspective on the evolution and ecology of carnivorous animals. Since European settlement, Australia has seen the extinction of one large marsupial predator (the thylacine), another (the Tasmanian devil) is in danger of imminent extinction, and still others have suffered dramatic declines. By contrast, two recently-introduced predators, the fox and cat, have been spectacularly successful, with devastating impacts on the Australian fauna. Carnivores of Australia: Past, Present and Future explores Australia's unique predator communities from prehistoric, historic and current perspectives. It covers mammalian, reptilian and avian carnivores, both native and introduced to Australia. It also examines the debate surrounding how best to manage predators to protect livestock and native biodiversity. By emphasizing Australian carnivores as exemplars of flesh-eaters in other parts of the world, this book will be an important reference for researchers, wildlife managers and students worldwide.

"Australian Carnivorous Plants" is a beautifully produced coffeetable book with extensive colour photographs of all carnivorousplant genera found in Australia (Aldrovanda, Byblis, Cephalotus,Drosera, Nepenthes, and Utricularia). Incorporating 180 images ofover 150 species taken over the past two decades by acclaimedwildlife photographers and carnivorous plant experts, Greg Bourkeand Richard Nunn, this visually striking book is the first workdedicated to highlighting the beauty of Australian carnivorousplants in the wild through high-quality photographs.The selection of breathtaking images featured in this lavishlyillustrated work was carefully chosen to highlight theextraordinary diversity of carnivorous plants found in Australia,an assemblage that is greater than on all other continents onEarth. The spectacular images and detailed captions, written inaccessible English, offer a uniquely informative portrait of someof the Southern Hemisphere's most extraordinary and beautifulplants. It is a work that will fascinate amateur natureenthusiasts and specialist botanists alike.This beautiful book includes a foreword by Allen Lowrie, a worldauthority on carnivorous plants; a short introductory chapter tothe carnivorous plants of the world with a summary and completelisting of all carnivorous plant species found in Australia;chapters dedicated to each genus of Australian carnivorous plantwith introductory descriptions; a chapter on conservation; andinformation relating to the photographic techniques used by theauthors. Many of the taxa covered here have never been depicted inprint before.Particular highlights include:1. The first complete listing of all currently known carnivorousplants of Australia.2. Many rare, little known and seldom photographed taxa, includingByblis aquatica, B. rorida, Drosera browniana, D. bulbosa subsp.major, D. gibsonii, D. nivea, D. oreopodion, D. radicans, D.zigzagia, Utricularia circumvoluta, U. leptoryncha, U. paulineae,U. singeriana, and many more.

Most living carnivorous marsupials lead a secretive and solitary existence. From tiny insect eaters to the formidable Tasmanian Devil, Secret Lives of Carnivorous Marsupials offers rare insight into the history and habits of these creatures – from their discovery by intrepid explorers and scientists to their unique life cycles and incredible ways of hunting prey. Secret Lives of Carnivorous Marsupials provides a guide to the world’s 136 living species of carnivorous marsupials and is packed with never-before-seen photos. Biogeography, relationships and conservation are also covered in detail. Readers are taken on a journey through remote Australia, the Americas and dark, mysterious New Guinea – some of the last truly wild places on Earth. The book describes frenzied mating sessions, minuscule mammals that catch prey far larger than themselves, and extinct predators including marsupial lions, wolves and even sabre-toothed kangaroos.

Predators with Pouches provides a unique synthesis of current knowledge of the world’s carnivorous marsupials—from Patagonia to New Guinea and North America to Tasmania. Written by 63 experts in each field, the book covers a comprehensive range of disciplines including evolution and systematics, reproductive biology, physiology, ecology, behaviour and conservation. Predators with Pouches reveals the relationships between the American didelphids and the Australian dasyurids, and explores the role of the marsupial fauna in the mammal community. It introduces the geologically oldest marsupials, from the Americas, and examines the fall from former diversity of the larger marsupial carnivores and their convergent evolution with placental forms. The book covers all aspects of carnivorous marsupials, including interesting features of life history, their unique reproduction, the physiological basis for early senescence in semelparous dasyurids, sex ratio variation and juvenile dispersal. It looks at gradients in nutrition—from omnivory to insectivory to carnivory—as well as distributional ecology, social structure and conservation dilemmas.

Taxonomy of Australian Mammals utilises the latest morphometric and genetic research to develop the most up to date and comprehensive revision of the taxonomy of Australian mammals undertaken to date. It proposes significant changes to the higher ranks of a number of groups and recognises several genera and species that have only very recently been identified as distinct. This easy to use reference also includes a complete listing of all species, subspecies and synonyms for all of Australia’s mammals, both native and introduced as well as terrestrial and marine. This book lays a foundation for future taxonomic work and identifies areas where taxonomic studies should be targeted, not only at the species and subspecies level but also broader phylogenetic relationships. This work will be an essential reference for students, scientists, wildlife managers and those interested in the science of taxonomy.

Diagrams showing skeletal features and tooth structure and a glossary of technical terms are included.

A big format board book for babies and toddlers. Bright, bold photographs of the wonderful animals of Australia, themed into habitats such as 'In the bush' and 'In the water'. Each photograph is labelled with its name and there is a simple question to answer on each page to encourage children to interact further with the book pages.

"Naturalist and Assistant Director of the Museum of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, Jack Ashby shares his love for the platypus and other Australian mammals, including wombats, echidnas, and kangaroos. Informed by stories of his experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia and his close contact with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last 200 years, Ashby's book explains historical mysteries and debunks myths about these mammals and especially the platypus-which lays eggs, feeds its young on milk, has venom spurs, and sports a bill that can detect electricity. In evaluating how humans have considered these special mammals, he makes clear that calling these animals "weird" or "primitive"- or incorrectly implying that Australia is an "evolutionary backwater"-has only added to the challenges for their conservation. One outcome of these descriptions is that Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of anywhere on Earth. Ashby argues that many of the ways that the world thinks about Australia's mammals can be traced back to the country's colonial history"--