The Bowhead Whale: Balaena Mysticetus: Biology and Human Interactions

The Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus: Biology and Human Interactions covers bowhead biology from anatomy and behavior, to conservation, distribution, and ecology and evolution. It also discusses the biological and physical aspects of the Arctic ecosystem in which these whales live, with careful attention paid to the dramatic changes that are taking place. A special section of the book describes the interactions of humans with bowheads in past and present, with a focus on their importance to Indigenous communities as well as challenges such as entanglement in fishing gear, industrial noise, and ship strikes. This volume brings together the knowledge of bowheads in one place, for easy reference for scientists that study the species, marine mammal biologists, but, equally important, for everyone who is interested in the Arctic. Bowheads live in the Arctic, give birth in ice-choked waters, live up to 200 years, and have the thickest blubber and longest baleen of any whale species. The males sing complex songs, and, though they eat tiny prey, are among the largest animals on the planet. After near extinction of all four populations of bowheads due to 400 years of hunting by European and American whalers, two populations have recovered. They are a conservation success story resulting from a productive collaboration of Indigenous communities, government agencies, scientists, and conservation organizations. The only current book dedicated to this speciesShort, high-impact chapters that make it possible to review all of bowhead biology in one compact volume, making it a one-stop reference volume for the speciesIllustrated with never-before published photos of bowheads in their environmentProvides a platform for an in depth understanding of Indigenous whaling INDICE: Section I: Basic Biology 1. Higher Phylogeny of Baleen Whales 2. Fossil History of the Balaenidae 3. The Stocks of Bowheads 4. Bowhead Whale Abundance 5. Growth and Form 6. Embryology and Gestation 7. Skull Anatomy 8. Skeletal Anatomy 9. Anatomy and Physiology of the Muscular System 10. Anatomy and Physiology of the Gastro-Intestinal System 11. Anatomy and Physiology of the Reproductive System 12. Anatomy and Function of Feeding 13. Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Systems 14. Brain and Peripheral Nervous System 15. Sensory Systems 16. Endocrinology, Thermoregulation, and Blubber Physiology 17. Proteomics and Gene Expression 18. Age Determination 19. Sound Production and Reception 20. Behavior 21. Life History 22. Arctic Ocean Physiological Adaptations Section II: The Bowhead Ecosystem 23. Physical Oceanography of the Bowhead Habitat 24. Global Change Affecting the Bowhead Ecosystem 25. Bowhead Prey 26. Feeding Ecology 27. Bowhead Predators 28. Parasites and Commensals 29. Diseases 30. Ice Entrapment and Other Mortality Section III: Interactions with Humans 31. European and Yankee Whaling of Bowheads 32. History of Inupiat and Chukchi Whaling of Bowheads 33. Current Native Whaling of Bowheads 34. Bowheads and Bowhead Whaling in Inupiat Culture 35. Inupiat Traditional Knowledge and Science 36. Noise Affecting Bowheads 37. Entanglement and Ship Strikes 38. Contaminants 39. Future of Management and Conservation

• ISBN: 978-0-12-818969-6
• Editorial: Academic Press
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 516
• Fecha Publicación: 01/08/2020
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés