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First friend : how dogs evolved from wolves to become our best friends / by Hamilton, Kersten,1958-author.(CARDINAL)363001; Kim, Jaime,illustrator.(CARDINAL)626419;
Includes bibliographical references."A sweet picture book about how dogs evolved from wolves to become man's best friend."--Ages 4-8.Grades 2-3.AD550L
Subjects: Informational works.; Picture books.; Animal behavior; Dogs; Domestication; Human-animal relationships; Wolves;
Available copies: 26 / Total copies: 27
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The puppy kindergarten : the new science of raising a great dog / by Hare, Brian,1976-author.(CARDINAL)402200; Woods, Vanessa,1977-author.(CARDINAL)328151;
Includes bibliographical references and index."When husband and wife scientists Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods fell in love with a trained service dog named Congo, they wanted to understand what made him such a great companion. Given that there hadn't been a large-scale study of puppy development since 1950, they decided to start one, inviting generations of Labrador and Golden Retriever puppies and dozens of student volunteers to come to their lab at Duke University, and the Puppy Kindergarten was born. When and how do puppies develop key cognitive skills such as self-control or cooperative communication? Using the same kinds of cognitive tests and games that have become standard for understanding human infant development, they initially wanted to know if they could predict which qualities would make puppies grow up to be great assistance dogs. But they quickly realized that these special dogs have a lot to tell us about how all dogs navigate the world, solve problems, and learn from the people around them. Even the smartest dogs can't figure out how to make the water stay in their bowl, but they can read our gestures and respond to our emotions in a way that no other species can. Introducing us to the many puppies who contributed to this research and synthesizing findings from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, this delightful, informative book will teach readers how puppies begin to develop abilities that allow them to succeed as adults and flexibly solve problems, giving us a new window into who our dogs are, how they see the world, and the amazing things they can do"--
Subjects: Puppies; Dogs; Dogs; Puppies; Cognition in animals;
Available copies: 15 / Total copies: 18
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The cat's meow : how cats evolved from the Savanna to your sofa / by Losos, Jonathan B.,author.(CARDINAL)351757; Tuss, David J.,illustrator.(CARDINAL)873542;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The past, present, and future of the world's most popular and beloved pet, from a leading evolutionary biologist and great cat lover The domestic cat-your cat-has, from its evolutionary origins in Africa, been transformed in comparatively little time into one of the most successful and diverse species on the planet. Jonathan Losos, writing as both a scientist and a cat lover, explores how researchers today are unraveling the secrets of the cat, past and present, using all the tools of modern technology,from GPS tracking (you'd be amazed where those backyard cats roam) and genomics (what is your so-called Siamese cat . . . really?) to forensic archaeology. In addition to solving the mysteries of your cat's past, it gives us a cat's-eye view of today's habitats, including meeting wild cousins around the world whose habits your sweet house cat sometimes eerily parallels. Do lions and tigers meow? If not, why not? Why does my cat leave a dead mouse at my feet (or on my pillow)? Is a pet ocelot a bad idea? When and why did the cat make its real leap off the African plain? What's with all those cats in Egyptian hieroglyphics? In a genial voice, casually deciphering complex science and history with many examples from his own research and multi-cat household, Losos explores how selection, both natural and artificial, over the last several millennia has shaped the contemporary cat, with new breeds vastly different in anatomy and behavior from their ancestral stock. Yet the cat, ever a predator, still seems onlyone paw out of the wild, and readily reverts to its feral ways as it occupies new lands around the world. Humans are transforming cats, and they in turn are transforming the world around them. This charming and intelligent book suggests what the future may hold for both Felis catus and Homo sapiens"--
Subjects: Cats.; Cats; Cats; Cats; Human-animal relationships.;
Available copies: 19 / Total copies: 21
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The smart Neanderthal : bird catching, cave art & the cognitive revolution / by Finlayson, Clive,1955-Author(DLC)nb 91267571 ;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-221) and index.Nana and flint -- Neanderthals and birds -- Lessons from the Arctic -- The long-tailed duck -- The white ghost -- Gibraltar -- The dynamic world of dunes -- Lakes and plains -- The great auk -- Big eyes -- Digging in the cave --Neanderthal real estate -- Of seals and limpets -- Birds of a feather -- The golden eagle -- Ambushing the scavengers -- The big six -- How to skin a vulture -- Pigeons and choughs -- Feeding the vultures -- The hashtag and the end of the long road to Neanderthal emancipation -- Appendix 1: Bird species cited in the text -- Appendix 2: Mammal species cited in the text.Since the late 1980s the dominant theory of human origins has been that a 'cognitive revolution' (C.50,000 years ago) led to the advent of our species, Homo sapiens. As a result of this revolution our species spread and eventually replaced all existing archaic Homo species, ultimately leading to the superiority of modern humans. Or so we thought. As Clive Finlayson explains, the latest advances in genetics prove that there was significant interbreeding between Modern Humans and the Neanderthals. All non-Africans today carry some Neanderthal genes. We have also discovered aspects of Neanderthal behaviour that indicate that they were not cognitively inferior to modern humans, as we once thought, and in fact had their own rituals and art. Finlayson, who is at the forefront of this research, recounts the discoveries of his team, providing evidence that Neanderthals caught birds of prey, and used their feathers for symbolic purposes. There is also evidence that Neanderthals practised other forms of art, as the recently discovered engravings in Gorham's Cave Gibraltar indicate. Linking all the recent evidence, The Smart Neanderthal casts a new light on the Neanderthals and the "Cognitive Revolution". Finlayson argues that there was no revolution and, instead, modern behaviour arose gradually and independently among different populations of Modern Humans and Neanderthals. Some practices were even adopted by Modern Humans from the Neanderthals. Finlayson overturns classic narratives of human origins, and raises important questions about who we really are.
Subjects: Neanderthals.; Bird remains (Archaeology); Birds; Cognition and culture.; Behavior evolution.; Human evolution.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Kingdom of play : what ball-bouncing octopuses, belly-flopping monkeys, and mud-sliding elephants reveal about life itself / by Toomey, David,1956-author.;
Includes bibliographic references and index.Ball bouncing octopuses: what is play? -- The Kalahari Meerkat Project: training for the unexpected -- "Let's go tickle some rats": the neuroscience of play -- Courtly canines: competing to cooperate and cooperating to compete -- Wood Thrush songs, Herring Gull drop-catching, and Bowerbird art: play as the roots of culture -- Memes and dreams: dreaming as play without a body -- The evolution of play -- Innovative gorillas: the surprising role of play in natural selection -- Playing animal -- Play, life, and everything."For readers of Inside of a Dog and The Soul of an Octopus, a fascinating, charming, and revelatory look at the science behind why animals play that shows how life-at its most fundamental level-is playful. In Kingdom of Play, critically acclaimed science writer David Toomey takes us on a fast-paced and entertaining tour of playful animals and the scientists who study them. From octopuses on Australia's Great Barrier Reef to meerkats in the Kalahari Desert to brown bears on Alaska's Aleutian Islands, we follow adventurous researchers as they design and conduct experiments seeking answers to new, intriguing questions: When did play first appear in animals? How does play develop the brain, and how did it evolve? Are the songs and aerial acrobatics of birds the beginning of avian culture? Is fairness in dog play the foundation of canine ethics? And does play direct and possibly accelerate evolution? Monkeys belly-flop, dolphins tail-walk, elephants mud-slide, crows dive-bomb, and octopuses bounce balls. These activities are various, but all are play, and as Toomey explains, animal play can be seen as a distinct behavior-one that is ongoing and open-ended, purposeless and provisional-rather like natural selection. Through a close examination of both natural selection and play, Toomey argues that life itself is fundamentally playful. A globe-spanning journey and a scientific detective story filled with lively animal anecdotes, Kingdom of Play is an illuminating-and yes, playful-look at a little-known aspect of the animal kingdom"-- Provided by publisher
Subjects: Evolution (Biology); Play behavior in animals.;
Available copies: 17 / Total copies: 17
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The mammalian radiations : an analysis of trends in evolution, adaptation, and behavior / by Eisenberg, John Frederick.(CARDINAL)287620;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 509-599) and index.Part 1. The historical perspective -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The history of mammals [animals] -- 3. The early radiations -- 4. The Edentata -- 5. The Pholidota -- 6. Conclusions concerning the early radiations -- 7. Madagascar as a refugium : the radiation of the Tenrecidae and other Madagascan mammals -- 8. The phylogeny of behavior : a mammalian baseline -- Part 2. Mammalian radiations on the contiguous continental land masses -- 9. The order Macroscelidea -- 10. The order Lagomorpha -- 11. The Order Rodentia -- 12. Insectivora -- 13. Grandorder Ferae -- 14. G. Archonta -- 15. G. Ungulata -- 16. Trends in the adaptation and distribution of the mammalia [feeding niches and their constraints ; Coevolution of species, competition between higher taxa, mammalian species diversity and niche occupancy, loss of species and the problem of extinction].Part 3. Macrophysiology and adaptation -- 17. Consideration of the mammalian size and metabolic rate -- 18. The influence of body size on live history -- 19. Feeding and foraging categories, some size constraints [food, foods, consequences of specialization for certain habitats & tropic specialization, environmental stresses] -- 20. Mammalian size-classes and their distribution according to nice and zoogeographic constraints -- 21. The relative size of the mammalian brain -- 22. Reproduction and development [intrauterine development and length of gestation ; variability of developmental time ; lactation & postnatal growth] -- 23. Reproduction and life history strategies [i.e. altricial young, etc.].Part 4. Behavior as a subject for study -- 25. Introduction -- 26. The genetic bases for behaviour patterns -- 27. A consideration of biological rhythms and temporal patterning -- 28. Description and classification of the behavioural elements common to generalized terrestrial mammals [sleep, rest, locomotion, autogrooming, elimination, breathing, drinking, feeding, artifacts, protective responses, etc.] -- 28. Interaction systems of generalized mammals [social interactions, courtship and sexual, offensive -- defensive, parental care, play, etc.] -- 30. Reproductive failure, social pathology, and the special case of infanticide [captivity, is it adaptive?; in primates?].31. Structure of social organizations [genetic basis] -- 32. Classification of mammalian social organizations [mating, sexual dimorphism and polygyny; rearing systems, foraging, refuging, predatory, etc.] -- 33. Toward a definition of the selective forces producing different grades of sociality -- 34. Synthesis." ... Discusses the principles of the evolution of trophic and reproductive strategies: faunal interchange and the drift of continental land masses; the influence of body size on life-history strategies; the genetic basis of behavioral adaptation and the evolution of social behavior ... appendixes include extensive data on reproductive rate, litter size, interbirth interval, longevity, brain size, and metabolic rate for a wide variety of species."--Jacket.
Subjects: Mammals; Mammals; Adaptation (Biology); Adaptive radiation (Evolution);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Supernatural : meetings with the ancient teachers of mankind / by Hancock, Graham.(CARDINAL)167535;
Subjects: Behavior evolution.; Civilization, Ancient.; Faith; Human beings; Shamans; Spirits.;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Human natures : genes, cultures, and the human prospect / by Ehrlich, Paul R.(CARDINAL)153255;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 433-508) and index.Explores the impact and inconsistancies of human evolution upon human nature, examining the physical, intellectual, cultural, and sexual aspects of human development and behaviors in the light of current scientific theory.
Subjects: Human behavior.; Human beings; Human evolution.; Social evolution.;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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The social conquest of earth / by Wilson, Edward O.(CARDINAL)138801;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-326) and index.[pt.] 1. Why does advanced social life exist? The human condition -- [pt.] 2. Where do we come from? The two paths to conquest ; The approach ; The arrival ; Threading the evolutionary maze ; The creative forces ; Tribalism is a fundamental human trait ; War as humanity's hereditary curse ; The breakout ; The creative explosion ; The sprint to civilization -- [pt.] 3. How social insects conquered the invertebrate world. The invention of eusociality ; Inventions that advanced the social insects -- [pt.] 4. The forces of social evolution. The scientific dilemma of rarity ; Insect altruism and eusociality explained ; Insects take the giant leap ; How natural selection creates social instincts ; The forces of social evolution ; The emergence of a new theory of eusociality -- [pt.] 5. What are we? What is human nature? ; How culture evolved ; The origins of language ; The evolution of cultural variation ; The origins of morality and honor ; The origins of religion ; The origins of the creative arts -- [pt.] 6. Where are we going? A new enlightenment.Based on a lifetime of pioneering research, preeminent naturalist Edward O. Wilson gives us a new history of human evolution, presented in an elegant and provocative narrative that promises to have reverberations in fields as diverse as anthropology and social psychology, neuroscience and 21st-century intellectual and religious history. Wilson begins by addressing three "fundamental questions" of religion and philosophy that have fascinated thinkers for centuries: Where did we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Writing that "the origin of modern humanity was a stroke of luck, good for our species for a while, bad for most of the rest of life forever," Wilson traces the rise of Homo sapiens from its infancy, drawing on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to present us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition. Wilson also reveals how "group selection" can be the only model for explaining man's origins and domination, and warns that it has now accelerated--through unregulated and untrammeled growth--to such a point that the planet as we know it is being threatened.--From publisher description.From the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career.
Subjects: Social evolution; Human evolution; Evolution (Biology); Behavior genetics.; Sociobiology.;
Available copies: 19 / Total copies: 20
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The Daily Show with Jon Stewart presents Earth [sound recording] a visitor's guide to the human race / by Stewart, Jon,1962-;
Read by the author.Jon Stewart, the beloved anchor of The Daily Show, presents a hilarious guide to the human race.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Creation; Human behavior; Human evolution; Life;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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