Patterns of Vertebrate Biology

I Phylogenetic Development.- 1. An Overview of Vertebrate Phylogeny.- Vertebrate Progenitors.- Jawless Fish.- Jawed Fish.- Bony Fish.- Amphibians.- Reptiles.- Birds.- Mammals.- 2. Mechanics of Evolution.- Requirements for Selection.- Rates of Evolution.- Selection and Adaptation.- Preadaptation.- Extinction and Survival.- Geography and Subspecies.- Ecogeographic Rules.- Sexual Selection.- Genetic Stability.- Genetic Drift.- Speciation versus Phyletic Evolution.- 3. Zoogeography.- Disjunctions and Endemism.- Background to Plate Tectonics.- Modern Vertebrate Distributions and Plate Tectonics.- Dispersal.- Faunal Distributions.- Islands.- Deserts.- The Pleistocene.- Summary.- 4. Movements and Migration.- Territory and Home Range.- Migration.- Orientation and Navigation.- Dispersal.- II Individual Environmental Responses.- 5. Breathing.- Gills of Fish.- Amphibians.- Reptiles.- Birds.- Mammals.- Comparisons.- 6. Food and Feeding.- Food Intake.- Fat Cycles.- Foraging.- Resource Partitioning.- Seasonal Changes in Food Supply.- Toxic Foods.- Summary.- 7. Thermoregulation and Water Balance.- Physiologic and Behavioral Relationships.- Fish.- Amphibians.- Reptiles.- Birds.- Mammals.- Summary.- 8. Activity and Seasonal Dormancy.- Activity.- Seasonal Dormancy.- Summary.- III Communication.- 9. Sensory Receptors and Perception.- Olfaction and Taste.- Vision.- Hearing and Vocalization.- Sensory Pits of Snakes.- Extraoptical Photoreceptors.- Electroreception.- Summary.- 10. Signals.- Fishes.- Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds.- Mammals.- Scent Production.- Coloration.- Sound Production.- Echolocation.- Bioluminescence.- Electric Fishes.- Summary.- IV Population Phenomena.- 11. Reproduction.- Vertebrate Ovulatory Cycle.- Mating.- Parthenogenesis and Intersexual Conditions.- Parental Care in Fishes.- Parental Care in Amphibians.- Parental Care in Reptiles.- Delayed Births.- Breeding Seasons.- Summary.- 12. Growth.- Specializations in Early Growth.- Age of Sexual Maturity.- Viviparity in Ectotherms.- Summary.- 13. Community and Population Density.- Community Structure.- Population Dynamics.- References.