Energy for Animal Life (Oxford Animal Biology Series) - Softcover

Alexander, R. McNeill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198500521 ISBN 13: 9780198500520

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

Synopsis

Life depends on energy, and the majority of animal activity centers around finding energy in the form of food. Energy for Animal Life, the first book in the innovative new Oxford Animal Biology Series, gives a thorough yet precise description of how animals get and use energy -- a central topic in understanding animal biology. From solar radiation and photosynthesis to food sources for herbivores and carnivores, this book encompasses the food chain. It compares the merits of different designs of the digestive system as well as of different strategies for finding and choosing food. Several chapters go beyond the question of feeding, exploring the energy costs of motion and the energy demands of growth and reproduction. The final chapter draws together all aspects of energy use to consider the energy budgets of several different animals and to assess the different energy gains and costs of their everyday activities in the wild. As a truly comparative book, it draws on patterns from a wide range of animal species and includes practical information for relevant experiments. It also avoids highly complicated examples, making Energy for Animal Life perfect reading for first and second year undergraduates taking a degree course in biological sciences.

About this title

About the Author

Professor R. McNeill Alexander is at the Department of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Leeds. A bestselling author as well as a respected academic, he has written several other academic and semi-popular books on topics including animal locomotion, dinosaurs, and human mechanics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198500521
• ISBN 13: 9780198500520
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 174