The Gibbons (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects) - Hardcover

Lappan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0387886036 ISBN 13: 9780387886039

Publisher: Springer, 2009

Synopsis

It is a great honor to be asked to introduce this exciting new volume, having been heavily involved in the first comprehensive synthesis in the early 1980s. Gibbons are the most enthralling of primates. On the one hand, they are the most appealing animals, with their upright posture and body shape, facial markings, dramatic arm-swinging locomotion and suspensory postures, and devastating duets; on the other hand, the small apes are the most diverse, hence biologically valuable and informative, of our closest relatives. It is hard for me to believe that it is 40 years to the month since I first set foot on the Malay Peninsula to start my doctoral study of the siamang. I am very proud to have followed in the footsteps of the great pioneer of primate field study, Clarence Ray Carpenter (CR or Ray, who I was fortunate to meet twice, in Pennsylvania and in Zurich), first in Central America (in 1967) and then in Southeast Asia. It is 75 years since he studied howler monkeys on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone. It is 70 years since he studied the white-handed gibbon in Thailand.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The small apes, or gibbons, are among our closest living relatives, yet they have received little attention from the scientific community and the public in comparison with the other living apes. This oversight is not due to lack of appeal; their physical beauty, graceful acrobatic movements, and thrilling songs make it clear why gibbons are always among the most popular animals in zoos. Rather, the inherent difficulties involved in studying or filming gibbons in their natural habitats and, in some cases, the misconception that among apes, smaller means lesser, have led many researchers and filmmakers to focus their attentions elsewhere. Nonetheless, a growing number of intrepid field and laboratory researchers have made steady progress in the study of gibbon behavior and ecology over the last several decades. This volume is a systematic compilation of recent research on gibbon socioecology and population biology with a focus on understanding gibbons in the context of their natural habitats, and includes contributions on a range of topics, including gibbon biogeography, the ecological roles played by gibbons in their ecosystems, the origins and functions of key gibbon social and ecological adaptations, and the conservation status of wild gibbon populations.

The contributors address both theoretical questions and the practical implications of our growing knowledge about gibbon adaptations. While gibbons share several important social features with humans, thus providing parallels for understanding human evolution, they are also fascinating creatures in their own right and act as vital components of tropical forest ecosystems. Unfortunately, gibbons are also among the most endangered living apes. This volume should be of interest to researchers and students from a variety of fields, including anthropologists, animal behaviorists, tropical ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservation biologists.

Review

From the reviews:

“This volume is based on symposia held in 2002 and 2004, which focused on aspects of gibbon behavior, ecology, conservation, and biogeography, plus analyses of their fossil record and interspecific evolutionary relationships. ... it is wonderful to see the range of colleagues from countries ‘hosting’ gibbons, fully engaged in their study. Summing Up: Recommended. Academic audiences, upper-division undergraduates and above.” (E. Delson, Choice, Vol. 47 (3), November, 2009)

“This well-written and insightful edited volume is based on symposia from the 2002 and 2004 International Primatological Society Congresses. Its editors accurately argue that gibbons have not received as much attention as great apes. ... By providing the most up-to-date review of hylobatid biogeography, dietary ecology, social organization, and conservation, this volume does an outstanding job in significantly adding to our knowledge of small apes.” (Herbert H. Covert, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Vol. 143, 2010)

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0387886036
• ISBN 13: 9780387886039
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 544