Numerous figures, illustrations, and tables; integration of new literature and concepts into field of primatology; emphasis upon both behavioral and cognitive mechanisms.

Nursery Rearing of Nonhuman Primates in the 21st Century describes how and why nursery rearing of primates can produce adaptable juveniles and adults for research, conservation, and display-educational purposes. The volume details the history of nursery rearing since the mid-19^th century, the outcomes of varied nursery rearing methods, the contemporary goals of nursery rearing as well as reference data derived from species commonly reared in nursery or hand-feeding situations.

Examples of the changing goals of nursery rearing covered in this volume are the need...

The purpose of this volume is to present a comprehensive overview of recent advances in primate field research, ecology, and conservation biology in Mesoamerica. The overall goal of each contribution is to integrate newly collected field data with theoretical perspectives drawn from evolutionary biology, socioecology, biological anthropology, and conservation to identify how our current knowledge of primate behavior and ecology has moved beyond more traditional approaches. A corollary to this, and an important goal of the volume is to identify geographical regions and species for which we...

Advances in fossil studies relating to the origin of Homo sapiens have strengthened the hypothesis that our direct ancestors originated on the African continent. Most researchers also agree that the time when prehumans diverged from the last common ancestor was in the early part of the Late Miocene epoch.

Focus must now shift from determining the times and places of hominid origins to clarifying hominid evolutionary problems, such as the selective factors and acquisition processes of hominid bipedalism. In March of 2003, researchers from Africa, Europe, Japan and the United States...

Primate Biogeography is a subject rarely addressed as a discipline in its own right. This comprehensive source introduces the reader to Primate Biogeography as a discipline. It highlights the many factors that may influence the distribution of primates, and reveals the wide range of approaches that are available to understanding the distribution of this order. The biogeography of primates in the past is a major component of our understanding of their evolutionary history and is an essential component of conservation biology. This book will appeal to primatologists, physical...

This book provides a novel focus on adaptive explanations for cranial and postcranial features and functional complexes, socioecological systems, life history patterns, etc. in early primates. It further offers a detailed rendering of the phylogenetic affinities of such basal taxa to later primate clades as well as to other early/recent mammalian orders. In addition to the strictly paleontological or systemic questions regarding Primate Origins, the editors concentrate on the adaptive significance of primate characteristics. Thus, the book provides the broadest possible perspective on...

This volume brings together current research on the behavior, ecology, reproduction, and life history of baboons of the genus Papio, shedding light on what makes baboons successful. The book focuses on issues such as infanticide, mating strategies and investment, hybridization and genetics. The findings have broad applications to understanding the evolution of complex life history adaptations in other primates, and of humans in particular.

Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation brings together information from recent research, and provides new insight into the study of lemur origins, and the ecology and adaptation of both extant and recently extinct lemurs. In addition, it addresses issues of primate behavioral ecology and how environment can play a major role in explaining species variation. Moreover, in a larger context, the information contained in this volume expands our knowledge of primate ecology and allows us further insight into mammalian adaptations to unusual and often harsh environmental conditions that arise from both...

This volume details the different ways that nocturnal primates avoid predators. It is a first of its kind within primatology, and is therefore the only work giving a broad overview of predation nocturnal primate predation theory in particular in the field

Additionally, the book incorporates several chapters on the theoretical advances that researchers studying nocturnal primates need to make."