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A uniquely comprehensive examination of the ways in which mammals of diverse size and taxonomy are quantitatively similar and dissimilar.
List of contents
Acknowledgements; Part I. Background: 1. Introduction; 2. The mammals; 3. The nature of scaling; 4. Towards a standardized body weight table; 5. A reader's guide; Part II. Empirical Analyses: 6. Body length, girth and surface area; 7. Body size distribution in adult mammals; 8. Body composition; 9. Circulatory system; 10. Digestive system; 11. Integumentary system; 12. Musculoskeletal system; 13. Neuroendocrine system; 14. Reproductive system; 15. Respiratory system; 16. Urinary system; 17. Function; 18. Lethal limits; Part III. Survey of Results: 19. Structural summary; 20. Functional summary; 21. End-sample, mid-sample and FDS; 22. Human scaling; Part IV. Methodology: 23. Scaling statistics; 24. Scaling sums; Part V. A Broader View: 25. A Sense of scale; Appendix 1. Recommended reading; Appendix 2. Guidelines for data screening; Appendix 3. Summary of Brody's findings; References; Index.
About the author
John William Prothero served on the faculty of the Department of Biological Structure at the University of Washington, Seattle, from 1965 to 1999. During this time, he taught histology for fifteen years and subsequently functional neuroanatomy for nearly twenty years. He has a long-term interest in many aspects of scaling.
Summary
A scaling approach investigates the principles of mammal design by examining the ways in which mammals of diverse size and taxonomy are quantitatively comparable. Using substantially larger and more rigorously screened samples than in any existing text, this book analyses a uniquely extensive set of mammal attributes.
