The Biology of the Avian Respiratory System Evolution, Development,
The central focus of this book is the avian respiratory system. The authors explain why the respiratory system of modern birds is built the way it is and works the way that it does. Birds have been and continue to attract particular interest to biologists
- PDF / 16,110,549 Bytes
- 262 Pages / 504.63 x 737.01 pts Page_size
- 21 Downloads / 181 Views
The Biology of the Avian Respiratory System Evolution, Development, Structure and Function
The Biology of the Avian Respiratory System
John N. Maina Editor
The Biology of the Avian Respiratory System Evolution, Development, Structure and Function
Editor John N. Maina Department of Zoology University of Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa
ISBN 978-3-319-44152-8 ISBN 978-3-319-44153-5 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-44153-5
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017940480 # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
This book is dedicated to my family, friends, and past and present students.
Preface
Among the extant terrestrial (air-breathing) vertebrates, comprising ~10,000 extant species (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/updatescorrections-august-2014/) that occupy practically every habitat on earth and pursuing various lifestyles, birds are the most successful taxon. Their evolution from reptiles, accomplishment of flight and attainment of exceptionally efficient respiratory system are the foremost factors that help explain the biology of modern avian taxa. The avian respiratory system, the lung-air sac system, is structurally the most complex (Maina 2005, 2015, 2016) and functionally the most efficient (Scheid 1980; Fedde 1998). In the recent past, its development, morphology and physiology have received intense interest. Particularly, application of modern techniques such as computational modelling, X-ray computer tomography and molecular biology have allowed more robust findings to be made and therefore its biology to be better understood. Plentiful information con
Data Loading...
