A Bibliography Of Antarctic Ornithology

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Ornithology in Laboratory and Field is intended as an aid to ornithological study at the college or university level. Students who lack the background knowledge usually acquired during a course in general zoology or biology should keep it handy for ready reference a standard elementary text on the subject. This book contains extensive material for purely informational reading, possibly enough to supplant the need of an additional textbook. Its principal purpose still complies with the title of its predecessors for it is essentially a manual to guide and assist the student in direct observations. All twenty sections, except the last (""The Origin, Evolution, and Decrease of Birds""), suggest methods and provide instructions for studies; and all conclude with an extensive list of references, frequently annotated, for further information. The twenty sections of the book can be taken up in almost any order and some may be omitted without affecting the instructional value of the others. A feature of this new edition is an introduction to birds and ornithology, intended for reading at the beginning of a course. The purpose is twofold: to show the significance of birds for study and to give an overall preview of ornithology, the subject, with emphasis on its wide scope, how it is studied, and some of the continuing and exciting opportunities that it offers for investigation.

This book is the third in aseries of publications devoted to the biogeographieal and ecological research in the Southern Hemisphere, published in the "Monographiae Biologicae". After dealing with Australia (vol. VIII) and Southern Africa (Vol. XIV) it was thought essential to include Antarctiea in this series. Ever since the expedition of the "Belgiea" made the first suc cessful wintering within the antarctie circle in 1898 and brought back a very rieh harvest of scientific data, Belgium kept a vivid interest in Antarctiea and took an active part in the modern and international exploration of this vast continent. As part of their programs for the International Geophysieal Year (I. G. Y. ) twelve nations established permanent or semi-permanent bases on the Antarctie Continent or on subantarctie islands. Thus a new era of vast and free international scientific collaboration in the Antarctie was opened and it culminated in the formulation and the signing of the Antarctic Treaty (Washington 1959). It was recognized and accepted that "Antarctiea" shall be used for peaceful purposes only and "Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctiea and coopera tion toward that end, as applied during the I. G. Y. , shall continue . . " In order to organize this collaboration e. g. by full exchange of programs and resuIts a "Special Committee on Antarctie Research" (S. C. A. R. ) was founded in 1957.

The aims behind the bibliography are threefold: to collate information and data from the literature on Antarctic terrestrial and freshwater invertebrate animals, to provide a cross-referenced, indexed information system, and to make a preliminary lisiting of species records. Literature survey covers the period from the earliest South Polar Expedition on which invertebrates were recorded (1922-25) to the end of 1990. The bibliography comprises in excess of 1400 entries; the indexes provide a classification of invertebrates, taxonomic and species lists, an author index, a general subject index, a geographical or location index and a list of expeditions on which invertebrates were found.

This is the first book to draw together a history of science in Antarctica.

Antarctica, a vast land remote from the other continents and still the least known of them all, provides a unique international laboratory for science. Despite the costs, a growing number of countries are supporting basic scientific research on the continent and in its surrounding seas. Our knowledge of life in this extreme environment, although limited, suggests that it is a key environment for many areas of science. Potential economic developments for food and minerals as well as increasing political complications might jeopardise the present scientific accord in the future. Now is the time to take stock: what do we know about Antarctic ecology? What are the threats and how can they be met? In this volume Antarctic scientists from six countries write about the Antarctic ecosystem.