A Manual of Practical Laboratory and Field Techniques in Palaeobiology


Book Description

The user This manual is designed for the use of geo-scientists with an interest and need in developing palaeobiological materials as a potential source of data. To meet this objective practical procedures have been formatted for use by both professional and semi professional students with an initial understanding of palaeo biological research aims as a primary source of scientific data. I have attempted to provide an explanation and understanding of practical procedures which may be required by students undertaking palaeobiological projects as part of a degree course. The layout of this manual should be particularly beneficial in the instruction and training of geotechnologists and museum preparators. Graduate students and scientists requiring an outline of a preparation procedure will also be able to use the manual as a reference from which to assess the suitability of a procedure. This manual is also intended for use by the "committed amateur". Many of the techniques described in this manual have been devised by non-palaeontologists, and developed from methods used in archaeology, zoology and botany, as well as other areas of geology. A considerable number of the methods can be undertaken by the amateur, and in the case of many of the field procedures, should be used. This will ensure that specimens and samples can be conserved in such a manner as to facilitate any later research, and not invalidate the results of subsequent geochemical analytical techniques which might be employed.




Plant Biology


Book Description




Synthetic Biology: A Lab Manual


Book Description

Synthetic Biology: A Lab Manual is the first manual for laboratory work in the new and rapidly expanding field of synthetic biology. Aimed at non-specialists, it details protocols central to synthetic biology in both education and research. In addition, it provides all the information that teachers and students from high schools and tertiary institutions need for a colorful lab course in bacterial synthetic biology using chromoproteins and designer antisense RNAs. As a bonus, practical material is provided for students of the annual international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. The manual is based upon a highly successful course at Sweden's Uppsala University and is coauthored by one of the pioneers of synthetic biology and two bioengineering postgraduate students.An inspiring foreword is written by another pioneer in the field, Harvard's George Church: “Synthetic biology is to early recombinant DNA as a genome is to a gene. Is there anything that SynBio will not impact? There was no doubt that the field of SynBio needed ‘A Lab Manual’ such as the one that you now hold in your hands.”




Handbook of Bird Biology


Book Description

Selected by Forbes.com as one of the 12 best books about birds and birding in 2016 This much-anticipated third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology is an essential and comprehensive resource for everyone interested in learning more about birds, from casual bird watchers to formal students of ornithology. Wherever you study birds your enjoyment will be enhanced by a better understanding of the incredible diversity of avian lifestyles. Arising from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and authored by a team of experts from around the world, the Handbook covers all aspects of avian diversity, behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology, and conservation. Using examples drawn from birds found in every corner of the globe, it explores and distills the many scientific discoveries that have made birds one of our best known - and best loved - parts of the natural world. This edition has been completely revised and is presented with more than 800 full color images. It provides readers with a tool for life-long learning about birds and is suitable for bird watchers and ornithology students, as well as for ecologists, conservationists, and resource managers who work with birds. The Handbook of Bird Biology is the companion volume to the Cornell Lab's renowned distance learning course, www.birds.cornell.edu/courses/home/homestudy/.




Concepts in Biology


Book Description

Concepts in Biology is a short, student-friendly text organized in a traditional manner. It has very little botany and presents a human-oriented approach to the animal unit. Professors and students appreciate the low cost of this title, and that it is written for students who are not biology majors.




Landscapes and Labscapes


Book Description

What is it like to do field biology in a world that exalts experiments and laboratories? How have field biologists assimilated laboratory values and practices, and crafted an exact, quantitative science without losing their naturalist souls? In Landscapes and Labscapes, Robert E. Kohler explores the people, places, and practices of field biology in the United States from the 1890s to the 1950s. He takes readers into the fields and forests where field biologists learned to count and measure nature and to read the imperfect records of "nature's experiments." He shows how field researchers use nature's particularities to develop "practices of place" that achieve in nature what laboratory researchers can only do with simplified experiments. Using historical frontiers as models, Kohler shows how biologists created vigorous new border sciences of ecology and evolutionary biology.




Practical Statistics for Field Biology


Book Description

Provides an excellent introductory text for students on the principles and methods of statistical analysis in the life sciences, helping them choose and analyse statistical tests for their own problems and present their findings. An understanding of statistical principles and methods is essential for any scientist but is particularly important for those in the life sciences. The field biologist faces very particular problems and challenges with statistics as "real-life" situations such as collecting insects with a sweep net or counting seagulls on a cliff face can hardly be expected to be as reliable or controllable as a laboratory-based experiment. Acknowledging the peculiarites of field-based data and its interpretation, this book provides a superb introduction to statistical analysis helping students relate to their particular and often diverse data with confidence and ease. To enhance the usefulness of this book, the new edition incorporates the more advanced method of multivariate analysis, introducing the nature of multivariate problems and describing the the techniques of principal components analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis which are all applied to biological examples. An appendix detailing the statistical computing packages available has also been included. It will be extremely useful to undergraduates studying ecology, biology, and earth and environmental sciences and of interest to postgraduates who are not familiar with the application of multiavirate techniques and practising field biologists working in these areas.




Human Stem Cell Technology and Biology


Book Description

Human Stem Cell Technology & Biology: A Research Guide and Laboratory Manual integrates readily accessible text, electronic and video components with the aim of effectively communicating the critical information needed to understand and culture human embryonic stem cells. Key Features: An authoritative, comprehensive, multimedia training manual for stem cell researchers Easy to follow step-by-step laboratory protocols and instructional videos provide a valuable resource A must-have for developing laboratory course curriculums, training courses, and workshops in stem cell biology Perspectives written by the world leaders in the field Introductory chapters will provide background information The volume will be a valuable reference resource for both experienced investigators pursuing stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell research as well as those new to this field.




Biology


Book Description

In this text "students will see God's power and glory in creation as they learn about cellular biology, genetics, taxonomy, microbiology, botany, zoology, and human anatomy. When studying topics such as Creation and evolution, human cloning, abortion, and stem cell research, students are pointed to Scripture as the ultimate authority and are encouraged to develop a biblical perspective about these topics" --




Mammalogy Techniques Lab Manual


Book Description

Get outside! A hands-on lab manual for instructors incorporating fieldwork into their courses on mammalogy. Mammals inhabit nearly every continent and every sea. They have adapted to life underground, in the frozen Arctic, the hottest deserts, and every habitat in-between. In Mammalogy Techniques Lab Manual—the only field manual devoted to training the next generation of mammalogists—biologist and educator James M. Ryan details the modern research techniques today’s professionals use to study mammals wherever they are found. Ideal for any mammalogy or wildlife biology course, this clear and practical guide aids students by getting them outside to study mammals in their natural environments. Twenty comprehensive chapters cover skull and tooth identification, radio and satellite GPS tracking, phylogeny construction, mark and recapture techniques, camera trapping, museum specimen preparation, optimal foraging, and DNA extraction, among other topics. Each chapter includes several exercises with step-by-step instructions for students to collect and analyze their own data, along with background information, downloadable sample data sets (to use when it is not practical to be out in the field), and detailed descriptions of useful open-source software tools. This pragmatic resource provides students with real-world experience practicing the complex techniques used by modern wildlife biologists. With more than 60 applied exercises to choose from in this unique manual, students will quickly acquire the scientific skills essential for a career working with mammals.