Early Alert
On SaleNative Mice and Rats
Australian Natural History Series
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Colour illustrations
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Description | Features | Contents | Reviews | Author Information | Related Titles
Description
Australia’s native rodents are the most ecologically diverse family of Australian mammals. There are about 60 living species – all within the subfamily Murinae – representing around 25 per cent of all species of Australian mammals. They range in size from the very small delicate mouse to the highly specialised, arid-adapted hopping mouse, the large tree rat and the carnivorous water rat.
Native Mice and Rats describes the evolution and ecology of this much-neglected group of animals. It details the diversity of their reproductive biology, their dietary adaptations and social behaviour. The book also includes information on rodent parasites and diseases, and concludes by outlining the changes in distribution of the various species since the arrival of Europeans as well as current conservation programs.
- The first comprehensive treatment of native rodents for more than 20 years
- Summarises the latest advances in knowledge of Australia's rodents
- Highlights the unique nature of this neglected part of our mammal fauna
- Outlines recent extinctions and present day conservation challenges
- Illustrated with colour photos of most rodent species
Contents
Preface and acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 Diversity
3 Distribution
4 Origins and evolution
5 Reproduction
6 Diet and gastrointestinal tract
7 Populations and communities
8 Social organisation and behaviour
9 Parasites and disease (by Andrew Breed)
10 Conservation
Index
Reviews
"Breed and Ford provide a tremendous guidebook to the phenotypic variation that has evolved from the radiations of Australian murines… Give this book to your new graduate students looking for an exciting system in which to study ecological diversification… For all the scientists working on Mus and Rattus, this book should be required reading to give them perspective on the broad spectrum of phenotypes that can and have evolved from the common ancestor of Mus, Rattus, and all other murines."
Kevin C. Rowe, Journal of Mammalalian Evolution, Vol. 16, 2009
"As most species are quite small and nocturnal, finding enough information for 14 pages on social organisation is definitely laudable. Apart from that, no single chapter shall be mentioned – all are worth reading!"
Udo Ganslosser, Australian Mammalogy Vol 31, 2009
"The coverage of these topics is up-to-date and authoritative and there is a sense that many observations come from the first hand experience of the two authors.
A novel scheme is introduced that places the Old Endemic rodents into a series of informal groups."
Chris Dickman, University of Sydney
Author Information
Bill Breed is an Associate Professor at The University of Adelaide. He has focused his research on the reproductive biology of Australian native mammals, in particular native rodents and dasyurid marsupials. Recently he has extended his studies to include rodents of Asia and Africa.
Fred Ford has trapped and studied native rats and mice across much of northern Australia and south-eastern New South Wales. He currently works for the CSIRO Australian National Wildlife Collection.
Related Titles
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