ABI 50A: Animal Biology Lab

Third Edition (2023). Edited by Rick Karban (UCD Faculty) et al. How to Do Ecology is the "essential insider's guide for ecologists at all career stages ... Most books and courses in ecology focus on facts and concepts but do little to explain the process of research. How to Do Ecology provides nuts-and-bolts advice for organizing and conducting a successful research program. ... explains how to ask and answer your own research questions using compelling study design and appropriate stats. Ecology doesn't take place exclusively outdoors, so the book shares invaluable insights on topics such as identifying your goals, developing professional relationships, reading efficiently, and organizing a field season. Because the currency in ecology is publications, it also suggests effective ways to communicate your ideas through journal articles, oral presentations, posters, and grant proposals. This incisive handbook makes explicit many of the unstated rules that ecologists follow and serves as a practical resource for meaningful conversations about ecology."

2013. Gretchen LeBuhn. From Publisher description: ”… natural history guidebook provides a thorough overview of native and honey bee biology and offers tools for identifying the most common bees of California and the Western United States. Full-color illustrations introduce readers to more than 30 genera of native bees, noting each one’s needs and habits and placing them in their wider context. The author highlights bees’ties to our own lives, the food we eat, and the habitat we provide, and suggests ways to support bees in our own backyards. In addition to helping readers understand and distinguish among major groups of bees, this guide reveals how bees are an essential part of healthy ecosystem and how many plants, including important crop plants, depend on the pollination they provide. As growing evidence points to declining bee populations, this book offers critical information about the bond between plants and pollinators, and between humans and nature.”

2014. Noah Wilson-Rich et al. Publisher description: “In this richly illustrated natural history of the bee, Noah Wilson-Rich and his team of bee experts provide a window into the vitally important role that bees play in the life of our planet. Earth is home to more than 20,000 bee species, from fluorescent-colored orchid bees and sweat bees to flower-nesting squash bees and leaf-cutter bees. This book takes an incomparable look at this astounding diversity, blending an engaging narrative with practical, hands-on discussions of such topics as beekeeping and bee health. It explores our relationship with the bee over evolutionary time, delving into how it came to be, where it stands today, and what the future holds for humanity and bees alike. … section on beekeeping and handy go-to guides to the identification, prevention, and treatment of honey bee diseases. Covers bee evolution, ecology, genetics, and physiology. Includes a directory of notable bee species.”

2011. Pat Willmer. Publisher description: ” … the most comprehensive single-volume reference to all aspects of pollination biology–and the first fully up-to-date resource of its kind to appear in decades. This beautifully illustrated book describes how flowers use colors, shapes, and scents to advertise themselves; how they offer pollen and nectar as rewards; and how they share complex interactions with beetles, birds, bats, bees, and other creatures. The ecology of these interactions is covered in depth, including the timing and patterning of flowering, competition among flowering plants to attract certain visitors and deter others, and the many ways plants and animals can cheat each other. … Describes flower advertising features and rewards, foraging and learning by flower-visiting animals, behaviors of generalist and specialist pollinators. … Examines the ecology and evolution of animal-flower interactions, from the molecular to macro-evolutionary scale.”

2012. Sébastien Patiny. Publisher description: ” … Examining pollination relationships from an evolutionary perspective, this book covers both botanical and zoological aspects. It addresses the puzzling question of co-speciation and co-evolution and the complexity of the relationships between plant and pollinator, the development of which is examined through the fossil record. Additional chapters are dedicated to the evolution of floral displays and signalling, as well as their role in pollination syndromes and the building of pollination networks. Wide-ranging in its coverage, it outlines current knowledge and complex emerging topics, demonstrating how advances in research methods are applied to pollination biology.”

Author: Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan
“Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology …”. Animal Diversity Web has:
*Thousands of species accounts about individual animal species. These may include text, pictures of living animals, photographs and movies of specimens, and/or recordings of sounds. Students write the text of these accounts and we cannot guarantee their accuracy.
•Descriptions of taxa above the species level, especially phyla, classes, orders and families. Hundreds of hyperlinked pages and images illustrate the traits and general biology of these groups. Professional biologists prepare these pieces, for the most part.

2020. Timothy Walker. “Pollination is essential to the survival of most plants on Earth. Some plants rely on the wind to transport pollen from one flower to another. Others employ an array of ingenious strategies to attract and exploit pollinators, whether they be insects, birds, or mammals. … [the author] shows how wind and water can be effective yet wildly unpredictable means of pollination, and describes the intimate interactions of pollinating plants with bees and butterflies, beetles and birds, and lizards and bats. Walker explores how plants entice pollinators using scents, colors, and shapes, and how plants rely on rewards as well as trickery to attract animals. He sheds light on the important role of pollination in ecology, evolution, and agriculture, and discusses why habitat management, species recovery programs, and other conservation efforts are more critical now than ever.”