The Physiological Ecology of Vertebrates: A View from Energetics
Author: Brian Keith McNab Foreword: James H. Brown
Publisher: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press
Publication Idenification: Scholarly academic monograph and scientific reference work 2002 ISBN-10: 0801439132 ISBN-13: 9780801439131
Subject classification: Vertebrate physiology, physiological ecology, ecological energetics, evolutionary biology, animal adaptation, and comparative physiology
Intended readership: Advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, university faculty, biological researchers, ecologists, zoologists, and professionals working in related scientific disciplines. (This explains why I understood 2-5%).
Research focus: A comprehensive examination of vertebrate physiological ecology through the study of energy acquisition, expenditure, and allocation. The work considers metabolism, environmental adaptation, temperature regulation, locomotion, growth, evolutionary relationships, and the ecological consequences of physiological variation.
Academic reception: Reviewers characterized the book as a substantial contribution to physiological ecology, particularly for its synthesis of empirical research and its treatment of energetics as a framework for understanding vertebrate adaptation and ecological relationships. Although some reviewers considered the material too demanding for introductory undergraduate instruction, its value for advanced students, educators, and professional researchers was repeatedly emphasized.