The Alcidae, or auks, are one of the most abundant and specialized groups of seabirds in the world. They are also an extremely diverse group, exhibiting a remarkable range of form and ecological adaptations. This volume takes an in-depth and comprehensive look at these fascinating seabirds.
New field study findings are incorporated into the coverage of a wide range of aspects, including breeding biology, population ecology, evolution, and conservation.
[Original APL blurb]
The auks, or Alcidae, are one of the most specialized groups of seabirds. They are also an extremely diverse group, exhibiting a fascinating range of form and ecological adaptations. Moreover, they are the seabirds most vulnerable to man's activities, especially oil pollution, and hence are of great concern to conservationists. The last ten to fifteen years have seen an enormous amount of work on the auks, including a number of long-term field studies. This book summarizes, for the first time, the information gained on breeding biology, population ecology, evolution, and conservation of the group. As well as being interesting in their own right, the auks have proved useful as model species with which to explore the many themes and problems in ecology and evolution.
The title of this book pays fitting tribute to Finn Salomonsen, who in 1944 wrote his own Atlantic Alcidae, a largely taxonomic work on the auks. The enormous amount of ecological information added to this by the present volume should enable a full appreciation of the group and of the special conservation problems which they face.

The auks are marine birds widespread in the cooler parts of northern seas. Often regarded as the northern hemisphere's counterparts to penguins, they are accomplished underwater swimmers, able to dive to great depths. Among bird families, they exhibit an unusual degree of variability in their breeding sites, which range from old-growth, temperate forests to barren sea-cliffs and rocky outcrops among mountain glaciers. Chick development is equally variable: in some species chicks leave for the sea soon after hatching, while in others they grow to full size at the nest site. This diversity of behavior makes the auks an excellent subject for the study of adaptation. The authors, who have extensive field experience with auks, provide descriptions of the major features of the family and an engaging discussion of the adaptive significance of various traits. Part I contains general chapters on auk evolution, ecology, behavior, chick development, populations, and conservation. These chapters are illustrated with black-and-white drawings, summary graphs and tables. Part II follows with the twenty-three species accounts, giving comprehensive information on the birds in their natural state, including distribution maps. All species are illustrated in color, in superb plates by Ian Lewington especially commissioned for this volume.
The Auks is part of Oxford's multi-volume Bird Families of the World, a new series of handbooks for professional scientists and amateur ornithologists. Each volume gives a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on one bird family or several related families; the complete series will be the definitive source for information on species of birds.

Fuente: Wikipedia. Páginas: 42. Capítulos: Alcidae, Burhinidae, Charadriidae, Chionididae, Dromadidae, Glareolidae, Haematopodidae, Jacanidae, Laridae, Recurvirostridae, Rynchopidae, Scolopacidae, Stercorariidae, Sternidae, Coenocorypha, Hydroprogne caspia, Pinguinus impennis, Gelochelidon nilotica, Rissa tridactyla, Sternula albifrons, Alle alle, Rissa brevirostris, Rynchops niger, Uria aalge albionis, Larus sabini, Burhinus oedicnemus, Himantopus himantopus, Catharacta skua, Fratercula arctica, Chionis alba, Lymnocryptes minimus, Charadriinae, Stercorarius parasiticus, Catharacta antarctica, Recurvirostra avosetta, Cepphus grylle, Calidris bairdii, Dromas ardeola, Vanellinae, Synthliboramphus, Bartramia longicauda, Ibidorhyncha struthersii, Gygis alba, Pluvianellus socialis, Onychoprion fuscata, Himantopus mexicanus, Aethia cristatella, Cursorius cursor, Haematopus ostralegus, Philomachus pugnax, Pluvialis squatarola, Anous stolidus, Alca torda, Haematopus palliatus, Stercorarius longicaudus, Stercorarius maccormicki, Onychoprion anaethetus, Stercorarius chilensis, Larosterna inca, Charadrius collaris, Pluvialis dominica, Jacana jacana, Rostratulidae, Himantopus melanurus, Jacana spinosa, Procelsterna albivitta, Sterna repressa, Chlidonias, Phaetusa simplex, Limnodromus, Stercorarius pomarinus, Uria lomvia, Recurvirostra americana, Sterna aurantia, Sterna sumatrana, Anarhynchus frontalis, Anous tenuirostris, Haematopus ater, Thalasseus bernsteini, Procelsterna cerulea, Sterna forsteri, Onychoprion aleuticus, Anous minutus, Actophilornis africana, Onychoprion lunatus, Haematopus fuliginosus, Aethia psittacula, Charadrius falklandicus, Haematopus meadewaldoi, Thinocoridae, Metopidius indicus, Recurvirostra novaehollandiae, Creagrus furcatus, Elseyornis melanops, Pedionomus torquatus, Recurvirostra andina, Irediparra gallinacea, Sterna acuticauda, Chionidae, Sterna virgata, Pluvianus aegyptius, Sterna striata, Burhinus bistriatus, Fratercula cirrhata, Fratercula ...

This digital document is an article from The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, published by Wilson Ornithological Society on September 1, 2009. The length of the article is 10231 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: We categorized and quantified the complete vocal repertoires of breeding adult auklets (Aethiini, 5 species) in their breeding areas to provide a baseline for comparative study of the structure and function of vocalizations within this monophyletic group of seabirds. We recognized 22 call types across species and 3-5 call types for each species. Calls were characterized by one to five frequency modulated, harmonically rich note types arranged sequentially in varied combinations. Frequency attributes varied more than temporal attributes within and across species. Repertoires and display complexity of nocturnal and diurnal species did not differ consistently. We recognized two major forms of vocal display: alternating arrangement of note types (Cassin's Auklet [Ptychoramphus aleuticus] and Parakeet Auklet [Aethia psittacula]); and sequentially graded arrangement of note types (Least Auklet [A. pusilla] and Whiskered Auklet [A. pygmaea]). One species' repertoire (Crested Auklet [A. cristatella]) was composed of a mix of the two forms of display. There were vocal homologies in frequency modulation of notes, arrangement of notes, and note type composition of displays. Our analysis revealed vocal similarities between: (1) two species not normally grouped together (Cassin's and Parakeet auklets); and (2) Whiskered and Crested auklets, which have been suggested previously to be closely related.

Citation Details
Title: Vocal repertoires of auklets (Alcidae: Aethiini): structural organization and categorization.(Report)
Author: Sampath S. Seneviratne
Publication: The Wilson Journal of Ornithology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2009
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Volume: 121 Issue: 3 Page: 568(17)

Article Type: Report

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The flightless Mancaalinae (Aves, Pan-Alcidae) from the Pacific Ocean are represented by one of the richest fossil records among Charadriiformes. A detailed review of previously published and previously undescribed fossils referred to Mancallinae resulted in taxonomic revision of the clade and the identification of three new species from the Miocene and Pliocene of California, USA.

This monograph includes descriptions of new Mancallinae species and provides the first species-level phylogenetic hypothesis of Mancallinae relationships. Phylogenetic hypothesis were generated through the combined analysis of molecular sequence data and newly identified morphological character data for extinct charadriiforms. The results of the combined phylogenetic analysis hypotheses regarding the ethology and morphological convergence of Mancallinae to other flightless wing-propelled divers in phylogenetic context and facilitates comparisons between alcid paleodiversity and paleoclimatic events that have been hypothesized as drivers of alcid evolutoin.