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Elsevier

Coastal Dolphins and Porpoises

Ridgway and Harrison's Handbook of Marine Mammals, Volume 1

  • 1st Edition - December 8, 2024
  • Latest edition
  • Author: Thomas Allen Jefferson
  • Editor: Thomas Allen Jefferson
  • Language: English

Coastal Dolphins and Porpoises: Ridgway and Harrison's Handbook of Marine Mammals, Volume One, the first volume in the Handbook of Marine Mammals series, covers some of the worl… Read more

Description

Coastal Dolphins and Porpoises: Ridgway and Harrison's Handbook of Marine Mammals, Volume One, the first volume in the Handbook of Marine Mammals series, covers some of the world's most beautiful, intelligent, and highly adapted mammals that inhabit our seas and oceans. As our knowledge of marine mammals grows, the need exists for a reliable and complete reference to the ecology and biology of these fascinating creatures. Scientists, conservationists, and informed laypersons will find books in this series to be a definitive review of all the world's living whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, sea cows, and marine otters and bears.

This volume consists of species review chapters written by leading global experts on a variety of coastal marine species of dolphins and porpoises. Each chapter includes a description of the species followed by sections on distribution and abundance, anatomy, physiology, behavior, ecology, reproduction, parasites, diseases, and the impacts of human activities on the species.

Key features

  • Provides in-depth reviews of bottlenose, humpback, and other coastal dolphins, as well as the closely related porpoises
  • Addresses the evolution, anatomy, ecology, distribution, and behavior of these marine mammal species
  • Features numerous photos of live and specimen animals, skulls, and anatomical details, along with distribution maps

Readership

Researchers and practitioners in marine biology, marine conservation, and marine mammal studies. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students in marine biology, conservation, and zoological disciplines

Table of contents

1. Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis)

2. Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis)

3. Indo-Pacific and Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis and S. sahulensis)

4. Atlantic and Indian Ocean humpback dolphins (Sousa teuszii and S. plumbea)

5. Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

6. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus)

7. Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)

8. Commerson’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii)

9. Chilean dolphin (Cephalorhynchus eutropia)

10. Heaviside’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii)

11. Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori)

12. Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

13. Vaquita (Phocoena sinus)

14. Spectacled porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica)

15. Burmeister's porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis)

16. Finless porpoises (Neophocaena)

17. Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)

Review quotes

“All chapters are authored by leading figures in the field, and all are well developed and written, with most differences owing to differential knowledge on the species… another necessary thing to appreciate is the high value of the Handbook's second edition for students and young researchers, especially given its inclusion of significant advances in the identity and diversity of dolphin and porpoise species and subspecies, which remained elusive for several decades… The new format is better structured to me and provides a better understanding of the part one is reading… [It] includes colored images as part of its high standards, and this is much more than a mere aesthetic change as it very much contributes to the book's scientific accuracy and communication efficacy… I believe that the young interested in marine mammals will find the Handbook's second edition very useful and inspirational, as was the first edition for my generation colleagues and myself several decades ago.” Review by Luis Medrano-González, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Marine Mammal Science, January 2026.

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: December 12, 2024
  • Language: English

About the editor

TJ

Thomas Allen Jefferson

Dr. Thomas Jefferson’s main interests are the development of marine mammal identification aids, and the systematics and population ecology of the more poorly known species of dolphins and porpoises. His work since receiving his PhD in 1983 has been related to conservation and management of marine mammals threatened by human activities. His current primary research focuses on the conservation biology of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) populations in Hong Kong and surrounding waters. I am also working on other projects looking at the systematics and ecology of these species throughout their ranges. In addition, I am involved in many other projects, including those on the conservation of the critically endangered vaquita (Phocoena sinus) and on the taxonomy and population ecology of common dolphins (Delphinus spp.)
Affiliations and expertise
Clymene Enterprises, CA, USA

About the author

TJ

Thomas Allen Jefferson

Dr. Thomas Jefferson’s main interests are the development of marine mammal identification aids, and the systematics and population ecology of the more poorly known species of dolphins and porpoises. His work since receiving his PhD in 1983 has been related to conservation and management of marine mammals threatened by human activities. His current primary research focuses on the conservation biology of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) populations in Hong Kong and surrounding waters. I am also working on other projects looking at the systematics and ecology of these species throughout their ranges. In addition, I am involved in many other projects, including those on the conservation of the critically endangered vaquita (Phocoena sinus) and on the taxonomy and population ecology of common dolphins (Delphinus spp.)
Affiliations and expertise
Clymene Enterprises, CA, USA

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