Mammalogy Techniques Lab Manual

Mammals inhabit nearly every continent and every sea. They have adapted to life underground, in the frozen Arctic, the hottest deserts, and every habitat in-between. In Mammalogy Techniques Lab Manual – the only field manual devoted to training the next generation of mammalogists – biologist and educator James M. Ryan details the modern research techniques today’s professionals use to study mammals wherever they are found.

Ideal for any mammalogy or wildlife biology course, this clear and practical guide aids students by getting them outside to study mammals in their natural environments. Twenty comprehensive chapters cover skull and tooth identification, radio and satellite GPS tracking, phylogeny construction, mark and recapture techniques, camera trapping, museum specimen preparation, optimal foraging, and DNA extraction, among other topics. Each chapter includes several exercises with step-by-step instructions for students to collect and analyze their own data, along with background information, downloadable sample data sets (to use when it is not practical to be out in the field), and detailed descriptions of useful open-source software tools.

This pragmatic resource provides students with real-world experience practicing the complex techniques used by modern wildlife biologists. With more than 60 applied exercises to choose from in this unique manual, students will quickly acquire the scientific skills essential for a career working with mammals.

“Jim Ryan is a top-notch teacher who cares about what students need and want in a lab manual. I commend his attention to detail and think this book will make a fine addition to the field.”
– Joseph F. Merritt, Illinois Natural History Survey, coauthor of Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology

“Ryan’s manual provides a series of well-designed exercises covering key themes in mammal biology and reinforcing the wonders of field biology. With field collection of data where possible and analyses in R, this fills a long-standing resource gap and provides a self-standing foundation for semester-length courses. A welcome addition to any mammalogist’s bookshelf!”
– Douglas A. Kelt, University of California, Davis, coauthor of A Manual of the Mammalia: An Homage to Lawlor’s “Handbook to the Orders and Families of Living Mammals”