Reviews 79 A REFERENCE GUIDE TO GULLS OF THE AMERICAS

Howell, S.N.G. & Dunn, J. 2007. Peterson reference guide series. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. ix + 516 pp. with 4 tables, numerous colour photographs and maps. Hard cover. ISBN-13: 978-0-618-72641-7; ISBN-10: 0-618-72641-1. US$35. Like pigeons and starlings, gulls are much maligned by the average is not consistent between them, which makes finding an image of member of the public. This stems largely from the abundance of a specific plumage more difficult. It would also help to show the certain species—and the resultant over familiarity with them— species name in large type at the beginning of a plumage series. and by their “hamburger-joint” scavenging habits. In contrast, birdwatchers and biologists seem endlessly fascinated by gulls, but Overall, the quality of the photographs and the colour registration of for different reasons. Gulls are a taxonomically complex group with the halftone reproductions were excellent. Uniquely (I suspect) in a many similar species and much age-related plumage variability. book on gulls, the authors emphasize the importance of lighting on Thus, they present a real identification challenge for birdwatchers. the appearance of gulls in photographs. Depending on factors such For biologists, gulls are attractive subjects for such reasons as their as temperature and direction of the light, the same gull’s back and relative ease of study, nearly ubiquitous distribution, and relative belly can appear in various shades of grey from dark to white. As a insensitivity to observer effects. As a result of this interest, gulls are standard reference, the authors present a table of Kodak grey-scale better known than many other families of birds. values for each species based on museum specimens and (I assume) standard lighting conditions. Photographs are frequently annotated A Reference Guide to Gulls of the Americas is the first in the new with a comment on lighting, which is very useful. Peterson Reference Guide Series, designed to push the already formidable envelope of the Peterson Field Guide Series by offering The species accounts appear to be authoritative and jam-packed “authoritative, comprehensive information, including detailed text, with useful information under the headings Identification Summary, maps, and superior illustrations” (publisher’s promotion). As the Taxonomy, Status and Distribution, and Field Identification title states, this is a reference guide, not a field guide. At 516 pages including Similar Species, Habitat and Behavior, Description and and 1.6 kg, this is a book to throw on the passenger seat of a car Molt, and Hybrids, followed by a Notes section, which includes rather than carry in a daypack. The book covers 36 species of gulls citations referencing the Bibliography. Most species accounts living on the continents of North and South America, including come with a range map; these are large and easy to read. Seasonal Greenland, the Galapagos Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula, the ranges are coloured consistently across maps, and arrows mark Falkland Islands, the South Orkneys, and South Georgia. The migration routes. I like the fact that the key is reprinted on each book’s size results from some 260 pages of colour photographs map. However, the maps are not perfect (when are they ever?). For of all species covered, each in various stages of age and plumage example, Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) are not shown moult, and the detailed species accounts with half-page or larger breeding in the mouth of the Bay of Fundy (they do, pers. obs.) and range maps. Little Gulls (Larus minutus) breed in southern Ontario (Cadman et al. 2007). Ivory Gulls (Pagophila eburnean) still breed on Seymour A short preface is followed by a generally useful “How to Use Island in the Canadian high Arctic (M. Mallory, pers. comm.) this Book” section that indicates the bounds of the book and and range in the winter from offshore to the coastline of Labrador therefore sets a realistic expectation level for its scope and depth. and eastern Newfoundland. These are relatively minor errors of Curiously, a table of body measurements is given for a selection of omission, but there are likely others. “white-headed gull” species, with no obvious purpose in mind. An Introduction to gulls, their taxonomy and identification, moults and This book will appeal to birdwatchers and biologists interested other topics, then precedes the two main sections of the book: Plates in the avifauna of the Americas. For the gull watchers out there, and Species Accounts. The book also includes a Glossary, a useful A Reference Guide to Gulls of the Americas will be especially gull bibliography, and a species index. attractive, and at US$35, it is a real bargain considering its quality. While reviewing this work, I grew to like it—particularly once I had The centrepiece of the book is the photographs. Species are learned how to navigate quickly to sections of interest. organized, here and in the Species Accounts section, into two main groups: Tern-like gulls—Masked Gulls, Small Gulls, Kittiwakes, REFERENCE Fork-tailed Gulls, Ivory Gull; and Typical Gulls—Hooded Gulls, Primitive White-headed Gulls, Small White-headed Gulls, Large CADMAN, M.D., SUTHERLAND, D.A., BECK, G.G., LEPAGE, White-headed Gulls. This breakdown of species seems to be D. & COUTURIER, A.R. (Eds). 2007. Atlas of the breeding reasonable and practical, aiding quick reference to individual birds of Ontario, 2001–2005. Toronto: Bird Studies Canada, species (although I question the utility of the Primitive White- Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario headed Gulls category, which should be subsumed within the other Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature. 706 pp. White-headed Gull categories). Species are depicted in plumages from juvenal through definitive (adult). Some plumages are shown John Chardine, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, more than once if an additional aspect is visible. There seems to be PO Box 6227, Sackville, New Brunswick, E4L 4K2, Canada a loose order in which each species’ plumage is presented, but it ([email protected]).

Marine Ornithology 36: 79–82 (2008) 80 TOP PREDATORS IN MARINE ECOSYSTEMS: THEIR ROLE IN MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT

Boyd, I., Wanless, S. & Camphuysen, C.J. (Eds). 2006. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 378 pp. Paperback. ISBN 0-521- 61256-X. US$75. Top Predators in Marine Ecosystems took root in 1999, when the of such datasets to ecology and conservation alike. Sophisticated British Antarctic Survey began a new research program on the technologies and techniques have been introduced to answer more management of the krill-based ecosystem around South Georgia. specific questions. Examples include data-logging devices on fur The book then grew from a symposium held in 2004, bringing seals and penguins to provide insight into dispersion patterns of krill together that and another major research program from the North Sea (Chapter 9), satellite transmitters on Northern Gannets to monitor to address growing concerns about the effects of human activities fish stocks in the northeast Atlantic (Chapter 16), and quantitative on marine ecosystems. In a collection of 24 chapters by more than fatty acid signature analysis to sample polar bear diet at times of 50 contributors, the book explores the hypothesis that top predators the year not normally sampled (Chapter 7). This combination of can provide information for the management of marine ecosystems monitoring and directed research is used to reveal some of the and, in some situations, specific resources. Using case studies, the complexities associated with marine systems. Several authors book synthesizes current understanding of top predators as indicators argue convincingly that what is really needed is a multidisciplinary, of marine processes. Its intent, it says, is “to provide managers, whole-system approach to determine the functional links among and those with interests in marine-resource management, with the predators, their prey and habitat (Chapters 6, 8, 12, and 18). materials necessary to understand what has been achieved to date.” Their challenge then becomes incorporating this information into something that is useful for management. The idea that upper trophic level predators can provide information that can be used to manage species at multiple scales is appealing, Each chapter is written more or less in scientific paper format, because alternatives such as vessel-based research and monitoring beginning with a summary of the chapter’s major objectives are often more difficult or expensive to conduct. Most of the and conclusions, akin to an abstract. The authors use “‘boxes” book (13 of the 24 chapters) is therefore focused on establishing to provide details on the natural history of particular species, to links among top marine predators, their prey and the physical define terms, to outline statistical and survey methods, and to environment. provide background information on related research. For example, in Chapter 3, details of the relationships between large-scale The top predators most discussed are seabirds and pinnipeds, physical processes and the reproductive performance of predators although one chapter examines whether the polar bear could be breeding in South Georgia are compartmentalized into boxes, and considered a useful indicator of ecosystem change. The editors the interpretation of the significance of those details is discussed in discuss this bias in the introduction, suggesting that the focus of the text. In Chapter 10, the author uses boxes to summarize what is interest reflects the fact that seabirds and pinnipeds have terrestrial known about the population expansion of fulmars and to provide a breeding sites and constrained foraging ranges, and are thus more historical perspective for the causes underlying the expansion. This accessible to researchers. The studies are also largely reflective of format allows the reader to gain a comprehensive understanding the North Sea and Southern Ocean, but data from the Canadian of the topic without necessarily having to be an expert in the field; Arctic, the Northwest Atlantic, Western Alaska, and the Barents it also ensures that the main text within each chapter flows easily. Sea are also included. Again, the editors acknowledge the exclusion Maps, tables and figures help to illustrate the data and theories of tropical marine systems. Is the title of the book perhaps too presented throughout, and a long list of references at the end of each broad? I question whether there is enough generality in the findings chapter includes both recent and historic papers for the interested from cold-water systems to make them applicable to managers reader to pursue. My only criticism of the book’s layout is that it working elsewhere. fails to organize the chapters into any thematic sections, which makes it difficult to find the links between the various papers. A Chapters near the end of the book directly address how information final chapter to synthesize the information presented would have gained from predators can be applied to management. For example, helped in this regard. in Chapter 14, the author uses what is known about predator ecology to estimate biomass limits required for specific fish stocks. Using Top Predators in Marine Ecosystems does an excellent job of information about predation and natural mortality, the outcomes of a establishing the roles of top predators in marine ecosystem number of management scenarios are compared in Chapter 21. How monitoring. The overview of the subject will be a great resource for predator information might be incorporated when establishing specific seabird biologists and readers interested in marine ecology. This management goals is discussed in Chapters 22 and 24. Scattered collection of studies demonstrates responses by top predators to throughout the text, several authors discuss how information from changes in their environment and that the possibilities of measuring their predator studies could be incorporated into management actions; those responses. How this information could be used to make the however, most conclude that a better understanding of the system is predictions necessary for management is less clear and will continue still required for sustainable resource use. to challenge marine biologists and managers into the future.

Although long-term monitoring programs are often difficult to justify Carina Gjerdrum, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, as “serious science,” this collection includes numerous research 45 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 2N6, Canada programs that span decades, demonstrating unequivocally the value ([email protected]).

Marine Ornithology 36: 79–82 (2008) 81 THE INNER BIRD: ANATOMY AND EVOLUTION

Kaiser, G.W. 2007. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. xii + 386 pp. with 65 figures, 12 tables. Hard cover. ISBN 978-0- 7748-1343-3. CA$85. The Inner Bird is a rather surprising book by a very surprising Kaiser describes the ways in which birds are moulded by flight, author. Gary Kaiser, for most of his working life a biologist their most defining characteristic. Here we learn even more about with the Canadian Wildlife Service, is something of a polymath: Archaeopteryx, which is the real star of the book. The last chapter, expert on folk music, Asian ceremonial daggers and the Second dealing with the adaptations of seabirds to marine life, will be the World War, one of the authors of the monumental Birds of British one most likely to interest readers of Marine Ornithology. A useful Columbia, and perhaps best known in the seabird community as the glossary of ornithology terms is also included. first person to successfully trap Marbled Murrelets at sea, making possible numerous subsequent studies. This current book is a solid The book is nicely produced (on post-consumer recycled paper) piece of scholarship, but as befits someone of Kaiser’s eclectic and excellently illustrated with figures and sketches, mostly by the talents, it throws in tantalising asides on all manner of topics. author and Brett vander Kist. There are few pictures of birds or fossils in the book because, as the author explains, these are readily The Inner Bird is a general account of avian anatomy and evolution available on the Internet. They are, of course, but the lack of visual with particular attention to the skeleton, the “inner bird” of the title. embellishment does give the casual page-flicker a drier impression This topic is not a very fashionable one, and there is much about of the book than the actual writing warrants. the history of anatomic investigations in birds that may not enthuse every reader. At the same time, the book contains a great deal I personally enjoyed most of the book, although there were concerning the ancestry of birds among the theropod dinosaurs, and places where I found the amount of unsummarised detail a little this topic is likely to be more popular. Kaiser covers the topic of oppressive. On the other hand, I am probably more interested in Jurassic and Cretaceous birds and near-birds in some detail, without avian anatomy than the average ornithologist. Unfortunately, the espousing any particular systematic arrangement. For someone text is not sufficiently organised and referenced to provide a really relatively ignorant on that topic, the book provides a wide-ranging useful textbook. Anyone with an interest in avian anatomy and introduction. evolution will definitely find much to stimulate their thinking here, because Kaiser has a very agile mind and provides plenty of food The first part of the book defines what makes modern birds for thought. That aspect is probably the book’s greatest strength, different from other contemporary vertebrates, and it also discusses and I recommend The Inner Bird to all readers interested in birds similarities to and differences from the dinosaurs. The second who are in need of a serious but stimulating book to settle down section deals with taxonomy and systematics among surviving with on a long journey. bird families, stepping lightly through the various taxonomic controversies and giving a fairly selective account of the recent Tony Gaston, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3, molecular evidence for phylogeny. In the third and final section, Canada ([email protected]).

Marine Ornithology 36: 79–82 (2008) 82 OTOLITHS OF COMMON AUSTRALIAN TEMPERATE FISH: A PHOTOGRAPHIC GUIDE

Furlani, D., Gales, R. & Pemberton, D. 2007. Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. 216 pp. Hard cover. ISBN 978-0-643-09255-6. AU$140.

Otoliths of Common Australian Temperate Fish is targeted at The authors indicate that the otoliths were removed from fish, researchers seeking to identify fish eaten by marine predators, in soaked in distilled water and cleaned with a soft brush. It is a a bid to understand, quantify and model predator–prey interactions shame that greater care was not taken during these stages, because that occur far from land, often at great depths or at night. The once- several of the otoliths pictured are broken and a few appear to shimmering prey lose their glamour when taken partly digested have relatively short rostrums, which may be a result of damage from the stomachs of fish or rotting whales, the feces of seals or the or ontogeny. In two of these cases, Emmelichthys nitidus and regurgitates of seabirds. In the laboratory, hardy researchers pour Scomber australasicus, descriptions of the otoliths would have been over defrosted samples in their quest for otoliths—“white gold” improved if the extent of damage was noted in the captions. These nuggets amid the obnoxious sludge. Cleaned and dried, otoliths prey are common in southern Australia, and a clear understanding in varying states of erosion must be identified, and it is during of otolith morphology is required to distinguish E. nitidus from this tiresome stage that the target audience of this book begins to other common prey. appreciate the efforts of Diane Furlani and her co-authors. Given its narrow geographic focus, Otoliths of Common Australian The otoliths used in this book were taken from fish in southeastern Temperate Fish will not find its place on the shelves of all seabird Australia, but the broad similarities in the fish assemblages ensure researchers, seabird managers or fisheries researchers, but it will be that this guide will also be a useful reference for researchers in New a tightly-held, dog-eared addition to the bookshelves of researchers Zealand. The guide illustrates and describes the otoliths of 141 fish who are investigating the diets of marine predators in southern species that may be taken by predators in this region. Regressions Australia and New Zealand. of otolith size versus fish size are provided for about 70% of the species, which facilitates estimation of the size of individual REFERENCES prey. The guide also provides brief supplementary details on each species’ distribution and ecology, which serves mainly to highlight CAINES, R. 2005. Trophic guild-structures in pelagic fish our lack of understanding of the trophic position of most fish in communities in the eastern Great Australian Bight ecosystem southern Australia. This otolith guidebook more than holds its own [BApplSc (Hons) thesis]. Adelaide: School of Natural and Built alongside other similar guides developed for other regions of the Environments, University of South Australia. 107 pp. world (e.g. Southern Ocean: Williams & McEldowney 1990, Reid REID, K. 1996. A guide to the use of otoliths in the study of 1996; South Africa: Smale et al. 1995). predators at South Georgia. Cambridge, UK: British Antarctic Survey. 40 pp. The otoliths of many juvenile fish differ from those of mature SMALE, M., WATSON, G. & HECHT, T. 1995. Otolith atlas of individuals, and in many cases, these ontogenetic differences are southern African marine fishes. Ichthyological Monographs of more profound than are the differences between some closely- the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology. 1 (14). 253 pp. related fish species. Furlani and co-authors incorporated ontogenetic WILLIAMS, R. & MCELDOWNEY, A. 1990. A guide to the differences for 16 of the fish species in this guide, which is a fish otoliths from waters off the Australian Antarctic Territory, useful addition. Heard and Macquarie Islands. Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition Research Notes 75: 1–173. Guides such as these could better serve their target audience by incorporating pictures of otoliths in increasing states of erosion. Otoliths Brad Page, South Australian Research and Development recovered from the digestive systems of predators are rarely pristine, Institute–Aquatic Sciences, Adelaide, South Australia but most otoliths show species-specific patterns of degradation, which ([email protected]). can be replicated in the laboratory (e.g. Caines 2005).

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