Overview

The study of animal behaviour has become one of the fastest growing b- logical disciplines in recent decades. This development can be easily - ferred, for example, from the steady increase in the total number of pub- cations on any aspect of animal behaviour, in particular also in journals with a more general readership (e. g. Nature, Proceedings of the Royal - ciety or Current Biology), the ever-increasing number of participants at - ternational conferences (e. g. IEC or ISBE), and from the growing numbers of students choosing courses in this field. This development has several causes, of which I find three particularly compelling. First, it is incre- ingly being appreciated that behaviour is the crucial level at which an in- vidual's genotype and phenotype interface with the environment. Rec- nising behaviour as the main mechanism animals employ to ascertain their homeostasis, growth, survival and reproduction therefore provides a deep understanding of organismal integration and adaptation. Second, the ast- ishing success of the study of animal behaviour also has importantly to do with the intellectual flexibility and methodological inter-disciplinarity - quired for comprehensive analyses of behaviour. Today, students of beh- iour are jacks-of-all-trades; importing, applying and improving methods from many neighbouring disciplines, such as molecular genetics, physi- ogy or micro-electronics, as well as concepts and theories from less ob- ous sources, such as economics or sociology, for example.

Full Product Details

Author:   Nils Anthes ,  Peter M. Kappeler ,  Ralph Bergmüller ,  Wolf Blanckenhorn
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 3.60cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   1.253kg
ISBN:  

9783642026232

ISBN 10:   3642026230
Pages:   707
Publication Date:   29 March 2010
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Communication and cognition.- Visual communication: evolution, ecology, and functional mechanisms.- Vocal communication in social groups.- Kin recognition: an overview of conceptual issues, mechanisms and evolutionary theory.- Honeybee cognition.- Individual performance in complex social systems: the greylag goose example.- Conflict and cooperation.- Conflict and conflict resolution in social insects.- Social insects, major evolutionary transitions and multilevel selection.- Cooperation between unrelated individuals – a game theoretic approach.- Group decision-making in animal societies.- Parental care: adjustments to conflict and cooperation.- Sex and reproduction.- The quantitative study of sexual and natural selection in the wild and in the laboratory.- Mate choice and reproductive conflict in simultaneous hermaphrodites.- Extra-pair behaviour.- Extreme polyandry in social Hymenoptera: evolutionary causes and consequences for colony organisation.- Monogynous mating strategies in spiders.- Mating systems, social behaviour and hormones.- Behavioural variation.- The social modulation of behavioural development.- Alternative reproductive tactics and life history phenotypes.- Animal personality and behavioural syndromes.- Social learning and culture in animals.- Levels and mechanisms of behavioural variability.

Reviews

From the reviews: This is a well-organized volume about animal behaviour and behavioural ecology. The editor of this book, Dr. Peter Kappeler, is a prominent primate researcher who has edited several books that have had a strong impact on primate research. (...) I recommend this book to all students and researchers studying the behavioural ecology of primates. Primates, 2010 This work is a large, weighty, informative ! set of edited chapters on many aspects of animal behavior. Kappeler ! tried to unify the 21 chapters by asking authors to focus on mechanisms and evolution. ! All provide thorough reviews and formidable reference lists. ! Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and above. (J. A. Mather, Choice, Vol. 48 (3), November, 2010)

Aus den Rezensionen: ! Es beginnt mit einer sehr ubersichtlichen Einleitung ! Neben dem Text verfugt jedes Kapitel zur Veranschaulichung uber Abbildungen, Tabellen und Boxen, die die Kernaussagen zusammenfassen oder spezielle Aspekte naher beleuchten. ! uberzeugen ! mit guter Strukturierung und anschaulichen Beispielen. ! Ein Themenindex rundet das Werk ab, sodass man sich auch gezielt uber Inhalte informieren kann, ohne das gesamte Buch zu lesen. Insgesamt ein gelungenes Buch. (Julia Eggermann Bochum, in: BIOspektrum, October/2010, Vol. 16, Issue 6, S. 713)

From the reviews: This is a well-organized volume about animal behaviour and behavioural ecology. The editor of this book, Dr. Peter Kappeler, is a prominent primate researcher who has edited several books that have had a strong impact on primate research. (...) I recommend this book to all students and researchers studying the behavioural ecology of primates. Primates, 2010 ""This work is a large, weighty, informative ! set of edited chapters on many aspects of animal behavior. Kappeler ! tried to unify the 21 chapters by asking authors to focus on mechanisms and evolution. ! All provide thorough reviews and formidable reference lists. ! Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and above."" (J. A. Mather, Choice, Vol. 48 (3), November, 2010)

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