Overview

This comprehensive textbook discusses the study of animal behaviour, its origins in classical ethology and its current status. Factors determining the course and eventual outcome of the development of behaviour are investigated. The adaptive significance of behavioural traits such as habitat selection, foraging patterns, group living and territorial and mating behaviour is examined. In the analysis of behavioural change, consideration is given to the theory and application of motivational models and the interface between physiological and behavioural research. Topics discussed include the evolution of co-operation and altruism, the strengths and weaknesses of the sociobiological approach, behavioural genetics, practical applications of ethology and the general influence of animal behaviour on the course of evolution.

Full Product Details

Author:   Felicity Huntingford
Publisher:   Chapman and Hall
Imprint:   Chapman and Hall
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.658kg
ISBN:  

9780412223303

ISBN 10:   0412223309
Pages:   412
Publication Date:   26 January 1984
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1 Introduction.- 1.1 The ethological approach to the study of behaviour.- 1.2 A brief outline of classical ethological theory.- 1.3 The modern study of animal behaviour.- 1.4 An outline of the book.- 2 The description and measurement of behaviour.- 2.1 Describing behaviour by its function.- 2.2 Describing behaviour by its form.- 2.3 Describing and measuring the relationship between an animal and its environment.- 2.4 What is the point of all this sophisticated analysis?.- 3 The study of the causes of behavioural change.- 3.1 What constitutes a causal explanation of behaviour?.- 3.2 The different kinds of causal explanation.- 3.3 Motivational models.- 3.4 Studying external influences on behaviour.- 3.5 Studying internal influences on behaviour.- 3.6 What is the nature of the mechanisms which cause behavioural change?.- 3.7 Studying the physiological bases of behavioural change.- 4 The development of behaviour.- 4.1 Problems with the instinct-learning dichotomy.- 4.2 Why is the term innate still used?.- 4.3 Describing the ontogeny of behaviour.- 4.4 Characterizing the factors which influence the development of behaviour.- 4.5 Classifying the factors which influence the development of behaviour.- 4.6 Some general features of behavioural development.- 5 The adaptive significance of behaviour.- 5.1 Sources of evidence about the adaptive significance of behaviour.- 5.2 Difficulties in studying the adaptive significance of behaviour.- 5.3 The state of the art.- 5.4 The adaptive significance of the way animals pattern their behavior in time.- 5.5 The adaptive significance of the way animals use space.- 5.6 The adaptive significance of an animal’s aggressive responses.- 5.7 The adaptive significance of an animal’s breeding habits; mating systems.- 5.8 Adaptive significance of behaviour accompanying mating.- 5.9 The adaptive significance of parental care.- 5.10 The adaptive significance of living in groups.- 5.11 Behaviour which cannot be explained by classic natural selection theory.- 5.12 Overview; sociobiology and behavioural ecology.- 6 The phylogeny of behaviour.- 6.1 Sources of evidence about the phylogeny of behaviour.- 6.2 Some representative behavioural phylogenies.- 6.3 Deriving general principles of behavioural evolution.- 7 The role of behaviour in the evolutionary process.- 7.1 The behaviour of other animals as a major selective force.- 7.2 Behaviour dictates the selection pressures to which an animal is exposed.- 7.3 The impact of behaviour on population structure.- 8 Behavioural genetics.- 8.1 The objectives of research into the inheritance of behaviour.- 8.2 Potential contributions of genetics to the study of animal behaviour.- 8.3 Quantitative genetics.- 8.5 Screening known genetic variants for behavioural differences.- 8.6 Characterizing the precise behavioural effects of genetic differences.- 8.7 The mechanisms whereby genes influence behaviour.- 8.8 Genetic mosaics.- 8.9 Animal behaviour and behavioural genetics.- 9 Applied ethology.- 9.1 Clarification of terms; what is applied ethology?.- 9.2 Ways in which etiological research can be applied to practical problems.- 9.3 Pest control.- 9.4 Increasing the productivity of commercially important species.- 9.5 Animal welfare.- 9.6 Conservation.- 9.7 Human behaviour.- References.- Author index.- Species index.

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