While we joke that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, our gender differences can't compare to those of many other animals. For instance, the male garden spider spontaneously dies after mating with a female more than fifty times his size. And male blanket octopuses employ a copulatory arm longer than their own bodies to mate with females that outweigh them by four orders of magnitude. Why do these gender gulfs exist? Introducing readers to important discoveries in animal behavior and evolution, Odd Couples explores some of the most extraordinary sexual differences in the animal world. Daphne Fairbairn uncovers the unique and bizarre characteristics of these remarkable species and the special strategies they use to maximize reproductive success. Fairbairn also considers humans and explains that although we are keenly aware of our own sexual differences, they are unexceptional within the vast animal world. Looking at some of the most amazing creatures on the planet, Odd Couples sheds astonishing light on what it means to be male or female in the animal kingdom.

Essential Ornithology provides the reader with a concise but comprehensive introduction to the biology of birds, one of the most widely studied taxonomic groups. The book begins by considering the dinosaur origins of birds and their subsequent evolution. Development, anatomy, and physiology are then discussed followed by chapters devoted to avian reproduction, migration, ecology, and conservation. Sections dealing with aspects of bird/human relationships and bird conservation give the book an applied context. This new edition has been thoroughly updated, providing new information from rapidly-developing fields including the avian fossil record, urban and agricultural ecology, responses to climate change, invasive species biology, technologies to track movement, avian disease, and the role of citizen scientists. There is also a greater focus on North American ornithology. Drawing extensively upon the wider scientific literature, this engaging text places the results of classical studies of avian biology alongside the most recent scientific breakthroughs. Useful case studies are presented in a concise and engaging style with the student reader foremost in mind. Key points are highlighted and suggestions for guided reading and key references are included throughout. Essential Ornithology is a companion textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in avian science, as well as a useful reference for professional researchers and consultants. Amateur ornithologists will also find this book offers a scientifically rigorous and accessible overview for a more general readership.

On July 12, 1969, Ruth Davis, a young American volunteer at Dr. Jane Goodall's famous chimpanzee research camp in the Gombe Stream National Park of Tanzania, East Africa, walked out of camp to follow a chimpanzee into the forest. Six days later, her body was found floating in a pool at the base of a high waterfall. With careful detail, The Ghosts of Gombe reveals for the first time the full story of day-to-day life in Goodall's wilderness camp-the people and the animals, the stresses and excitements, the social conflicts and cultural alignments, and the astonishing friendships that developed between three of the researchers and some of the chimpanzees-during the months preceding that tragic event. Was Ruth's death an accident? Did she jump? Was she pushed? In an extended act of literary forensics, Goodall biographer Dale Peterson examines how Ruth's death might have happened and explores some of the painful sequelae that haunted two of the survivors for the rest of their lives.

Communicating with and understanding dogs builds trusting relationships, and relieves frustration and improves lives on both ends of the leash. Apart from simply reading canine body language, this book explores the juncture between hearts and minds where true understanding begins. It takes a light-hearted, yet earnest approach to exploring how to connect with dogs. Each chapter features amusing, thought-provoking anecdotes and illustrations that show us how dogs are our teachers, and how, by connecting with them, we learn how to connect with ourselves. This book helps us find the intersection between the academic and the spiritual for better communication with dogs. It's about having an effective two-way conversation; it shows us how to talk with our dogs instead of talking at them. The intuitive side of communicating with canines in conjunction with the intellectual side is also investigated: in this space, we build trust, respect, and better relationships, and human and canine lives are enriched. Come walk with us on our journey.

Did you know that chickens have different alarm calls for different predators? This fascinating dictionary covers every aspect of animal behaviour and includes terms from the related fields of ecology, physiology and psychology. Clear, concise entries are backed up by specific examples where appropriate, covering all aspects of behaviour from aggression to courtship, and fully cross-referenced. The author, David McFarland, was formerly head of the Animal Behaviour Research Group at Oxford University, and the editor of the Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour (1981). Jargon free and informative, this dictionary is an excellent source of reference for students of biology and psychology, and essential reading for naturalists, bird-watchers, and the general reader with an interest in animal behaviour.

How animals behave is crucial to their survival and reproduction. The application of new molecular tools such as DNA fingerprinting and genomics is causing a revolution in the study of animal behaviour, while developments in computing and image analysis allow us to investigate behaviour in ways never previously possible. By combining these with the traditional methods of observation and experiments, we are now learning more about animal behaviour than ever before. In this Very Short Introduction Tristram D. Wyatt discusses how animal behaviour has evolved, how behaviours develop in each individual (considering the interplay of genes, epigenetics, and experience), how we can understand animal societies, and how we can explain collective behaviour such as swirling flocks of starlings. Using lab and field studies from across the whole animal kingdom, he looks at mammals, butterflies, honeybees, fish, and birds, analysing what drives behaviour, and exploring instinct, learning, and culture. Looking more widely at behavioural ecology, he also considers some aspects of human behaviour. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A major new theory of why human intelligence has not evolved in other species The Human Evolutionary Transition offers a unified view of the evolution of intelligence, presenting a bold and provocative new account of how animals and humans have followed two powerful yet very different evolutionary paths to intelligence. This incisive book shows how animals rely on robust associative mechanisms that are guided by genetic information, which enable animals to sidestep complex problems in learning and decision making but ultimately limit what they can learn. Humans embody an evolutionary transition to a different kind of intelligence, one that relies on behavioral and mental flexibility. The book argues that flexibility is useless to most animals because they lack sufficient opportunities to learn new behavioral and mental skills. Humans find these opportunities in lengthy childhoods and through culture. Blending the latest findings in fields ranging from psychology to evolutionary anthropology, The Human Evolutionary Transition draws on computational analyses of the problems organisms face, extensive overviews of empirical data on animal and human learning, and mathematical modeling and computer simulations of hypotheses about intelligence. This compelling book demonstrates that animal and human intelligence evolved from similar selection pressures while identifying bottlenecks in evolution that may explain why human-like intelligence is so rare.

When a chimpanzee stockpiles rocks as weapons or when a frog sends out mating calls, we might easily assume these animals know their own motivations--that they use the same psychological mechanisms that we do. But as Beyond the Brain indicates, this is a dangerous assumption because animals have different evolutionary trajectories, ecological niches, and physical attributes. How do these differences influence animal thinking and behavior? Removing our human-centered spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative approach for understanding animal and human cognition. Drawing on examples from animal behavior, comparative psychology, robotics, artificial life, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, Barrett provides remarkable new insights into how animals and humans depend on their bodies and environment--not just their brains--to behave intelligently. Barrett begins with an overview of human cognitive adaptations and how these color our views of other species, brains, and minds. Considering when it is worth having a big brain--or indeed having a brain at all--she investigates exactly what brains are good at. Showing that the brain's evolutionary function guides action in the world, she looks at how physical structure contributes to cognitive processes, and she demonstrates how these processes employ materials and resources in specific environments. Arguing that thinking and behavior constitute a property of the whole organism, not just the brain, Beyond the Brain illustrates how the body, brain, and cognition are tied to the wider world.

'Predators are the best wildlife managers, ' writes George Schaller. They weed out the sick and old and keep herds healthy and alert. Yet the large predators of the world have been and are still being exterminated because they are thought to harm wildlife. Schaller's award-winning work, based on three years of study in the Serengeti National Park, describes the impact of the lion and other predators on the vast herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle for which the area is famous.

Biologist Marc Bekoff is one of the world's foremost experts on animal emotions. After years of fieldwork studying the communication patterns of coyotes and domestic dogs, Bekoff began challenging the scientific status quo that argued that no scientific proof existed that animals even have emotions, an argument that stubbornly persists today.In "The Emotional Lives of Animals", Bekoff moves beyond this academic argument to address what every animal lover and pet owner knows from everyday observation: that animals have rich emotional lives that not only can teach us about love, empathy and compassion but that require us to alter radically our current relationship of domination and abuse with them. Here, Bekoff skilfully blends extraordinary stories and anecdotes of animal grief, joy, embarrassment, anger and love with the latest scientific research confirming emotions that simple, commonsense observation has long pointed to. Filled with Bekoff's light humour and touching stories from animals around the world, "The Emotional Lives of Animals" will cause readers to reassess both how they view animals and how they treat them.

Equine Behavioral Medicine provides an essential resource for those who work with, study, and provide care to horses. It provides critical knowledge to help users understand the complex aspects of their behavior in order to benefit the animal, observe safe practices, and advance research in this area. The book includes current information on normal horse behavior and problem behaviors, particularly those associated with medical conditions, changes in the nervous system, and the use of drug therapy. Readers will gain a comprehensive understanding of the differences of the sensory systems and the concepts of learning that are helpful for successful treatments and safety. With the use of psychopharmacology becoming increasingly common by veterinarians, including for abnormal behaviors, is important to understand the rationale for the use of these medications. Understanding the intimate relationship between behavior, physiology, and health is key to practitioners, students, professionals, and others who work with, or care for, horses.

Years back, Melissa Holbrook Pierson brought home a border collie named Mercy, without a clue of how to get her to behave. Stunned after hiring a trainer whose immediate rapport with Mercy seemed magical, Pierson began delving into the techniques of positive reinforcement. She made her way to B. F. Skinner, the behavioral psychologist who started it all, the man who could train a pigeon to dance in minutes and whose research on how behavior is acquired has ramifications for military dolphin trainers, athletes, dancers, and, as he originally conceived, society at large. To learn more, Pierson met with a host of fascinating animal behaviorists, going behind the scenes to witness the relationships between trainers and animals at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and to the in-depth seminars at a Clicker Expo where all the dogs but hers seemed to be learning new tricks. The often startling story of what became of a pathbreaking scientist's work is interwoven with a more personal tale of how to understand the foreign species with whom we are privileged to live. Pierson draws surprising connections in her exploration of how kindness works to motivate all animals, including the human one.

A visually stunning, photographically driven celebration of bird migration-one of the great marvels of the natural world The vast transcontinental journeys made every year by millions of feathered migrants were not known to naturalists before the late nineteenth century. Even today, while cutting-edge technology such as geolocators and isotope analysis helps us map these journeys in detail, much of the science remains poorly understood. In this luxuriously illustrated volume, celebrated nature writer Mike Unwin and award-winning photographer David Tipling highlight sixty-seven different species of birds from around the world and explore how each has adapted to its migratory cycle. As they bring to life the drama of the Bar-headed Goose's journey over the Himalayas and the amazing sixty-thousand-mile annual round trip taken by the Arctic Tern between the United Kingdom and Antarctica, Unwin and Tipling offer deep insights into the science, mysteries, and wonders of migration.

Imagine being able to have your own personal dog trainer on hand 365 days of the year... well, now you can with Easy Peasy Doggy Diary! Bestselling author and dog trainer Steve Mann has crammed all 400 pages with a multitude of training tips, techniques, ideas and explanations. Handily organised across 52-weeks of techniques, so that you and your dog can start at anytime of the year and enjoy training together as a winning team! Easy Peasy Doggy Diary is the perfect tool to help you and your dog stay on track with weekly targets and progress checks and over 25 techniques and tips including RECALL, STOP, SEEK BACK, GROOMING and FIRST AID. All presented in a fun step-by-step guide to help you and your dog enjoy the journey to domesticated bliss. Whether you want to keep track of your dog's training progress, jot down your favourite local walks or celebrate key achievements, this diary is the perfect way to record those special moments and see how far you've come. Steve Mann is the founder of the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers and has over 30 years of knowledge by training over 100,000 dogs and owners worldwide.

Why do dogs behave in the ways that they do? Why did our ancestors tame wolves? How have we ended up with so many breeds of dog, and how can we understand their role in contemporary human society? Explore the answers to these questions and many more in this study of the domestic dog. Building on the strengths of the first edition, this much-anticipated update incorporates two decades of new evidence and discoveries on dog evolution, behavior, training, and human interaction. It includes seven entirely new chapters covering topics such as behavioral modification and training, dog population management, the molecular evidence for dog domestication, canine behavioral genetics, cognition, and the impact of free-roaming dogs on wildlife conservation. It is an ideal volume for anyone interested in dogs and their evolution, behavior and ever-changing roles in society.

The essential textbook on agent-based modeling-now fully updated and expanded Agent-Based and Individual-Based Modeling has become the standard textbook on the subject for classroom use and self-instruction. Drawing on the latest version of NetLogo and fully updated with new examples, exercises, and an enhanced text for easier comprehension, this is the essential resource for anyone seeking to understand how the dynamics of biological, social, and other complex systems arise from the characteristics of the agents that make up these systems. Steven Railsback and Volker Grimm lead students stepwise through the processes of designing, programming, documenting, and doing scientific research with agent-based models, focusing on the adaptive behaviors that make these models necessary. They cover the fundamentals of modeling and model analysis, introduce key modeling concepts, and demonstrate how to implement them using NetLogo. They also address pattern-oriented modeling, an invaluable strategy for modeling real-world problems and developing theory. This accessible and authoritative book focuses on modeling as a tool for understanding real complex systems. It explains how to pose a specific question, use observations from actual systems to design models, write and test software, and more. A hands-on introduction that guides students from conceptual design to computer implementation to analysis Filled with new examples and exercises and compatible with the latest version of NetLogo Ideal for students and researchers across the natural and social sciences Written by two leading practitioners Supported by extensive instructional materials at www.railsback-grimm-abm-book.com

Renowned for their dazzling plumages and elaborate courtship displays, birds of paradise and bowerbirds exhibit some of the most astonishing behaviors in the natural world. Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds is the ultimate identification guide to these marvelous birds. This beautiful book features stunning color plates that depict all 108 recognized taxa in these two groups along with more than 200 color photos that showcase a broad range of racial and age-related plumage varieties. The comprehensive text covers identification, taxonomy, and ecology, and is accompanied by detailed distribution maps. Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds is the product of more than two decades of research and field observations, and is a must-have guide for birders, ornithologists, and anyone interested in these sensational birds. The ultimate identification guide to these marvelous birds of New Guinea and Australia Features stunningly illustrated color plates that depict all 108 recognized taxa Covers identification, taxonomy, and ecology Includes hundreds of color photos and detailed distribution maps Based on more than two decades of research and original field observations

Animals have evolved remarkable biomechanical and physiological systems that enable their rich repertoire of motion. Animal Locomotion offers a fundamental understanding of animal movement through a broad comparative and integrative approach, including basic mathematics and physics, examination of new and enduring literature, consideration of classic and cutting-edge methods, and a strong emphasis on the core concepts that consistently ground the dizzying array of animal movements. Across scales and environments, this book integrates the biomechanics of animal movement with the physiology of animal energetics and the neural control of locomotion. This second edition has been thoroughly revised, incorporating new content on non-vertebrate animal locomotor systems, studies of animal locomotion that have inspired robotic designs, and a new chapter on the use of evolutionary approaches to locomotor mechanisms and performance.

Originally published in 1977, the objective of this book was to examine the mechanisms by which the multiple factors or determinants - homeostatic deficits, hormonal influences, circadian rhythms, experiential and cognitive factors - become translated by the central nervous system into thermoregulatory, feeding, sexual, aggressive, and other behaviours. A conceptual framework has been used that reflects relevant contributions from biology, regulatory physiology, physiological psychology, and other neuroscience disciplines. The final chapter deals with difficulties in brain-behaviour research in relation to experimental strategies and with crucial problems for future investigation.

Principles of Hormone/Behavior Relations, Second Edition, provides an introduction to the underlying principles of endocrine regulation of behavior, a newly emerging area of research within neurobiology and endocrinology. It addresses the properties of hormone/behavior relations, including the influence of family background, timing issues, neuroanatomical features, cellular mechanisms, and the importance of environmental context and evolution. This new edition incorporates critical advances in the field, also including increased coverage of hormonal influences on food intake, and on the cardiovascular system. The addition of entirely new principles provides further coverage of epigenetics and appetite. Thoroughly revised and updated, this book is an ideal resource for neuroscientists and researchers engaging in this rapidly expanding field of study.

Do the movements of animals, including humans, follow patterns that can be described quantitatively by simple laws of motion? If so, then why? These questions have attracted the attention of scientists in many disciplines, and stimulated debates ranging from ecological matters to queries such as 'how can there be free will if one follows a law of motion?' This is the first book on this rapidly evolving subject, introducing random searches and foraging in a way that can be understood by readers without a previous background on the subject. It reviews theory as well as experiment, addresses open problems and perspectives, and discusses applications ranging from the colonization of Madagascar by Austronesians to the diffusion of genetically modified crops. The book will interest physicists working in the field of anomalous diffusion and movement ecology as well as ecologists already familiar with the concepts and methods of statistical physics.

In a world increasingly concerned with climate change, food security, and other human issues, the welfare of non-human animals is in danger of being overlooked and side-lined. Using the latest scientific research on animal consciousness and emotions, Marian Stamp Dawkins argues that if animal welfare is to be taken seriously by world opinion, it needs a complete rethink. She asks important questions such as: are we justified in projecting human emotions on to animals? What can science tell us about their quality of life? She concludes that we need to place less emphasis on the conscious experience of suffering in animals, and more emphasis on the practical importance of animal welfare to human health and human well-being. This requires a long, hard look at some of the cherished ideas we hold about animal emotions, and what we can and cannot know about the conscious experiences of other animals.

Why do female animals select certain mates, and how do scientists determine the answer? In considering these questions, Erika Lorraine Milam explores the fascinating patterns of experiment and interpretation that emerged as twentieth-century researchers studied sexual selection and female choice. Approaching the topic from both biological and animal-studies perspectives, Milam not only presents a broad history of sexual selection-from Darwin to sociobiology-but also analyzes the animal-human continuum from the perspectives of sex, evolution, and behavior. She asks how social and cultural assumptions influence human-animal research and wonders about the implications of gender on scientific outcomes. Although female choice appears to be a straightforward theoretical concept, the study of sexual selection has been anything but simple. Scientists in the early twentieth century investigated female choice in animals but did so with human social and sexual behavior as their ultimate objective. By the 1940s, evolutionary biologists and population geneticists shifted their focus, studying instead how evolution affected natural animal populations. Two decades later, organismal biologists once again redefined the investigation of sexual selection as sociobiology came to dominate the discipline. Outlining the ever-changing history of this field of study, Milam uncovers lost mid-century research programs and finds that the discipline did not languish in the decades between Darwin's theory of sexual selection and sociobiology, as observers commonly believed. Rather, population geneticists, ethologists, and organismal biologists alike continued to investigate this important theory throughout the twentieth century.

Capuchin monkeys are one of the most widely distributed genera of primates in Central and South America. Capuchins captivate the imagination of scientists and the lay public alike with their creative and highly variable behaviour, their grace and power in action, and their highly developed social character. In this, the first scholarly book devoted to the biology of the genus Cebus (Primates: Platyrrhine), the taxonomy, distribution, life history, ecology, anatomy, development, perception, cognition, motor skills, social and sexual behaviour of these monkeys are summarised. The book also describes how humans have viewed, used and studied these monkeys from ancient times to the present. The authors explicitly organismic and inclusive treatment provides a picture in unparalleled detail of the capuchin over its lifetime for all those with an interest in these fascinating animals.