The principles of game theory apply to a wide range of topics in biology. This book presents the central concepts in evolutionary game theory and provides an authoritative and up-to-date account. The focus is on concepts that are important for biologists in their attempts to explain observations. This strong connection between concepts and applications is a recurrent theme throughout the book which incorporates recent and traditional ideas from animal psychology, neuroscience, and machine learning that provide a mechanistic basis for behaviours shown by players of a game. The approaches taken to modelling games often rest on idealized and unrealistic assumptions whose limitations and consequences are not always appreciated. The authors provide a novel reassessment of the field, highlighting how to overcome limitations and identifying future directions. Game Theory in Biology is an advanced textbook suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers (both empiricists and theoreticians) in the fields of behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology. It will also be of relevance to a broader interdisciplinary audience including psychologists and neuroscientists.

Wolves excitedly greet each other as members of the pack come together; a bumble bee uses its long tongue to reach the nectar at the base of a foxglove flower; a mongoose swiftly and deftly bites its prey to death; young cheetahs rest quietly together, very close to sleep. Now in full colour, this revised and updated edition of Manning and Dawkins' classic text provides a beautifully written introduction to the fundamentals of animal behaviour. Tinbergen's four questions of causation, evolution, development and function form the fundamental framework of the text, illustrated with fascinating examples of complex behavioural mechanisms. The authors provide accounts of all levels of behaviour from the nerve cell to that of the population. The strengths of An Introduction to Animal Behaviour as a textbook include its clear explanations and concise, readable text and the enthusiasm of the authors for their subject.

This book is about disease and death! An international team of experts has been gathered together from the very best names in Zoology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology to present a complete description of the evolution and ecology of all carnivorous organisms from whales and lions, down to virus and bacteria. This is the first volume to to give a complete description of all carnivorous organisms and the first synthesis of the population biology of this diverse group of organisms to tackle the following questions: How do natural enemies affect the distribution and abundance of their prey, and how have natural enemies functioned as agents of natural selection effecting the evolution of behaviour and morphology in their prey?

Honeybees make decisions collectively--and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, "Honeybee Democracy" brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees.

In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together--as a swirling cloud of bees--to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution.

An impressive exploration of animal behavior, "Honeybee Democracy" shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.

Recommended in CHOICE, February 2021 Insects are all around us, outweighing humanity by 17 times. Many are nuisances; they compete with us for food and carry some of our most devastating diseases. Many common pests have been transported worldwide by humans. Yet, some recent reports suggest dramatic declines in some important groups, such as pollinators and detritivores. Should we care? Yes, we should. Without insect pollinators we'd lose 35% of our global food production; without detritivores, we would be buried in un-decayed refuse. Insects are also critical sources for nutritional, medical and industrial products. A world without insects would seem a very different and unpleasant place. So why do insects inspire such fear and loathing? This concise, full-color text challenges many entrenched perceptions about insect effects on our lives. Beginning with a summary of insect biology and ecology that affect their interactions with other organisms, it goes on to describe the various positive and negative ways in which insects and humans interact. The final chapters describe factors that affect insect abundance and approaches to managing insects that balance their impacts. The first textbook to cater directly to those studying Insect and Society or Insect Ecology modules, this book will also be fascinating reading for anyone interested in learning how insects affect human affairs and in applying more sustainable approaches to "managing" insects. This includes K-12 teachers, undergraduate students, amateur entomologists, conservation practitioners, environmentalists, as well as natural resource managers, land use planners and environmental policy makers.

What really differentiates us from our relatives in the animal world? And what can they teach us about ourselves? Taking these questions as his starting point, Norbert Sachser presents fascinating insights into the inner lives of animals, revealing what we now know about their thoughts, feelings and behaviour. By turns surprising, humourous and thought-provoking, Much Like Us invites us on a journey around the animal kingdom, explaining along the way how dogs demonstrate empathy, why chimpanzees wage war and how crows and ravens craft tools to catch food. Sachser brings the science to life with examples and anecdotes drawn from his own research, illuminating the vast strides in understanding that have been made over the last 30 years. He ultimately invites us to challenge our own preconceptions - the closer we look, the more we see the humanity in our fellow creatures.

Essential Animal Behavior provides a comprehensive introduction to all areas of the subject: from the genetic and neurobiological control of behavior to the learning, development, and function of behavior in an evolutionary context. Social behaviour is also covered throughout the text.
Written in a concise and engaging style, this new book: includes examples from both marine and terrestrial environments around the world
places current research alongside classic examples, and
puts the study of animal behavior in an applied context, emphasizing the implications for animal welfare and animal conservation.

Carefully designed to meet the needs of students coming to the subject for the first time, the book includes the following features:
key concept boxes
Focus on boxes
chapter summaries
guided reading to aid revision and further study
case studies and boxed examples that reinforce essential points, and
questions for discussion.

This book is essential reading for degree-level students following modular programs in biology, zoology, marine biology, and psychology.

An Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Please contact our Higher Education team at [email protected] for more information.

Avoiding Attack discusses the diversity of mechanisms by which prey avoid predator attacks and explores how such defensive mechanisms have evolved through natural selection. It considers how potential prey avoid detection, how they make themselves unprofitable to attack, how they communicate this status, and how other species have exploited these signals. Using carefully selected examples of camouflage, mimicry, and warning signals drawn from a wide range of species and ecosystems, the authors summarise the latest research into these fascinating adaptations, developing mathematical models where appropriate and making recommendations for future study. This second edition has been extensively rewritten, particularly in the application of modern genetic research techniques which have transformed our recent understanding of adaptations in evolutionary genomics and phylogenetics. The book also employs a more integrated and systematic approach, ensuring that each chapter has a broader focus on the evolutionary and ecological consequences of anti-predator adaptation. The field has grown and developed considerably over the last decade with an explosion of new research literature, making this new edition timely.

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.

Winner of the Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences A world-renowned researcher of animal behavior reveals the extraordinary orienteering skills of desert ants, offering a thrilling account of the sophisticated ways insects function in their natural environments. Cataglyphis desert ants are agile ultrarunners who can tolerate near-lethal temperatures when they forage in the hot midday sun. But it is their remarkable navigational abilities that make these ants so fascinating to study. Whether in the Sahara or its ecological equivalents in the Namib Desert and Australian Outback, the Cataglyphis navigators can set out foraging across vast expanses of desert terrain in search of prey, and then find the shortest way home. For almost half a century, Rudiger Wehner and his collaborators have devised elegant experiments to unmask how they do it. Through a lively and lucid narrative, Desert Navigator offers a firsthand look at the extraordinary navigational skills of these charismatic desert dwellers and the experiments that revealed how they strategize and solve complex problems. Wehner and his team discovered that these insect navigators use visual cues in the sky that humans are unable to see, the Earth's magnetic field, wind direction, a step counter, and panoramic "snapshots" of landmarks, among other resources. The ants combine all of this information to steer an optimal course. At any given time during their long journey, they know exactly where to go. It is no wonder these nimble and versatile creatures have become models in the study of animal navigation. Desert Navigator brings to light the marvelous capacity and complexity found in these remarkable insects and shows us how mini brains can solve mega tasks.

Prior to publication the study of animal coloration was plagued by fanciful speculations, post hoc explanations and untestable hypotheses. This title, originally published in 1979, draws together widely scattered research into the coloration of animals; formulates predictive hypotheses to account for color; documents the accuracy of many of these hypotheses; and suggests directions for future research. The book grew out of a symposium, The Behavioral Significance of Color at the 1977 meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, and presents evidence concerning patterns of coloration and their influence on animal behaviour and interaction Physical principles of radiation are discussed in Chapter 1, followed, in subsequent chapters, by an examination of the physiological functions of animal coloration (e.g. thermoregulation, hydroregulation, abrasion-resistance, extraretinal photoreception). Treatment of coloration that affects the animal's visibility to other animals opens with a masterful overview of theories of color vision and its occurrence throughout the animal kingdom. Chapter 6 explores the role of color vision and fruit color in the selection of food by wild primates with comments on the coevolution of fruiting trees and their primate customers. Dr Jack P. Hailman addresses the elusive concept of conspicuousness. He summarizes a strategy for calculating conspicuous coloration based on measurements in natural habitats. Experiments, naturalistic observations and anecdotes of optical communication are exceedingly numerous. Chapters 8 and 9 review these data and suggest general principles of inter- and intraspecific optical communication. Each chapter is enhanced by the critical evaluations of Drs. C. Richard Tracy and W. J. Hamilton III. In closing, the editor discusses coloration as it affects an animal's own vision (e.g., black eyelines to reduce glare). Most significantly the book emphasizes the need for a balanced, scientifically rigorous approach to the question of evolution of animal coloration. It is an important source for anyone contemplating or currently involved in research in this field of investigation.

The relationship between brain and mind is one of the most baffling problems in science but potentially one of the most interesting. First published in 1985, this collection of original essays traces the development of mind in animals and human beings from its origins in the evolution of larger brains with a capacity for creating mental models of the environment. Examples are given of the way in which the brain may use this increased capacity to represent both the physical and social worlds, and the authors suggest that this type of mental activity might underly what human beings recognize in themselves as 'awareness' or 'consciousness'. Brain and Mind brings together much of the latest research and provides a useful framework for the study of this increasingly important subject. The contributors are experts in a wide range of disciplines and draw their conclusions from a broad base of clinical and experimental evidence. Students of psychology, zoology, anatomy, medicine and philosophy, as well as anyone who has wondered about their own mind and its relation to the brain, will find this a fascinating and stimulating source.

Nature and Normativity argues that the problem of the place of norms in nature has been essentially misunderstood when it has been articulated in terms of the relation of human language and thought, on the one hand, and the world described by physics on the other. Rather, if we concentrate on the facts that speaking and thinking are activities of organic agents, then the problem of the place of the normative in nature becomes refocused on three related questions. First, is there a sense in which biological processes and the behavior of organisms can be legitimately subject to normative evaluation? Second, is there some sense in which, in addition to having ordinary causal explanations, organic phenomena can also legitimately be seen to happen because they should happen in that way, in some naturalistically comprehensible sense of 'should', or that organic phenomena happen in order to achieve some result, because that result should occur? And third, is it possible to naturalistically understand how human thought and language can be legitimately seen as the normatively evaluable behavior of a particular species of organism, behavior that occurs in order to satisfy some class of norms? This book develops, articulates, and defends positive answers to each of these questions.

In The Triumph of Sociobiology, John Alcock reviews the controversy that has surrounded evolutionary studies of human social behavior following the 1975 publication of E.O. Wilson's classic, Sociobiology, The New Synthesis. Denounced vehemently as an "ideology" that has justified social evils and inequalities, sociobiology has survived the assault. Twenty-five years after the field was named by Wilson, the approach he championed has successfully demonstrated its value in the study of animal behavior, including the behavior of our own species. Yet, misconceptions remain--to our disadvantage.

In this straight-forward, objective approach to the sociobiology debate, noted animal behaviorist John Alcock illuminates how sociobiologists study behavior in all species. He confronts the chief scientific and ideological objections head on, with a compelling analysis of case histories that involve such topics as sexual jealousy, beauty, gender difference, parent-offspring relations, and rape. In so doing, he shows that sociobiology provides the most satisfactory scientific analysis of social behavior available today.

Alcock challenges the notion that sociobiology depends on genetic determinism while showing the shortcoming of competing approaches that rely on cultural or environmental determinism. He also presents the practical applications of sociobiology and the progress sociobiological research has made in the search for a more complete understanding of human activities. His reminder that "natural" behavior is not "moral" behavior should quiet opponents fearing misapplication of evolutionary theory to our species. The key misconceptions about this evolutionary field are dissected one by one as the author shows why sociobiologists have had so much success in explaining the puzzling and fascinating social behavior of nonhuman animals and humans alike.

This book describes the similarities and differences between two species, bonobos and chimpanzees, based on the three decades the author has spent studying them in the wild, and shows how the contrasting nature of these two species is also reflected in human nature. The most important differences between bonobos and chimpanzees, our closest relatives, are the social mechanisms of coexistence in group life. Chimpanzees are known as a fairly despotic species in which the males exclusively dominate over the females, and maintain a rigid hierarchy. Chimpanzees have developed social intelligence to survive severe competition among males: by upholding the hierarchy of dominance, they can usually preserve peaceful relations among group members. In contrast, female bonobos have the same or even a higher social status than males. By evolving pseudo-estrus during their non-reproductive period, females have succeeded in moderating inter-male sexual competition, and in initiating mate selection. Although they are non-related in male-philopatric society, they usually aggregate in a group, enjoy priority access to food, determine which male is the alpha male, and generally maintain much more peaceful social relations compared to chimpanzees. Lastly, by identifying key mechanisms of social coexistence in these two species, the author also seeks to find solutions or "hope" for the peaceful coexistence of human beings. "Takeshi Furuichi is one of very few scientists in the world familiar with both chimpanzees and bonobos. In lively prose, reflecting personal experience with apes in the rain forest, he compares our two closest relatives and explains the striking differences between the male- dominated and territorial chimpanzees and the female-centered gentle bonobos." Frans de Waal, author of Mama's Last Hug - Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves (Norton, 2019)

The chimpanzee is one of our planet's best-loved and most instantly recognisable animals. Splitting from the human lineage between four and six million years ago, it is (along with its cousin, the bonobo) our closest living relative, sharing around 94% of our DNA. First encountered by Westerners in the seventeenth century, virtually nothing was known about chimpanzees in their natural environment until 1960, when Jane Goodall travelled to Gombe to live and work with them. Accessibly written, yet fully referenced and uncompromising in its accuracy and comprehensiveness, this book encapsulates everything we currently know about chimpanzees: from their discovery and why we study them, to their anatomy, physiology, genetics and culture. The text is beautifully illustrated and infused with examples and anecdotes drawn from the author's thirty years of primate observation, making this a perfect resource for students of biological anthropology and primatology as well as non-specialists interested in chimpanzees.

Since the publication of The Migrations of Fish by Prof. Alexander Meek in 1916, a number of books have been published on this subject. However, most of these books only cover one type of migratory mechanisms. This book aims to overcome this drawback by presenting a comprehensive coverage of all life history strategies-potadromy, anadromy, catadromy, amphidromy and oceanodromy in one book. The first section of this book reviews the history of fish migration studies, the main definitions and concepts related with fish migration and the main trends and challenges of fish migration research. The second section describes the main processes and patterns associated with all migratory life history strategies, as well as the main problems associated with their conservation. Finally, the third section provides examples of the main methodologies used to study fish migration. This book was conceived with the objective to provide undergraduate and graduate students and researchers with a comprehensive book on which they could rely.

'Gaining control' tells the story of how human behavioral capacities evolved from those of other animal species. Exploring what is known about the psychological capacities of other groups of animals, the authors reconstruct a fascinating history of our own mental evolution. In the book, the authors see mental evolution as a series of steps in which new mechanisms for controlling behavior develop in different species - starting with early representatives of this kingdom, and leading to a species - us - that can engage in a large number of different types of behavioral control. Key to their argument is the idea that each of these steps - from reflexes to instincts, drives, emotions, and cognitive planning - can be seen as a novel type of psychological adaptation in which information is 'inherited' by an animal from its own behavior through new forms of learning - a form of major evolutionary transition. Thus the mechanisms that result from these steps in increasingly complex behavioral control can also be seen as the fundamental building blocks of psychology. Such a perspective on behaviour has a number of implications for practitioners in fields ranging from experimental psychology to public health. Short, provocative, and insightful, this book will be of great interest and use to evolutionary psychologists and biologists, anthropologists and the scientific community as a whole.

The scientific study of networks - computer, social, and biological - has received an enormous amount of interest in recent years. However, the network approach has been applied to the field of animal behaviour relatively late compared to many other biological disciplines. Understanding social network structure is of great importance for biologists since the structural characteristics of any network will affect its constituent members and influence a range of diverse behaviours. These include finding and choosing a sexual partner, developing and maintaining cooperative relationships, and engaging in foraging and anti-predator behavior. This novel text provides an overview of the insights that network analysis has provided into major biological processes, and how it has enhanced our understanding of the social organisation of several important taxonomic groups. It brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing both an overview of the power of the network approach for understanding patterns and process in animal populations, as well as outlining how current methodological constraints and challenges can be overcome. Animal Social Networks is principally aimed at graduate level students and researchers in the fields of ecology, zoology, animal behaviour, and evolutionary biology but will also be of interest to social scientists.

This book compares the beginning of symbolic thought in human infancy with that of our close primate relatives, the chimpanzees. The author investigates the precursors of symbolism by studying the actions and interactions of a small group of these intelligent, non-human primates who live in Singapore Zoo. Drawing upon his years of detailed observations, Matthews offers an in-depth analysis and interpretation of chimp behaviour to present an unprecedented account of the beginnings of symbolic thought. The book shows that the actions the chimpanzees perform have structural and semantic similarities with the actions of emergent expression and representation we find in human infancy. Of great importance is the finding that chimpanzee mark-making activity is not an artefact of human interference, but part of chimpanzee culture. Young chimpanzees seem to be introduced to acts of pretence and imagination by older and more experienced ones and taught the rudiments of expression, representation and symbolism. The implications for our understanding of symbolism, language, art and education are enormous, as are those about our origins and our place within nature. The book is written in an accessible style for both specialist and non-specialist readers, and illustrated with the author's drawings and photographs.

This novel book is the first to properly address the controversial issue of plant intelligence, arguing convincingly that cells and whole plants growing in competitive wild conditions exhibit aspects of plant behaviour that can be accurately described as 'intelligent'. The author expands on three main insights drawn by the Nobel Prize winning botanist Barbara McClintock: firstly that plant cells may have knowledge of themselves; secondly that they receive challenges which lead to behavioural changes; finally, that they do so in a manner which implies assessment and intelligent behaviour. By equating the concept of intelligent behaviour with that of adaptively variable behaviour, the book provides a novel integration of signalling, behaviour, and behavioural ecology, all set within the context of plant studies. Plant Behaviour and Intelligence begins with chapters on the origins and multicellular nature of plant life, before going on to discuss novel behaviours such as branch initiation and growth, unusual behaviour of leaves, and how roots reconstruct their sensing systems and are capable of self-recognition. An entire chapter is devoted to the nature of intelligence and another to the vexed question of 'consciousness', as applied to plant life. This advanced textbook will be suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate level students taking related courses in plant ecology and evolution. It will also be of relevance and use to a broader audience of professional plant ecologists seeking an authoritative reference text to help them navigate the complexity and controversy of plant behaviour.

The scientific study of networks - computer, social, and biological - has received an enormous amount of interest in recent years. However, the network approach has been applied to the field of animal behaviour relatively late compared to many other biological disciplines. Understanding social network structure is of great importance for biologists since the structural characteristics of any network will affect its constituent members and influence a range of diverse behaviours. These include finding and choosing a sexual partner, developing and maintaining cooperative relationships, and engaging in foraging and anti-predator behavior. This novel text provides an overview of the insights that network analysis has provided into major biological processes, and how it has enhanced our understanding of the social organisation of several important taxonomic groups. It brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing both an overview of the power of the network approach for understanding patterns and process in animal populations, as well as outlining how current methodological constraints and challenges can be overcome. Animal Social Networks is principally aimed at graduate level students and researchers in the fields of ecology, zoology, animal behaviour, and evolutionary biology but will also be of interest to social scientists.

Insects display a staggering diversity of mating and social behaviours. Studying these systems provides insights into a wide range of evolutionary and behavioural questions, such as the evolution of sex, sexual selection, sexual conflict, and parental care. This edited volume provides an authoritative update of the landmark book in the field, The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems (Thornhill and Alcock, 1983), which had such a huge impact in shaping adaptationist approaches to the study of animal behaviour and influencing the study of the evolution of reproductive behaviour far beyond the taxonomic remit of insects. This accessible new volume brings the empirical and conceptual scope of the original book fully up to date, incorporating the wealth of new knowledge and research of the last 30 years. It explores the evolution of complex forms of sex determination in insects, and the role of sexual selection in shaping the evolution of mating systems. Selection arising via male contest competition and female choice (both before and after copulation) are discussed, as are the roles of parasites and pathogens in mediating the strength of sexual selection, and the role that parental care plays in successful reproduction. The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems is suitable for both graduate students and researchers interested in insect mating systems or behaviour from an evolutionary, genetical, physiological, or ecological perspective. Due to its interdisciplinary and concept-driven approach, it will also be of relevance and use to a broad audience of evolutionary biologists.

Insects display a staggering diversity of mating and social behaviours. Studying these systems provides insights into a wide range of evolutionary and behavioural questions, such as the evolution of sex, sexual selection, sexual conflict, and parental care. This edited volume provides an authoritative update of the landmark book in the field, The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems (Thornhill and Alcock, 1983), which had such a huge impact in shaping adaptationist approaches to the study of animal behaviour and influencing the study of the evolution of reproductive behaviour far beyond the taxonomic remit of insects. This accessible new volume brings the empirical and conceptual scope of the original book fully up to date, incorporating the wealth of new knowledge and research of the last 30 years. It explores the evolution of complex forms of sex determination in insects, and the role of sexual selection in shaping the evolution of mating systems. Selection arising via male contest competition and female choice (both before and after copulation) are discussed, as are the roles of parasites and pathogens in mediating the strength of sexual selection, and the role that parental care plays in successful reproduction. The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems is suitable for both graduate students and researchers interested in insect mating systems or behaviour from an evolutionary, genetical, physiological, or ecological perspective. Due to its interdisciplinary and concept-driven approach, it will also be of relevance and use to a broad audience of evolutionary biologists.

Bird migration is a well-researched phenological event. However, few studies in North America have investigated the effects of climate change and extreme weather on the relationships of migratory avian species and their seasonal resources. This is a critical gap in knowledge that limits our ability to prioritize management and conservation applications throughout the annual cycle. Phenological Synchrony and Bird Migration: Changing Climate and Seasonal Resources in North America explores critical linkages between migratory birds, their seasonal resources, and shifts in climate change and weather events. Gathered from projects conducted during spring or fall migration, the book covers topics such as: Conservation and management considerations for migratory birds throughout the United States with respect to climate change The relation of climate on the wintering grounds to spring migration of short- and long-distance migratory birds The relationships of migratory birds and their seasonal resources, and the nature of these relationships in the face of climate change and extreme weather events at stopover habitats in both spring and fall migration With contributions from over 40 researchers, the book will help readers understand the effects of climate change on migratory birds and will provide a solid basis for further inquiry and research in this area.