This concise but thorough study of courtship behavior in fish,
birds, and arthropods is the first rigorous examination of the
evolutionary origins and mechanisms of courtship and its
contribution to biological success. Demonstrating the fruitfulness
of an empirically based, inductive approach to understanding
courtship, the book also explains clearly how principles of modern
evolutionary theory can be successfully employed in studying
behavior.
The author describes many observations and experiments that have
not previously appeared outside specialized journals and brings an
abundance of simple yet accurate examples of animal behavior to
bear on explanations of ethological concepts and evolutionary
theory. No attempt is made to skim over the gaps of knowledge
apparent in the study of behavior evolution; rather, the author
discusses the limitations and difficulties of different approaches,
critically reviews the deductions that can be and have been made
from them, and tries to present enough evidence on controversial
points for the reader himself to judge the validity of specific
arguments.
Indicating how ethological method, firmly based on biological
principles, can intensively investigate and illuminate a single
area of animal behavior, the book will be valuable to students and
professionals in zoology, animal behavior, and experimental
psychology.
"Margaret Bastock" studied zoology at Oxford from 1946 to 1949
and became a zoology tutor at and, later, a Fellow of St. Anne's
College, Oxford. She worked for her Ph.D. under Professor N.
Tinbergen and through him became acquainted with the work of the
chief ethologists in Europe and the United States. Her original
work has concentrated on the inheritance and organization of
behavior in insects, and her principal interests include all
aspects of animal behavior, genetics, and evolution.
General
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