This book explores the strikingly similar ways in which information is encoded in nonverbal man-made signals (e.g., traffic lights and tornado sirens) and animal-evolved signals (e.g., color patterns and vocalizations). The book also considers some coding principles for reducing certain unwanted redundancies and explains how desirable redundancies enhance communication reliability.

Jack Hailman believes this work pioneers several aspects of analyzing human and animal communication. The book is the first to survey man-made signals as a class. It is also the first to compare such human-devised systems with signaling in animals by showing the highly similar ways in which the two encode information. A third innovation is generalizing principles of quantitative information theory to apply to a broad range of signaling systems. Finally, another first is distinguishing among types of redundancy and their separation into unwanted and desirable categories.

This remarkably novel book will be of interest to a wide readership. Appealing not only to specialists in semiotics, animal behavior, psychology, and allied fields but also to general readers, it serves as an introduction to animal signaling and to an important class of human communication.

Six deaths mar the holiday mood as summer vacationers enjoy Wisconsin s beautiful Door County peninsula. Murders, or bizarre accidents? Newly hired park ranger Dave Cubiak, a former Chicago homicide detective, assumes the worst but refuses to get involved. Grief-stricken and guilt-ridden over the loss of his wife and daughter, he s had enough of death. Forced to confront the past, the morose Cubiak moves beyond his own heartache and starts investigating, even as a popular festival draws more people into possible danger. In a desperate search for clues, Cubiak uncovers a tangled web of greed, betrayal, bitter rivalries, and lost love beneath the peninsula s travel-brochure veneer. Befriended by several locals but unsure whom to trust or to suspect of murder, the one-time cop tracks a clever killer. In a setting of stunning natural beauty and picturesque waterfront villages, Death Stalks Door County introduces a new detective series, The Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries. Finalist, Traditional Fiction 2014 Book of the Year Award, Chicago Writers Association"

This concise guide to planning, writing, and presenting research is intended for biology students of all levels, especially those in behavioral ecology, The reader is guided through a discussion of the nature of scientific research, how to plan research, and how to obtain funding. The authors give advice and guidelines for presenting results at research seminars and scientific meetings, and also provide useful tips on preparing abstracts and posters for scientific meetings. They discuss how to write an effective C.V. and give general tips on how to write clearly. The book is illuminated throughout with personal examples from the authors" own experiences and emphasis is placed on problems associated with field studies. All biologists will find this a valuable resource and guide for the early years of their scientific careers and established faculty will find it an essential instructional tool.