Behavioural Ecology An Evolutionary Perspective on Behaviour

by Danchin, Etienne; Giraldeau, Luc-Alain; Cézilly, Frank

• ISBN13: 9780199206292
• ISBN10: 0199206295
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Why are some species monogamous while others are polygamous? Why are males usually more ornamented than females? What makes one organism the hunter and another the hunted? Why do some creatures stick together in groups while others prefer to go it alone? Can we talk of animal culture?Behavioural Ecology provides a fascinating insight into the evolutionary and ecological processes that underpin animal behaviour. Opening with an overview of the evolutionary and methodological framework of behavioural ecology, the book goes on to explore behaviours in terms of the selective pressures involved in their design. It addresses natural selection, sexual selection, and gene selection, before closing with aninvestigation of the human impact on behavioural ecology. Featuring chapters written by university teachers, each with research expertise in their respective fields, Behavioural Ecology has been moulded by Danchin, Giraldeau, and Cezilly to give a uniform voice throughout: it is a text with all the qualities of a multi-author book, but without thepotential drawbacks. Behavioural Ecology offers a fresh, contemporary account of a field re-invigorated by advances in the last decade, making it the ideal teaching and learning text. Online Resource Centre: For registered adopters of the book: -Figures from the book available to download, to facilitate lecture preparation For students: -Library of web links, giving ready access to additional resources

Author Biography

Etienne Danchin is a lecturer in the Evolution and Biological Diversity Group at the Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Luc-Alain Giraldeau is a professor in the Department of Biological Science at the Universite du Quebec in Montreal, Canada.
Frank Cezilly is a professor in the Life Sciences Department at the Universite de Bourgogne, France.

Table of Contents

IntroductionDanchin, E, Giraldeau, L-A, and Cezilly, F

The Behavioural Ecological Approach

A History of Behavioural Ecology

Fundamental Concepts in Behavioural Ecology

Testing Hypotheses in Behavioural Ecology

An Information Driven Approach to Behaviour

The Development of the Behavioural Phenotype

Life History Strategies, Multidimensional trade-offs and behavioural syndromes

Hormones and Behaviour

Exploiting the Environment

Solitary Foraging Strategies

Social Foraging

Choosing Where to Reproduce - Breeding Habitat Selection

Evolution of Dispersal

Sex and Behaviour

Sexual Selection

Mating Systems and Parental Care

Sex Allocation

Social Interactions Among Individuals

Animal Aggregation

The adaptive evolution of social traits

Communication, Sensory Ecology and Signal Evolution

Interspecific Parasitism and Mutualism

Humans and Animals

Behavioural Ecology and Conservation

The Behavioural Ecology of Humans

Cultural Evolution

Glossary

List of References

Indexes

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.