Author: Raghavendra Gadagkar
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674260848
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
Did you know that Tasmanian hens have two husbands? That cellular slime molds commit suicide? That vampire bats will share food with hungry fellow bats and that hanuman langurs commit infanticide? Why creatures great and small behave in such fascinating and seemingly perplexing ways is explained in this delightful account of the evolutionary foundations of animal social behavior. Only in recent years have biologists and ethologists begun to apply careful evolutionary thinking to the study of animal societies--and with spectacular results. This book presents the choicest of these findings, with a remarkable wealth of insights into the myriad strategies that animals have developed to perpetuate their kind. In an irresistible style, Raghavendra Gadagkar explores the strategies of cooperation and conflict adopted by animals--from the lordly lion to the primitive wasp worker--as they choose mates, raise their young, communicate with others, and establish the division of labor necessary to feed and protect the group and safeguard their territory. Whether focusing on the birds or the bees, this book offers both superb descriptions and lucid explanations of many different behaviors encountered in the animal world: why a ground squirrel will sound an alarm--even risk its own safety--to warn fellow squirrels of impending danger; why weaver ant larvae donate silk for nest building; why house mice raise their offspring in a communal nursery; and how animals can recognize the relatives they want to favor--or avoid. Illustrated with both photographs and explanatory diagrams, this expert and inviting tour of the social world of animals will inform and charm anyone curious about the motivations behind the amazing range of activity in the animal kingdom.
Author: Alexander H. Harcourt
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226316041
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 479
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Book Description
Societies develop as a result of the interactions of individuals as they compete and cooperate with one another in the evolutionary struggle to survive and reproduce successfully. Gorilla society is arranged according to these different and sometimes conflicting evolutionary goals of the sexes. In seeking to understand why gorilla society exists as it does, Alexander H. Harcourt and Kelly J. Stewart bring together extensive data on wild gorillas, collected over decades by numerous researchers working in diverse habitats across Africa, to illustrate how the social system of gorillas has evolved and endured. Gorilla Society introduces recent theories explaining primate societies, describes gorilla life history, ecology, and social systems, and explores both sexes’ evolutionary strategies of survival and reproduction. With a focus on the future, Harcourt and Stewart conclude with suggestions for future research and conservation. An exemplary work of socioecology from two of the world’s best known gorilla biologists, Gorilla Society will be a landmark study on a par with the work of George Schaller—a synthesis of existing research on these remarkable animals and the societies in which they live.
Author: R. J. Ranjit Daniels
Publisher: Universities Press
ISBN: 9788173715143
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 350
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Book Description
Amphibians Are Considered To Be The Best Indicators Of Environmental Health. In This Book Over 72 Species Of Indian Amphibians Including Caecilians Common And Widely Distributed In Peninsular India, Have Been Described Simply With Easy-To-Identify Illustrations.
Author: M. K. Chandrashekaran
Publisher: Universities Press
ISBN: 9788173715464
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216
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Book Description
Author: Kumaran Sathasivam
Publisher: Universities Press
ISBN: 9788173714658
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
The Intelligent Dolphins, The Giant Whales And The Inoffensive Dugong Or Sea-Cow Are Among The Most Fascinating Creatures In The Wild. Every Aspect Of Their Way Of Life Is Astonishing Some Of Them Use Sound To See In The Water, Some Of Them Dive To Incredible Depths In Search Of Food, And Some Of Them Sing Complex Songs. Marine Mammals Are So Intriguing That Worldwide There Is A Multi-Million Dollar Industry In Just Watching These Animals. Yet, In India Few Are Even Aware That There Are Many Of These Creatures In The Seas Around The Country A Full Fourth Of The World S 120 Or So Species, In Fact. This Is Due To The Lack Of Information About Them. Most Existing Records Are Scattered In Various Scientific Journals. No Book Published So Far Covers This Group Of Indian Wildlife Adequately. This Book Is Meant For A Wide Range Of Readers Including Children, Wildlife Enthusiasts And Serious Students. A Significant Part Of The Book Is Devoted To The More Than 30 Species Accounts, Which Make The Book A Useful Reference. Glimpses Of Their Lifestyles Are Given Through Several Essays Dealing, For Example, With The Phenomenon Of Mass Strandings Of Whales Or The Reputed Ferocity Of The Killer Whale. Further, Color Illustrations And Character Matrices Meant For Easy Identification Make Marine Mammals Of India A Useful Field Guide. The Extensive Bibliography Makes The Book A Valuable Research Aid. The Accounts Of Whaling And Other Threats Faced By Marine Mammals Highlight The Conservation Requirements Of These Animals.
Author: Khadg Singh Valdiya
Publisher: Universities Press
ISBN: 9788173710940
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220
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Book Description
This Monograph Aims To Apprise Readers Of The Natural Events That Occurred And The Processes That Were In Operation Before The Emergence Of The Giant Edifice Of The Himalaya. Helping To Achieve Clearer Understanding Of The Structural Architecture Or Makeup, The Book Purports To Highlight The Mechanisms And The Stages Of Development Of The World S Youngest Mountain Province. The Text Is Supplemented With Exhaustive Data, Maps, Figures And Colour Photographs.
Author: Samuel Bowles
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691158169
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274
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Book Description
A fascinating look at the evolutionary origins of cooperation Why do humans, uniquely among animals, cooperate in large numbers to advance projects for the common good? Contrary to the conventional wisdom in biology and economics, this generous and civic-minded behavior is widespread and cannot be explained simply by far-sighted self-interest or a desire to help close genealogical kin. In A Cooperative Species, Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis—pioneers in the new experimental and evolutionary science of human behavior—show that the central issue is not why selfish people act generously, but instead how genetic and cultural evolution has produced a species in which substantial numbers make sacrifices to uphold ethical norms and to help even total strangers. The authors describe how, for thousands of generations, cooperation with fellow group members has been essential to survival. Groups that created institutions to protect the civic-minded from exploitation by the selfish flourished and prevailed in conflicts with less cooperative groups. Key to this process was the evolution of social emotions such as shame and guilt, and our capacity to internalize social norms so that acting ethically became a personal goal rather than simply a prudent way to avoid punishment. Using experimental, archaeological, genetic, and ethnographic data to calibrate models of the coevolution of genes and culture as well as prehistoric warfare and other forms of group competition, A Cooperative Species provides a compelling and novel account of how humans came to be moral and cooperative.
Author: Carlos Cruz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642125379
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 401
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Book Description
Many aspects of Nature, Biology or even from Society have become part of the techniques and algorithms used in computer science or they have been used to enhance or hybridize several techniques through the inclusion of advanced evolution, cooperation or biologically based additions. The previous NICSO workshops were held in Granada, Spain, 2006, Acireale, Italy, 2007, and in Tenerife, Spain, 2008. As in the previous editions, NICSO 2010, held in Granada, Spain, was conceived as a forum for the latest ideas and the state of the art research related to nature inspired cooperative strategies. The contributions collected in this book cover topics including nature-inspired techniques like Genetic Algorithms, Evolutionary Algorithms, Ant and Bee Colonies, Swarm Intelligence approaches, Neural Networks, several Cooperation Models, Structures and Strategies, Agents Models, Social Interactions, as well as new algorithms based on the behaviour of fireflies or bats.
Author: N. Kumar
Publisher: Universities Press
ISBN: 9788173710421
Category : Deterministic chaos
Languages : en
Pages : 116
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Book Description
This book defines, describes, and prescribe the newly emerged paradigm of complexity of change-how a simple system ruled by a deterministic law can evolve in a manner too complex to predict in detail in the long run. After explaining, through examles, the underlying idea of sensitive depenence on initial conditions caused by non-linearity, id describes the powerful qualitative techniques.
Author: N. Mukunda
Publisher: Universities Press
ISBN: 9788173710957
Category : Physicists
Languages : en
Pages : 140
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Book Description
