Author: R. F. Ewer
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 148994656X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Author: Bernd Würsig
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030166635
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 508

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This book concentrates on the marine mammalian group of Odontocetes, the toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises. In 23 chapters, a total of 40 authors describe general patterns of ethological concepts of odontocetes in their natural environments, with a strong bent towards behavioral ecology. Examples are given of particularly well-studied species and species groups for which enough data exist, especially from the past 15 years. The aim is to give a modern flavor of present knowledge of ethology and behavior of generally large-brained behaviorally flexible mammals that have evolved quite separately from social mammals on land. As well, the plight of populations and species due to humans is described in multiple chapters, with the goal that an understanding of behavior can help to solve or alleviate at least some human-made problems.

Author: Philip Carew Withers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199642710
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 607

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This book summarizes our current knowledge of the complex and sophisticated physiological models that mammals provide for survival in a wide variety of ecological and environmental contexts: terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic.

Author: Michael D. Breed
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128095458
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Conceptual Breakthroughs in Ethology and Animal Behavior highlights, through concise summaries, the most important discoveries and scientific revolutions in animal behavior. These are assessed for their relative impact on the field and their significance to the forward motion of the science of animal behavior. Eighty short essays capture the moment when a new concept emerged or a publication signaled a paradigm shift. How the new understanding came about is explained, and any continuing controversy or scientific conversation on the issue is highlighted. Behavior is a rich and varied field, drawing on genetics, evolution, physiology, and ecology to inform its principles, and this book embraces the wealth of knowledge that comes from the unification of these fields around the study of animals in motion. The chronological organization of the essays makes this an excellent overview of the history of animal behavior, ethology, and behavioral ecology. The work includes such topics as Darwin's role in shaping the study of animal behavior, the logic of animal contests, cognition, empathy in animals, and animal personalities. Succinct accounts of new revelations about behavior through scientific investigation and scrutiny reveal the fascinating story of this field. Similar to Dr. John Avise's Contemporary Breakthroughs in Evolutionary Genetics, the work is structured into vignettes that describe the conceptual revolution and assess the impact of the conceptual change, with a score, which ranges from 1-10, providing an assessment of the impact of the new findings on contemporary science. - Features a lively, brisk writing style and brief entries to enable easy, enjoyable access to this essential information - Includes topics that cover the range of behavioral biology from mechanism to behavioral ecology - Can also be used as supplemental material for an undergraduate animal behavior course, or as the foundational text for an upper level or graduate discussion course in advanced animal behavior

Author: Richard Estes
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520080850
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 648

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"A work of tremendous scope. . . . Amateur naturalists and tourists to the parks of Africa and finally professionals will find this a stimulating, well-documented summary."--John F. Eisenberg, Florida Museum of Natural History "We have seen in the field how very helpful and informative The Behavior Guide is. Our knowledgeable safari guides turned often to their prized and already well-thumbed copies, and we continue to refer to ours now that we are back home."--Douglas F. Williamson, Jr., National Council, World Wildlife Fund, U.S. "A fascinating, perceptive, and enjoyable travel companion heightens the pleasure of being afield. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals is that ideal companion. Lucid, accurate, and marvelously illustrated, the book is a basic reference for anyone interested in natural history."--George B. Schaller, author of The Serengheti Lion and The Deer and the Tiger "A remarkable review of what is known about the larger African mammals."--A.R.E. Sinclair, The Ecology Group, University of British Columbia

Author: Gordon M. Burghardt
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262025434
Category : Animal behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
A scientist examines the origins and evolutionary significance of play in humans and animals.

Author: Randall W. Davis
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783030667986
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Sea otters and polar bears are carnivorous marine mammals that still resemble their terrestrial ancestors. Compared with Cetacea (whales and dolphins), Sirenia (dugongs and manatees), and Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions, and walrus), they are less adapted for an aquatic life and the most recently evolved among marine mammals. Sea otters are amphibious but seldom come ashore, and polar bears primarily occur on sea ice or along the shore. When at sea, both species spend most of their time swimming at the surface or making short, shallow dives when foraging or pursuing prey. Indeed, polar bears rarely pursue seals in water. Nevertheless, polar bears are powerful swimmers and will stalk seals from the water. As with many other large carnivores, they are solitary hunters. Although sea otters are gregarious and form aggregations at sea called rafts, they are primarily asocial. Except during mating, the principal interaction among sea otters occurs between a female and offspring during the six-month dependency period. In large carnivores (e.g., wolves and lions) that feed on ungulates, sociality and cooperation are favored because of the need to capture large prey and defend carcasses. Polar bears, which are the largest terrestrial carnivore, are solitary hunters of seals and are neither gregarious nor social. Males and females briefly associate during courtship and mating. During this time, males aggressively compete for females. At other times, males generally avoid each other except for aggregations of males that form while summering on land, and females with cubs avoid males, which are known for infanticide. As with sea otters, the interaction of polar bears outside of mating occurs between a female and her offspring during the 2-3 year dependency period. This interaction is critically important when altricial cubs are born in the winter den. This book provides new insight into the ethology and behavioral ecology of sea otters and polar bears. Each chapter reviews the discoveries of previous studies and integrates recent research using new techniques and technology. The authors also address historic and current anthropogenic challenges for their survival as climate change alters entire marine ecosystems.

Author: N.C. Stenseth
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401123381
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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4.1.1 Demographic significance Confined populations grow more rapidly than populations from which dispersal is permitted (Lidicker, 1975; Krebs, 1979; Tamarin et at., 1984), and demography in island populations where dispersal is restricted differs greatly from nearby mainland populations (Lidicker, 1973; Tamarin, 1977, 1978; Gliwicz, 1980), clearly demonstrating the demographic signi ficance of dispersal. The prevalence of dispersal in rapidly expanding populations is held to be the best evidence for presaturation dispersal. Because dispersal reduces the growth rate of source populations, it is generally believed that emigration is not balanced by immigration, and that mortality of emigrants occurs as a result of movement into a 'sink' of unfavourable habitat. If such dispersal is age- or sex-biased, the demo graphy of the population is markedly affected, as a consequence of differ ences in mortality in the dispersive sex or age class. Habitat heterogeneity consequently underlies this interpretation of dispersal and its demographic consequences, although the spatial variability of environments is rarely assessed in dispersal studies.

Author: Klaus Immelmann
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674205062
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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This dictionary clearly and accurately defines more than 600 terms used in ethology, the science of animal behavior, in entries of one or two paragraphs. While there are several reference books dealing with ethology, the only real rival to this title is "The Oxford Companion to Animal Behavior", edited by David McFarland (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1982), which covers half as many terms in twice as many pages, has hundreds of illustrations, and an index to the animals mentioned in the text. Smaller libraries can get by with the Oxford reference while larger libraries and natural history collections should have both titles.-- Jonathan F. Husband, Framingham State Coll. Lib., Mass.

Author: K. Lorenz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3709136717
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 507

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Book Description
This book is a contribution to the history of ethology-not a definitive history, but the personal view of a major figure in that story. It is all the more welcome because such a grand theme as ethology calls for a range of perspectives. One reason is the overarching scope of the subject. Two great questions about life that constitute much of biology are "How does it work (structure and function)?" and "How did it get that way (evolu tion and ontogeny)?" Ethology addresses the antecedent of "it. " Of what are we trying to explain the mechanism and development? Surely behav ior, in all its wealth of detail, variation, causation, and control, is the main achievement of animal evolution, the essential consequence of animal structure and function, the raison d' etre of all the rest. Ethology thus spans between and overlaps with the ever-widening circles of ecol ogy over the eons and the ever-narrowing focus of physiology of the neurons. Another reason why the history of ethology needs perspectives is the recency of its acceptance. For such an obviously major aspect of animal biology, it is curious how short a time-less than three decades-has seen the excitement of an active field and a substantial fraternity of work ers, the addition of professors and courses to departments and curricula in biology (still far from universal}, and the normal complement of spe cial journals, symposia, and sessions at congresses.