Animal Behaviour - Mechanism, Development, Function and Evolution

Paperback  756 pages  ISBN 0130899364      £31.00

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Animal behaviour has been one of the fastest-growing scientific disciplines of recent years. Its impact on the way we think about biology has spawned lucid &# 145;best sellers’ like The Selfish Gene and widespread scientific and public debate about our view of the natural world and our place in it. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of behaviour, from its basis in the animal’s anatomy and physiology to its adaptive value in the environment. It is aimed at undergraduate students in the biological sciences and psychology and is designed to serve as both a detailed introduction and an extensive, up-to-date source of reference enabling students to pursue topics in the primary literature.

Contents

1. Questions about behaviour.
2. Evolution and behaviour.
3. Physiological mechanisms and behaviour.
4. Motivation and cognition.
5. Development:  from genes to behaviour.
6. Development : maturation and learning.
7. Finding a place to live.
8. Finding food.
9. Social behaviour.
10. Mating and parental care.
11. Communication
12. Human behaviour.

Features

• Comprehensive coverage of the four major levels of enquiry &# 150; mechanism, development, function and evolution
• Integration of ideas and approaches from different disciplines of behaviour study
• An up-to-date focus on current debates
• Extensive boxed features explaining underlying theory
• Wide-ranging and extensively illustrated examples from the international research literature
• Clear introductory synopses and summaries for each chapter
• Suggestions for further reading and numerous supporting references
• Chris Barnard is Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Nottingham and a recent Executive Editor of the journal Animal Behaviour.