Lee Alan Dugatkin – Principles of Animal Behavior (3rd edition)

Автор: Lee Alan Dugatkin
Название книги: Principles of Animal Behavior (3rd edition)
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Зоопсихология, поведение животных
Страницы: 675
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

Principles of Animal Behavior has long been considered the most current and engaging introduction to animal behavior. The Third Edition is now also the most comprehensive and balanced in its approach to the theoretical framework behind how biologists study behavior.

Now is an exciting time to be participating in the fi eld of animal
behavior—whether as a researcher, an instructor, or a student. In
particular, students taking courses in animal behavior today are getting
their fi rst glimpses of the fi eld at a dynamic point in its history. The
third edition of Principles of Animal Behavior aims to show why—by building on
the work in the fi rst two editions of this book and adding the latest, best, cuttingedge
research being done in animal behavior. Much has happened in the fi eld of
animal behavior since the last edition of this book was published in 2009. Recent
research fi ndings have given me ample opportunity not only to update and expand
on the studies presented in the book but also to reinforce the previous editions’
focus on ultimate and proximate causation, as well as the book’s unique emphasis
on natural selection, learning, and cultural transmission. But there is more to this
new edition of Principles of Animal Behavior than that.
The third edition greatly expands the discussion of proximate causation,
so much so that I have added a new second “primer” chapter on this subject.
Chapter 3 is now devoted to hormones, neurobiology, and behavior, while
Chapter 4 focuses on molecular genetics, development, and behavior. This
discussion of proximate causation introduces a line of inquiry that is sustained
throughout the book, alongside ultimate causation. My goal is to weave together
the most current knowledge on proximate and ultimate factors and present an
integrated approach to animal behavior.
The process of natural selection produces the vast diversity of behavior we see
within and across animal species. As such, I delve deeply into the adaptationist
approach to animal behavior. In this edition of Principles of Animal Behavior,
I have also added a great deal of new material on another way to study behavior
in an evolutionary context—the phylogenetic approach to the study of behavior.
Again, the aim is to produce an integrative overview of animal behavior: The
tapestry of animal behavior is created from weaving all of its components into
a beautiful whole A completely new feature in this edition is the Conservation Connection
boxes in Chapters 2–17. Many students taking a course in animal behavior are
interested in the course, in part, because they care about the natural world
and the creatures that inhabit it. They want to make a difference, and some
may even pursue careers in conservation biology. But most animal behavior
textbooks barely touch on the subject of conservation biology, or they discuss
it only in passing. The Conservation Connection boxes that run throughout
the third edition of Principles of Animal Behavior give the topic of conservation
and animal behavior the space it deserves. Each box focuses on a specifi c
conservation issue related to the chapter topic—such as migration or foraging—
and shows how ethology and conservation biology can inform each other in
addressing that issue.
From the fi rst edition of this book, my aim has been to explain underlying
concepts in a way that is scientifi cally rigorous but, at the same time, accessible to
students. Each chapter in the book provides a sound theoretical and conceptual
basis upon which the empirical studies rest. The presentation of theory, sometimes
in the form of mathematical models, is not meant to intimidate students but
rather to illuminate the wonderful examples of animal behavior in that chapter.
My goal has been to produce a book that students will actually enjoy and will
recommend to their friends as a “keeper.” I also hope that instructors will fi nd this
book useful in their research programs, as well as in their courses.