An Introduction To Ethology Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of An Introduction To Ethology book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
This book provides an elementary introduction to the study of animal behaviour, aimed primarily at sixth formers and undergraduates attending short courses in the subject. It introduces the basic ideas and concepts of modern ethology set in a historical context, thus showing how views have changed since the simple theories put forward by the founders of the field, such as Lorenz and Tinbergen, 30 years or more ago. The book is not intended to be comprehensive, nor could it be at this length, but it concentrates on putting across the basic principles of the subject as briefly and lucidly as possible. It does this with the aid of carefully selected examples, some recent and others classics in the field, and with numerous illustrations.
Ethology, the study of the biology of behavior, has grown tremendously during the last few decades. The large number of accumulated facts is difficult to survey, understanding and an appreciation of the ethological approach to the study of behavior have grown, and the number of attempts at holistic explanations for certain behavioral phenomena has increased. Because of this development it has become more difficult to gain an overview of the field, to keep up with new developments, and to update the subject matter by the inclusion of new facts in the proper place. The nonspecialist is unable to evaluate the more general statements in the popular literature, especially when such works are aimed at a broader audience. Hence, this book has a dual purpose: (1) to lend some order to the dizzying array of information and thus simplify inquiry into ethology; and (2) to present relevant facts and knowledge that will help the reader confronted with numerous studies and articles in the ethological literature.
This book provides an elementary introduction to the study of animal behaviour, aimed primarily at sixth formers and undergraduates attending short courses in the subject. It introduces the basic ideas and concepts of modern ethology set in a historical context, thus showing how views have changed since the simple theories put forward by the founders of the field, such as Lorenz and Tinbergen, 30 years or more ago. The book is not intended to be comprehensive, nor could it be at this length, but it concentrates on putting across the basic principles of the subject as briefly and lucidly as possible. It does this with the aid of carefully selected examples, some recent and others classics in the field, and with numerous illustrations.
Author : Nicholas B. Davies,John R. Krebs,Stuart A. West Publisher : John Wiley & Sons Page : 521 pages File Size : 51,7 Mb Release : 2012-02-17 Category : Science ISBN : 9781444398465
An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology by Nicholas B. Davies,John R. Krebs,Stuart A. West Pdf
This textbook helped to define the field of Behavioural Ecology. In this fourth edition the text has been completely revised, with new chapters and many new illustrations and full colour photographs. The theme, once again, is the influence of natural selection on behaviour – an animal's struggle to survive and reproduce by exploiting and competing for resources, avoiding predators, selecting mates and caring for offspring, – and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals. Stuart A. West has joined as a co-author bringing his own perspectives and work on microbial systems into the book. Written in the same engaging and lucid style as the previous editions, the authors explain the latest theoretical ideas using examples from micro-organisms, invertebrates and vertebrates. There are boxed sections for some topics and marginal notes help guide the reader. The book is essential reading for students of behavioural ecology, animal behaviour and evolutionary biology. Key Features: Long-awaited new edition of a field-defining textbook New chapters, illustrations and colour photographs New co-author Focuses on the influence of natural selection on behavior, and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals “The long-awaited update to a classic in this field is now here, presenting new directions in thinking and addressing burning questions. Richly informed by progress in many other disciplines, such as sensory physiology, genetics and evolutionary theory, it marks the emergence of behavioural ecology as a fully fledged discipline..... This is a marvellous book, written in a lucid style. A must-read for those in the field, it is also a cornucopia of new thinking for anyone interested in evolution and behaviour.” Manfred Milinski, Nature, 2012
This book provides an introductory text covering the use and misuse of behaviour tests applied to animals. By including illustrative examples from a variety of species, the book inspires the animal scientist to think about what a given behavioural test can be used for and how the results can be interpreted. This text includes: the dos and don'ts of running behaviour tests and interpreting the results; many clear, simple illustrations which make the information readily accessible, down to earth, practical advice yet a thorough, evidence-based approach; information on behaviour tests for a whole range of species from companion, farm, zoo, laboratory and wild animals; succinct yet comprehensive text, designed to be read cover to cover and stimulate further reading. This book is an essential item in the researcher's toolkit when embarking on and devising any animal behaviour test and is valuable to students, established researchers, teachers and practitioners of applied ethology, animal welfare science, and veterinary science.
Historically the search for the neural bases of behavior goes back a long way. Neuroethology, which is concerned with the experimental analysis ofthe releasing and control mech anisms of behavior, is a young discipline. Results from this multidisciplinary branch of research, which uses physical, chemical, and mathematical methods, have not yet been extensively treated in textbooks of neurophysiology and ethology. This book is intended as a first attempt to pose major questions of neuroethology and to demonstrate, by means of selected research examples, some of the ways by which these questions are being approached. Inevitably this cannot be a complete and in depth detailed treatment of all of the neurobiology examples, and I realize that such a selection is of a subjective nature. The overall goal ofthe book is to present an introduction. After outlining some of the very basic neurophysiological and ethological concepts (Chaps. 2 and 3), neuroethological questions and methods are demonstrated extensively by means of a particular example (Chap. 4). There are two reasons to choose the visually guided prey-catching and avoidance behavior of the Common Toad: (1) it is a system which I have inves tigated for about fifteen years and therefore know best, (2) the toad story is one of the most comprehensive neuro ethological approaches so far. Thus, it is possible here to outline the major concepts of neuroethology and to pose the basic questions.
