An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology.

Cover -- Title page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Natural Selection, Ecology and Behaviour -- Watching and wondering -- Natural selection -- Genes and behaviour -- Selfish individuals or group advantage? -- Phenotypic plasticity: climate change and breeding times -- Behaviour, ecology and evolution -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 2 Testing Hypotheses in Behavioural Ecology -- The comparative approach -- Breeding behaviour of gulls in relation to predation risk -- Social organization of weaver birds -- Social organization in African ungulates -- Limitations of early comparative studies -- Comparative approach to primate ecology and behaviour -- Using phylogenies in comparative analysis -- The comparative approach reviewed -- Experimental studies of adaptation -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 3 Economic Decisions and the Individual -- The economics of carrying a load -- The economics of prey choice -- Sampling and information -- The risk of starvation -- Environmental variability, body reserves and food storing -- Food storing birds: from behavioural ecology to neuroscience -- The evolution of cognition -- Feeding and danger: a trade-off -- Social learning -- Optimality models and behaviour: an overview -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 4 Predators versus Prey: Evolutionary Arms Races -- Red Queen evolution -- Predators versus cryptic prey -- Enhancing camouflage -- Warning colouration: aposematism -- Mimicry -- Trade-offs in prey defences -- Cuckoos versus hosts -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 5 Competing for Resources -- The Hawk-Dove game -- Competition by exploitation: the ideal free distribution -- Competition by resource defence: the despotic distribution -- The ideal free distribution with unequal competitors.

The economics of resource defence -- Producers and scroungers -- Alternative mating strategies and tactics -- ESS thinking -- Animal personalities -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 6 Living in Groups -- How grouping can reduce predation -- How grouping can improve foraging -- Evolution of group living: shoaling in guppies -- Group size and skew -- Group decision making -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 7 Sexual Selection, Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict -- Males and females -- Parental investment and sexual competition -- Why do females invest more in offspring care than do males? -- Evidence for sexual selection -- Why are females choosy? -- Genetic benefits from female choice: two hypotheses -- Testing the hypotheses for genetic benefits -- Sexual selection in females and male choice -- Sex differences in competition -- Sperm competition -- Constraints on mate choice and extra-pair matings -- Sexual conflict -- Sexual conflict: who wins? -- Chase-away sexual selection -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 8 Parental Care and Family Conflicts -- Evolution of parental care -- Parental investment: a parent's optimum -- Varying care in relation to costs and benefits -- Sexual conflict -- Sibling rivalry and parent-offspring conflict: theory -- Sibling rivalry: evidence -- Parent-offspring conflict: evidence -- Brood parasites -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 9 Mating Systems -- Mating systems with no male parental care -- Mating systems with male parental care -- A hierarchical approach to mating system diversity -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 10 Sex Allocation -- Fisher's theory of equal investment -- Sex allocation when relatives interact -- Sex allocation in variable environments -- Selfish sex ratio distorters -- Summary.

Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 11 Social Behaviours: Altruism to Spite -- Kin selection and inclusive fitness -- Hamilton's rule -- How do individuals recognize kin? -- Kin selection doesn't need kin discrimination -- Selfish restraint and kin selection -- Spite -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 12 Cooperation -- What is cooperation? -- Free riding and the problem of cooperation -- Solving the problem of cooperation -- Kin selection -- Hidden benefits -- By-product benefit -- Reciprocity -- Enforcement -- A case study - the Seychelles Warbler -- Manipulation -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 13 Altruism and Conflict in the Social Insects -- The social insects -- The life cycle and natural history of a social insect -- The economics of eusociality -- The pathway to eusociality -- The haplodiploidy hypothesis -- The monogamy hypothesis -- The ecological benefits of cooperation -- Conflict within insect societies -- Conflict over the sex ratio in the social hymenoptera -- Worker policing in the social hymenoptera -- Superorganisms -- Comparison of vertebrates with insects -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 14 Communication and Signals -- The types of communication -- The problem of signal reliability -- Indices -- Handicaps -- Common interest -- Human language -- Dishonest signals -- Summary -- Further reading -- Topics for discussion -- 15 Conclusion -- How plausible are our main premises? -- Causal and functional explanations -- A final comment -- Summary -- Further reading -- References -- Index.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.