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An advanced textbook suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in the fields of behavioural ecology, primatology, conservation biology, biological anthropology, public health and wildlife epidemiology.

Renowned wild horse ecologist Mary Ann Simonds provides a soup-to-nuts manual for stress-reduction in performance horses. Based on her 30-plus years of personal research and experience of wild horse ecology and domestic horse behaviour, as well as data provided by other equine scientists, readers will find a foundation of understanding related to the natural life cycle and history of the horse, from birth to forming friendships and families. The importance of gender, age, breed, culture, and hab...

This book explores mate-finding and courtship behaviour in the insect world, in all its subtlety and diversity. Insects engage in courtship as much, or as little, as any other animal; they have songs and dances, and all manner of instruments and ornaments to attract and court the opposite sex. Insects have evolved complex chemical and acoustic communication systems, sending fragrant messages, visual signals and subtle vibrations to attract and persuade. Insects also have many different ways and...

Migration is a key process in the population dynamics of many insects, including some of the most damaging pests. Multidisciplinary research into the importance of migration, in recent decades, has produced many new insights. This book reviews current understanding of the ecological, behavioural, physiological and genetic bases of insect migration. The first part describes migration systems in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and America, with an emphasis on the role of regional weather and clim...

The crustaceans are ecologically and economically important organisms. They constitute one of the dominant invertebrate groups on earth, particularly within the aquatic realm. Crustaceans include some of the preferred scientific model organism, profitable aquaculture specimen, but also invasive nuisance species threatening native animal communities throughout the world. Chemoreception is the most important sensory modality of crustaceans, acquiring important information about their environment a...

The main focus of this monograph on whistled speech is the result of a worldwide inquiry primarily based on the author’s unprecedented fieldwork and laboratory experience. The different questions raised by the origin and the evolution of whistled forms of languages are also explored, including the role of environmental constraints in the emergence of whistled speech, their phonetic and phonological typology, the cognitive processing of whistled signals, monogenesis and polygenesis scenarios, the...

The question addressed by this volume is how human beings have evolved as creatures who can make and use more complex tools, communicate in more complex ways and engage in more complex forms of social life than any other species in the animal kingdom. Leading researchers from fields as diverse as biological and social anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, psychology, neurology and ethology have come together to present a unique interdisciplinary study of this central question in human evolutio...

In this controversial culmination of a lifelong quest, Alexander F. Skutch, a well-known ornithologist who has studied birds for more than sixty years, makes a case for "believing that birds' mental capacities have been grossly underestimated." Lacking hard scientific proofs of what birds think and feel, we are left, Skutch argues, with inferences gleaned from observation of their behavior. His intimate, six-decade study of tropical and north temperate birds and his wide survey of the literature...

The Study of Movement Speeds Down Stairs closely examines forty-three unique case studies on movement patterns down stairwells. These studies include observations made during evacuation drills, others made during normal usage, interviews with people after fire evacuations, recommendations made from compiled studies, and detailed results from laboratory studies. The methodology used in each study for calculating density and movement speed, when known, are also presented, and this book identifies...

As people come to understand more about animals' inner lives-the intricacies of their thoughts and the emotions that are expressed every day by whales and cows, octopus and mice, even bees-we feel a growing compassion, a desire to better their lives. But how do we translate this compassion into helping other creatures, both those that are and are not our pets? Bringing together the latest science with heartfelt storytelling, Animals' Best Friends reveals the opportunities we have in everyday lif...

Describes the day-to-day lives of chimpanzees in the wild, looks at how they find food, communicate, and raise their young, and offers a glimpse at their complex society.

For years Jeanne Altmann has set methodological standards for primate field-workers. In Baboon Mothers and Infants she applies her uniquely sophisticated techniques to the mother-infant relationship, its demography and ecology within the natural setting.

This is the perfect chance to immerse yourself in the uplifting sounds of a perfect country morning, from the comfort of your own home. At dawn, in our countryside, there is a pronounced peak in bird singing activity. This is especially noticeable for about an hour after the first light in temperate zone woodlands during spring and early summer. At this time, male birds defend their territories and attract females with their songs. The recordings on this CD are a selection of British woodland re...

We share the earth with a wide variety of animal species, each of which brings something special to the diversity of the planet. By knowing more about how animals behave and live, we gain a greater understanding of how life evolved and the importance of biodiversity. This book is about the animals that rise when the sun sets and are active throughout the night. Nocturnal Animals examines how such animals live and explains their highly developed senses that enable them to survive in the dark, as...

Having trained as a civil engineer and surveyor, the ornithologist William Eagle Clarke (1853–1938) established himself in his field by preparing reports on bird migration for the British Association. Focusing on the species passing through the British Isles, Clarke spent many months in various lighthouses and on remote islands. He brought all his research together in this two-volume work, first published in 1912 and illustrated with maps and weather charts. In Volume 2, Clarke describes key exa...

Some of the most exciting recent advances in animal behaviour have occurred at the interface between that subject and the study of evolution. This book, written by experts in this area, illustrates how the profound changes in our understanding of evolution have influenced behavioural research. Its chapters span both studies of how behaviour itself has evolved, dealing with topics such as comparative studies, the genetics of behaviour, speciation and the evolution of sociality and of intelligence...

A book blending evolution and trophic dynamics, taking into account recent advances in both behavioral and population ecology, is long overdue. A central objective of this book is to consider whether adaptive behavioral decisions on the individual organism level might tend to stabilize trophic interactions. A second major goal of the book is to explore the implications of presumably adaptive behaviors on trophic dynamics and the implications of trophic dynamics for the evolution o...

This volume brings together an outstanding group of scientists studying the behavioural development of primates between weaning and adulthood. The book begins by examining the nature of the juvenile period across the animal kingdom, continues with presentation of new data on the behaviour and social relationships of juvenile primates across a broad range of species, and concludes with applications of concepts in socioecology to research on children. The result is a landmark in primate studies, o...

We share the earth with a wide variety of animal species, each of which brings something special to the diversity of the planet. By knowing more about how animals behave and live, we gain a greater understanding of how life evolved and the importance of biodiversity. Animal Parents examines how these animals care for their young to ensure their survival, care that is as varied as is animal life on earth. The book provides a thorough guide on the behavior of animal parenting, and helps students u...

Bird Talk begins by defining the wide variety of ways birds communicate, using songs, calls, plumes and dances. The variety of communication uses are outlined, and the way that birds detect and receive signals. Birds have keen eyesight, and see a broader colour spectrum than the human eye to include UV light, so that plumage pattern and use on its own or in combination with dancing and strutting can convey a wealth of information. Birds communicate to defend their territory and to attract ma...

Interest in insect behavior is growing rapidly, as reflected both in courses devoted fully to the topic and in its inclusion in general biology, ecology, invertebrate zoology, and animal behavior--as well as general entomology--curricula. Instructors and students find that insects are in many ways uniquely suitable animals for behavioral study: the

Our breath catches and we jump in fear at the sight of a snake. We pause and marvel at the sublime beauty of a sunrise. These reactions are no accident; in fact, many of our human responses to nature are steeped in our deep evolutionary past - we fear snakes because of the danger of venom or constriction, and we welcome the assurances of the sunrise as the predatory dangers of the dark night disappear. Many of our aesthetic preferences - from the kinds of gardens we build to the foods we enjoy a...