Download or read book Avian Brood Parasitism written by Manuel Soler and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-02 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brood parasitism has become one of the most flourishing areas of research in evolutionary ecology and one of the best model systems for investigating coevolution. This subject has undergone remarkable advances during the last two decades, but has not been covered by any book in the 21st century. This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the fascinating field of avian brood parasitism. The topics covered include conspecific brood parasitism; evolution and phylogenetic history of avian brood parasites; parasitic behaviour used by brood parasites; adaptations and counter-adaptations of brood parasites and their hosts at every stage of the breeding cycle (before laying, egg, chick and fledgling stages); factors affecting the evolution of host defences and parasitic attacks; the role of phenotypic plasticity in host defences; mechanisms driving egg recognition and rejection; evolution of nest sharing or nest killing by brood parasite chicks; begging behaviour in parasitized nests and food delivery by host adults; and recognition of conspecifics by juvenile brood parasites. This volume provides a comprehensive reference resource for readers and researchers with an interest in birds, behaviour and evolution, as well as a source of hypotheses and predictions for future investigations into this dynamic subject.

Download or read book Advances in the Study of Behavior written by Marc Naguib and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-03-23 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advances in the Study of Behavior, Volume 51, provides users with the latest insights in this ever-evolving field. Users will find new information on a variety of species, including The troublesome gift: the spermatophylax as a purveyor of sexual conflict and coercion, Conformity and over-imitation: an integrative review of two forms of hyper-reliance on social learning, Copulatory behavior and genital morphology in vertebrates, Sexual selection in polyandrous societies: Lessons from the fowl, Sensory information in social insects, Evolution of female coloration, what have we learned from birds in general and blue tits in particular, Sexual selection and social behavior in spiders, and more. Serves the increasing number of scientists engaged in the study of animal behavior Makes another important contribution to the development of the field Presents theoretical ideas and research to those studying animal behavior and related fields

Download or read book Adaptation and the Brain written by Susan D. Healy and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2021-03 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What role has natural selection played in shaping the structure and function of the vertebrate brain? This accessible book unravels the myriad adaptive explanations that have built up over decades, providing both a review and a critique of the work that has sought to explain which natural selection pressures have led to changes in brain size.

Download or read book Links between cognition and fitness mechanisms and constraints in the wild written by Blandine Françoise Doligez and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-01-27 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Human Parasitology written by Burton J. Bogitsh and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2005-04-07 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human Parasitology emphasizes the medical aspects of the topic, while incorporating functional morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and immunology to enhance appreciation of the diverse implications of parasitism. Bridging the gap between classical clinical parasitology texts and traditional encyclopaedic treatises, Human Parasitology appeals to students interested not only in the medical aspects of Parasitology but also to those who require a solid foundation in the biology of parasites. - Updated and expanded reference section - New chapter on Immunology - Additional SEM and TEM micrographs - Professionally drawn life cycle illustrations - Addition of "Host Immune Response section for each organism

Download or read book Cognition Evolution and Behavior written by Sara J. Shettleworth and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-10 with total page 715 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do animals perceive the world, learn, remember, search for food or mates, communicate, and find their way around? Do any nonhuman animals count, imitate one another, use a language, or have a culture? What are the uses of cognition in nature and how might it have evolved? What is the current status of Darwin's claim that other species share the same "mental powers" as humans, but to different degrees? In this completely revised second edition of Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior, Sara Shettleworth addresses these questions, among others, by integrating findings from psychology, behavioral ecology, and ethology in a unique and wide-ranging synthesis of theory and research on animal cognition, in the broadest sense--from species-specific adaptations of vision in fish and associative learning in rats to discussions of theory of mind in chimpanzees, dogs, and ravens. She reviews the latest research on topics such as episodic memory, metacognition, and cooperation and other-regarding behavior in animals, as well as recent theories about what makes human cognition unique. In every part of this new edition, Shettleworth incorporates findings and theoretical approaches that have emerged since the first edition was published in 1998. The chapters are now organized into three sections: Fundamental Mechanisms (perception, learning, categorization, memory), Physical Cognition (space, time, number, physical causation), and Social Cognition (social knowledge, social learning, communication). Shettleworth has also added new chapters on evolution and the brain and on numerical cognition, and a new chapter on physical causation that integrates theories of instrumental behavior with discussions of foraging, planning, and tool using.

Download or read book The Migration Ecology of Birds written by Ian Newton and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2023-12-02 with total page 725 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Migration Ecology of Birds, Second Edition covers all aspects of this absorbing subject, including migratory processes, problems of navigation and vagrancy, timing and physiological control of migration, large-scale movement patterns, the effects of recent climate change, the problems that migrants face, and the factors that limit their populations. This book provides a thorough and in-depth review of the state of the science, with the text supplemented by abundant tables, maps and diagrams. Written by a world-renowned avian ecology and migration researcher, this book reveals the extraordinary adaptability of birds to the variable and changing conditions across the globe. This book represents the most updated and detailed review of bird migration, its evolution, ecology and bird physiology. Written in a clear and readable style, it will appeal not only to migration researchers in the field and ornithologists, but to anyone with an interest in this fascinating subject. - Features updated and trending ecological aspects, including various types of bird movements, dispersal and nomadism, and how they relate to food supplies and other external conditions - Contains numerous tables, maps, diagrams, a glossary, and a bibliography of more than 3,000 up-to-date references - Written by an active researcher with a distinguished career in avian ecology, including migration research

Download or read book The New Cognitive Neurosciences written by Michael S. Gazzaniga and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 1468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second edition reflects the many advances that have taken place in this field, particularly in imaging and recording techniques. The majority of the chapters in this edition of "The Cognitive Neurosciences" are new, and those from the first edition have been rewritten and updated.

Download or read book Current Ornithology Volume 17 written by Charles F. Thompson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-09-09 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current Ornithology publishes authoritative, up-to-date, scholarly reviews of topics selected from the full range of current research in avian biology. Topics cover the spectrum from the molecular level of organization to population biology and community ecology. The series seeks especially to review (1) fields in which an abundant recent literature will benefit from synthesis and organization, or (2) newly emerging fields that are gaining recognition as the result of recent discoveries or shifts in perspective, or (3) fields in which students of vertebrates may benefit from comparisons of birds with other classes. All chapters are invited, and authors are chosen for their leadership in the subjects under review.

Download or read book Evolution of the Brain Cognition and Emotion in Vertebrates written by Shigeru Watanabe and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a new view on the evolution of the brain, cognition, and emotion. Around a half-century ago, Professor Harry Jerison published a seminal book entitled Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence. Since then, there has been a series of dramatic methodological and conceptual changes which have led to many new insights into the understanding of brain evolution and cognition. This book is particularly focused on three significant aspects of such changes. First, taking advantage of a new integrated approach called evolutionary developmental biology or Evo/Devo, researchers have started to look into vertebrate brain evolution from the developmental perspective. Second, comparative neuroanatomists have accumulated a large amount of information about the brains of diverse animal groups to refute the old-fashioned idea that vertebrate brains evolved linearly from non-mammals to mammals. Third, comparative behavioral studies have demonstrated that sophisticated cognition and emotion are not unique to some primates but are also found in many non-primate and even non-mammalian species. This work will appeal to a wide readership in such fields as neuroscience, cognitive science, and behavioral science.

Download or read book The Evolution of Cognition written by Cecilia M. Heyes and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last decade, "evolutionary psychology" has come to refer exclusively to research on human mentality and behavior, motivated by a nativist interpretation of how evolution operates. This book encompasses the behavior and mentality of nonhuman as well as human animals and a full range of evolutionary approaches. Rather than a collection by and for the like-minded, it is a debate about how evolutionary processes have shaped cognition. The debate is divided into five sections: Orientations, on the phylogenetic, ecological, and psychological/comparative approaches to the evolution of cognition; Categorization, on how various animals parse their environments, how they represent objects and events and the relations among them; Causality, on whether and in what ways nonhuman animals represent cause and effect relationships; Consciousness, on whether it makes sense to talk about the evolution of consciousness and whether the phenomenon can be investigated empirically in nonhuman animals; and Culture, on the cognitive requirements for nongenetic transmission of information and the evolutionary consequences of such cultural exchange. ContributorsBernard Balleine, Patrick Bateson, Michael J. Beran, M. E. Bitterman, Robert Boyd, Nicola Clayton, Juan Delius, Anthony Dickinson, Robin Dunbar, D.P. Griffiths, Bernd Heinrich, Cecilia Heyes, William A. Hillix, Ludwig Huber, Nicholas Humphrey, Masako Jitsumori, Louis Lefebvre, Nicholas Mackintosh, Euan M. Macphail, Peter Richerson, Duane M. Rumbaugh, Sara Shettleworth, Martina Siemann, Kim Sterelny, Michael Tomasello, Laura Weiser, Alexandra Wells, Carolyn Wilczynski, David Sloan Wilson

Download or read book Cuckoos Cowbirds and Other Cheats written by Nick Davies and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating study describes the natural histories of these brood parasites and examines many of the exciting questions they raise about the evolution of cheating and the arms race between parasites and their prey. Brood parasites fill their armoury with adaptations including exquisite egg mimicry, rapid laying, ejection of host eggs, murder of host young, chick mimicry and manipulative begging behaviour: ploys shown by recent research to have evolved in response to host defence behaviour or through competition among the parasites themselves. While many host species appear defenceless, accepting parasite eggs quite unlike their own, many are more discriminating against odd-looking eggs and some have evolved the ability to discriminate against odd-looking chicks as well. How is this arms race conducted? Will defenceless hosts develop defences in time, or are there constraints which limit the evolution and perfection of host defences? And why are so few species obliged only to lay eggs in host nests? Have host defences limited the success of brood parasitism, or is it in fact much more common than we suspect, but occurring mainly when birds parasitize the nest of their own kind? All of these puzzles are examined in descriptions of the natural history of each of the groups of parasites in turn. Here is a book with wide appeal, both to amateur naturalists fascinated by this most singular and macabre of behaviours and by ornithologists and ecologists interested in the evolution of ecology and behaviour. The story takes us from the classic field work by pioneer ornithologists such as Edgar Chance, Stuart Baker, Herbert Friedmann and others, through to the experimental field work and molecular techniques of today's leading scientists. We visit brood parasites in Europe, Asia, Japan, Africa, Australasia, and North and South America, to look at some of the world's most interesting birds and some of biology's most interesting questions, many of which still beg answers from ornithologists in the future. Brilliant illustrations by David Quinn illuminate the species discussed, showing many behaviours never before illustrated and conveying the thrill of watching these astonishing birds in the wild.

Download or read book Neuroethological Studies Of Cognitive And Perceptual Processes written by Cynthia Moss and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-02-12 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do bats catch insects in the dark? How do bees learn which flowers to visit? How do food-storing birds remember where their hoards are? Questions like these are addressed by neuroethology, the branch of behavioral neuroscience concerned with analyzing the neural bases of naturally occurring behaviors. This book brings together thirteen chapters presenting findings on perceptual and cognitive processes in some of the most active areas of neuroethological research, including auditory localization by bats and owls, song perception and learning in birds, pitch processing by frogs and toads, imprinting in birds, spatial memory in birds, learning in bees and in Aplysia, and electroreception in fish. A variety of approaches are represented, such as field studies, psychophysical tests, electrophysiological experiments, lesion studies, comparative neuroanatomy, and studies of development. Each chapter gives an up-to-date overview of a particular author’s research and places it within the broader context of issues about animal perception and cognition. The book as a whole exemplifies how studying species and their particular specializations can inform general issues in psychology, ethology, and neuro-science.

Download or read book Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience written by Steven Platek and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 637 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An essential reference for the new discipline of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience that defines the field's approach of applying evolutionary theory to guide brain-behavior investigations. Since Darwin we have known that evolution has shaped all organisms and that biological organs—including the brain and the highly crafted animal nervous system—are subject to the pressures of natural and sexual selection. It is only relatively recently, however, that the cognitive neurosciences have begun to apply evolutionary theory and methods to the study of brain and behavior. This landmark reference documents and defines the emerging field of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience. Chapters by leading researchers demonstrate the power of the evolutionary perspective to yield new data, theory, and insights on the evolution and functional modularity of the brain. Evolutionary cognitive neuroscience covers all areas of cognitive neuroscience, from nonhuman brain-behavior relationships to human cognition and consciousness, and each section of Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience addresses a different adaptive problem. After an introductory section that outlines the basic tenets of both theory and methodology of an evolutionarily informed cognitive neuroscience, the book treats neuroanatomy from ontogenetic and phylogenetic perspectives and explores reproduction and kin recognition, spatial cognition and language, and self-awareness and social cognition. Notable findings include a theory to explain the extended ontogenetic and brain development periods of big-brained organisms, fMRI research on the neural correlates of romantic attraction, an evolutionary view of sex differences in spatial cognition, a theory of language evolution that draws on recent research on mirror neurons, and evidence for a rudimentary theory of mind in nonhuman primates. A final section discusses the ethical implications of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience and the future of the field. Contributors: C. Davison Ankney, Simon Baron-Cohen, S. Marc Breedlove, William Christiana, Michael Corballis, Robin I. M. Dunbar, Russell Fernald, Helen Fisher, Jonathan Flombaum, Farah Focquaert, Steven J.C. Gaulin, Aaron Goetz, Kevin Guise, Ruben C. Gur, William D. Hopkins, Farzin Irani, Julian Paul Keenan, Michael Kimberly, Stephen Kosslyn, Sarah L. Levin, Lori Marino, David Newlin, Ivan S. Panyavin, Shilpa Patel, Webb Phillips, Steven M. Platek, David Andrew Puts, Katie Rodak, J. Philippe Rushton, Laurie Santos, Todd K. Shackelford, Kyra Singh, Sean T. Stevens, Valerie Stone, Jaime W. Thomson, Gina Volshteyn, Paul Root Wolpe

Download or read book American Doctoral Dissertations written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 776 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Evolution of Social Behaviour written by Michael Taborsky and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can the stunning diversity of social systems and behaviours seen in nature be explained? Drawing on social evolution theory, experimental evidence and studies conducted in the field, this book outlines the fundamental principles of social evolution underlying this phenomenal richness.To succeed in the competition for resources, organisms may either 'race' to be quicker than others, 'fight' for privileged access, or 'share' their efforts and gains. The authors show how the ecology and intrinsic attributes of organisms select for each of these strategies, and how a handful of straightforward concepts explain the evolution of successful decision rules in behavioural interactions, whether among members of the same or different species. With a broad focus ranging from microorganisms to humans, this is the first book to provide students and researchers with a comprehensive account of the evolution of sociality by natural selection.

Download or read book The Book of Eggs written by Mark E. Hauber and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-08-01 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the brilliantly green and glossy eggs of the Elegant Crested Tinamou—said to be among the most beautiful in the world—to the small brown eggs of the house sparrow that makes its nest in a lamppost and the uniformly brown or white chickens’ eggs found by the dozen in any corner grocery, birds’ eggs have inspired countless biologists, ecologists, and ornithologists, as well as artists, from John James Audubon to the contemporary photographer Rosamond Purcell. For scientists, these vibrant vessels are the source of an array of interesting topics, from the factors responsible for egg coloration to the curious practice of “brood parasitism,” in which the eggs of cuckoos mimic those of other bird species in order to be cunningly concealed among the clutches of unsuspecting foster parents. The Book of Eggs introduces readers to eggs from six hundred species—some endangered or extinct—from around the world and housed mostly at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. Organized by habitat and taxonomy, the entries include newly commissioned photographs that reproduce each egg in full color and at actual size, as well as distribution maps and drawings and descriptions of the birds and their nests where the eggs are kept warm. Birds’ eggs are some of the most colorful and variable natural products in the wild, and each entry is also accompanied by a brief description that includes evolutionary explanations for the wide variety of colors and patterns, from camouflage designed to protect against predation, to thermoregulatory adaptations, to adjustments for the circumstances of a particular habitat or season. Throughout the book are fascinating facts to pique the curiosity of binocular-toting birdwatchers and budding amateurs alike. Female mallards, for instance, invest more energy to produce larger eggs when faced with the genetic windfall of an attractive mate. Some seabirds, like the cliff-dwelling guillemot, have adapted to produce long, pointed eggs, whose uneven weight distribution prevents them from rolling off rocky ledges into the sea. A visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most intriguing eggs, from the pea-sized progeny of the smallest of hummingbirds to the eggs of the largest living bird, the ostrich, which can weigh up to five pounds, The Book of Eggs offers readers a rare, up-close look at these remarkable forms of animal life.