Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction

Description

Animal behaviour is a central topic of zoology, and with the development of ideas concerning the role of genes as well as environment the subject has been transformed. Tristram Wyatt gives a modern view, including a sense of the power of gene knock-outs, computing, and image analysis to enable detailed experiments and observations of behaviour.

• Introduces the field of animal behaviour, and the tools modern scientists can use to understand animals such as image analysis
• Discusses key concepts such as the roles of nature, nurture, epigenetics, and the 'selfish gene'
• Covers a wide range of animals, from meerkats to moths, using examples to introduce the theory underlying our modern understanding of animal behaviour
• Integrates studies from natural history and bird-watching with the influences of molecular biology and neuroscience on behaviour
• Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over seven million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

Tristram D. Wyatt, Senior Research Associate, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford

Tristram D. Wyatt is a member of the Animal Behaviour Research Group of the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford and an emeritus fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. He did his PhD in animal behaviour at the University of Cambridge. Before coming to Oxford's Department for Continuing Education as a lecturer (Associate Professor) in 1989, he was a lecturer at the University of Leeds and held research fellowships at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Wales, Cardiff. He is interested in how animals of all kinds use pheromones to communicate by smell. The second edition of his book Pheromones and Animal Behavior (CUP, 2014) won the Royal Society of Biology's prize for the Best Postgraduate Textbook in 2014. His TED talk on human pheromones has been viewed over a million times.

Table of Contents

1:How animals behave (and why)
2:Sensing and responding
3:How behaviour develops
4:Learning and animal culture
5:Signals for survival
6:Winning strategies
7:The wisdom of crowds
8:Applying behaviour
References
Further Reading
Index

Reviews

"This slim volume ... is packed full of facts, photographs, diagrams, and helpful graphs. Wyatt's writing is clear and concise, and the content is comprehensively referenced ... This is a fine book that will undoubtedly entertain and educate a broad readership. I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a marginal interest in animal behaviour. This work will be of interest to students of biology, researchers and non-specialists alike." - Billy Mills, New Nature

"concise, informative and insightful introduction to the fascinating world of animal behaviour" - Mark Greener, Fortean Times

"read Wyatt's compelling introduction before you watch the next nature documentary. Itll deepen and widen your understanding and appreciation of these beautiful stories. If you're sitting comfortably, Wyatt's book is a great place to begin." - Mark Greener, Fortean Times

"written in a very clear and engaging way, which should certainly stimulate general readers to explore animal behaviour in some depth." - Mark Briffa, Animal Behaviour

"Bird watchers should take note of this book. Amateur entomologists should take note of it as well. Quite simply, if you spend any time at all observing, contemplating, or taking any notice whatsoever of the activities of animals, animal behavior is a subject about which you should have at least basic understanding... And as with so any subjects, a Very Short Introduction is a uperb place to begin." - The Well-read Naturalist