Beschreibung
The aim of this book is to identify the main areas of active discussion about, and research into, the biology of animal behaviour, to describe and assess ways in which these can be studied and using selected examples, to illus trate the kinds of results which are emerging. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive review of all we know about animal behaviour, although the examples have been chosen to cover as many as possible of the things that animals do. XlV Preface Acknowledgements I would like to thank C. Swann, M.L.N. Murthy and the Superbrain for typing the manuscript; Linda Partridge, Pat Monaghan, Douglas Fraser and Richard Wilson for constructive criticism of earlier drafts; Alan Crowden for help in planning and producing the book and, particularly, Tim Huntingford for help and encouragement at all stages of its pro duction. Acknowledgements are gratefully made to Jim Tulley fot producing plates 1, 2, 3, 7 and 12 and to Michael Hansell for the remainder.
Autorenporträt
Inhaltsangabe1 Introduction.- 1.1 The ethological approach to the study of behaviour.- 1.2 A brief outline of classical ethological theory.- 1.3 The modern study of animal behaviour.- 1.4 An outline of the book.- 2 The description and measurement of behaviour.- 2.1 Describing behaviour by its function.- 2.2 Describing behaviour by its form.- 2.2.1 Behaviour described as a continuous process.- 2.2.2 Behaviour described as a series of discrete events.- 2.3 Describing and measuring the relationship between an animal and its environment.- 2.3.1 Describing the way a single animal uses space.- 2.3.2 Describing the relationship between an animal and neighbouring conspecifics.- 2.4 What is the point of all this sophisticated analysis?.- 3 The study of the causes of behavioural change.- 3.1 What constitutes a causal explanation of behaviour?.- 3.2 The different kinds of causal explanation.- 3.3 Motivational models.- 3.3.1 Descriptive and explanatory models.- 3.3.2 General, theory-based and specific, data-based models.- 3.3.3 Deterministic and probabilistic models.- 3.3.4 Assessing models.- 3.4 Studying external influences on behaviour.- 3.4.1 Prey catching in toads; behavioural studies.- 3.4.2 Attack in Haplochromis burtoni.- 3.4.3 Incubation in herring gulls.- 3.4.4 Prey catching in toads; physiological studies.- 3.4.5 The role of external stimuli in the control of behaviour.- 3.5 Studying internal influences on behaviour.- 3.5.1 Identifying groups of causally related acts.- 3.5.2 The role of internal factors in the control of behaviour.- 3.6 What is the nature of the mechanisms which cause behavioural change?.- 3.6.1 A probabilistic model.- 3.6.2 A deterministic model.- 3.6.3 Modelling motivation as a hierarchy of decisions.- 3.6.4 Control theory models of motivation.- 3.6.5 Space-state models.- 3.7 Studying the physiological bases of behavioural change.- 3.7.1 Physiological explanations of complex behaviour.- 3.7.2 Alteration in behavioural theory as a result of physiological research.- 3.7.3 Identifying fruitful topics for physiological study by behavioural analysis.- 3.7.4 Ethological concepts and techniques can improve the quality of physiological research.- 3.7.5 Ethological ideas can help in the interpretation of physiological results.- 4 The development of behaviour.- 4.1 Problems with the instinct-learning dichotomy.- 4.1.1 Instincts are defined by exclusion.- 4.1.2 Interpreting deprivation experiments is not simple.- 4.1.3 Learning is not the only way the environment influences development of behaviour.- 4.1.4 The instinct-learning dichotomy confounds three distinct consequences of behavioural development.- 4.2 Why is the term innate still used?.- 4.3 Describing the ontogeny of behaviour.- 4.3.1 The emergence of recognizable behaviour patterns in young animals.- 4.3.2 The time of appearance of behaviour patterns during development.- 4.3.3 The development of motivational systems.- 4.3.4 Physiological changes accompanying behavioural development.- 4.4 Characterizing the factors which influence the development of behaviour.- 4.4.1 Deductions from descriptive studies.- 4.4.2 Experimental studies of behavioural development.- 4.4.3 Experimental studies of the development of song in passerines.- 4.4.4 A quantitative model of the development of social preferences in birds.- 4.5 Classifying the factors which influence the development of behaviour.- 4.6 Some general features of behavioural development.- 4.6.1 Sensitive periods.- 4.6.2 Constraints on learning.- 4.6.3 Functional aspects of behavioural development.- 5 The adaptive significance of behaviour.- 5.1 Sources of evidence about the adaptive significance of behaviour.- 5.1.1 Deduction from the theory of natural selection.- 5.1.2 The context in which behaviour is shown.- 5.1.3 The short-term consequences of behaviour.- 5.1.4 Comparisons between species and populations.- 5.1.5 Measuring the fitness of individuals which differ in their behaviour.- 5.1.6 Experimental manipulation of the conseque
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