Cooperation among Animals : An Evolutionary Perspective (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution)
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Despite the depiction of nature "red in tooth and claw," cooperation is actually widespread in the animal kingdom. Various types of cooperative behaviors have been documented in everything from insects to primates, and in every imaginable ecological scenario. Yet why animals cooperate is still
a hotly contested question in literature on evolution and animal behavior.
This book examines the history surrounding the study of cooperation, and proceeds to examine the conceptual, theoretical and empirical work on this fascinating subject. Early on, it outlines the four different categories of cooperation -- reciprocal altruism, kinship, group-selected cooperation and
byproduct mutualism -- and ties these categories together in a single framework called the Cooperator's Dilemma. Hundreds of studies on cooperation in insects, fish, birds and mammals are reviewed. Cooperation in this wide array of taxa includes, but is not limited to, cooperative hunting,
anti-predator behavior, foraging, sexual coalitions, grooming, helpers-at-the nest, territoriality, 'policing' behavior and group thermoregulation. Each example outlined is tied back to the theoretical framework developed early on, whenever the data allows. Future experiments designed to further
elucidate a particular type of cooperation are provided throughout the book.
Card catalog description
Despite the depiction of nature as "red in tooth and claw," cooperation is actually a widespread attribute in the animal kingdom. It's the modern-day evolutionary biologists and behavioral ecologists who are embroiled in debate over why animals cooperate. Various types of cooperative behaviors have been documented in everything from insects to primates, and in every imaginable ecological scenario. Among such behaviors, the four discussed in this book are reciprocal altruism, kinship, group-selected cooperation and byproduct mutualism. Hundreds of studies on cooperation are reviewed in a wide array of taxa. This work includes, but is not limited to, cooperative hunting, anti-predator behavior, foraging, coalition formation, grooming, helpers-at-the-nest, territoriality, "policing" behavior, and group thermoregulation. Future experiments to elucidate a particular type of cooperation are provided throughout the book. Tying together conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work on evolution and cooperation, this book will be of interest to behavioral ecologists, evolutionary biologists, social psychologists, and cultural anthropologists.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Cooperation among Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution),Lee Alan Dugatkin,Oxford University Press, USA,0195086228,Life Sciences - Evolution,Life Sciences - Zoology - General,Science,Science/Mathematics,Animal behaviour,Animal ecology,Life Sciences | Ecology | Animal Behavior,Science / Zoology
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