A01=Stephen Nowicki
A01=William A. Searcy
Acrocephalus (bird)
Adaptation
Aggression
Alarm signal
Anecdotal evidence
Animal cognition
Animal communication
Appendage
Author_Stephen Nowicki
Author_William A. Searcy
Barn swallow
Behavioral ecology
Bird
Bird nest
Breeding pair
Captivity (animal)
Carotenoid
Category=RG
Chimpanzee
Competition
Courtship
Crustacean
Directional selection
Eavesdropping
Ecology
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
Ethology
Evolution
Evolutionary biology
Exoskeleton
Extra-pair copulation
Female
Foraging
Genetic divergence
Genetic variability
Great tit
Group selection
Guppy
Handicap principle
House sparrow
Inference
Interaction
Kin selection
Local adaptation
Loudness
Mammal
Mate choice
Mating
Mating preferences
Mating system
Model organism
Moulting
Neural development
On the Origin of Species
Ownership (psychology)
Parasitism
Parental investment
Paternal care
Phenotype
Pigment
Plumage
Predation
Prediction
Probability
Reinforcement
Rodent
Schematic
Scramble competition
Sexual selection
Social evolution
Song sparrow
Sperm competition
Tit (bird)
Vertebrate
Product details
- ISBN 9780691070957
- Weight: 397g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 04 Sep 2005
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Gull chicks beg for food from their parents. Peacocks spread their tails to attract potential mates. Meerkats alert family members of the approach of predators. But are these--and other animals--sometimes dishonest? That's what William Searcy and Stephen Nowicki ask in The Evolution of Animal Communication. They take on the fascinating yet perplexing question of the dependability of animal signaling systems. The book probes such phenomena as the begging of nesting birds, alarm calls in squirrels and primates, carotenoid coloration in fish and birds, the calls of frogs and toads, and weapon displays in crustaceans. Do these signals convey accurate information about the signaler, its future behavior, or its environment? Or do they mislead receivers in a way that benefits the signaler? For example, is the begging chick really hungry as its cries indicate or is it lobbying to get more food than its brothers and sisters? Searcy and Nowicki take on these and other questions by developing clear definitions of key issues, by reviewing the most relevant empirical data and game theory models available, and by asking how well theory matches data.
They find that animal communication is largely reliable--but that this basic reliability also allows the clever deceiver to flourish. Well researched and clearly written, their book provides new insight into animal communication, behavior, and evolution.
William A. Searcy is the Robert E. Maytag Professor of Ornithology at the University of Miami. He is the author, with Ken Yasukawa, of "Polygyny and Sexual Selection in Red-Winged Blackbirds" (Princeton). Stephen Nowicki is Bass Fellow and Professor of Biology, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Neurobiology at Duke University, where he currently serves as Dean of the Natural Sciences. He has published more than 65 scientific papers on animal communication and behavior, including work on birds, insects, spiders, and mammals.
