Lecture 7 Suggested readings Animal behavior and Behavioral ecology Alcock, J. 2005. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach, Eighth Edition. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA. The most recent edition of the best text on animal behavior. Borgia, G. 1995. Why do bowerbirds build bowers? American Scientist, vol. 83, pages 542547. Argues that the courtship areas constructed by males provide choosy females with easy avenues of escape. Buss, D. M. 1994. The strategies of human mating. American Scientist, vol. 82, pages 238248. Shows that people worldwide are attracted to the same qualities in the opposite sex. de Waal, F. B. M. 1995. Bonobo sex and society. Scientific American, March. Describes how bonobos, the most humanlike of the apes, live in societies in which females dominate the hierarchy and casual sex soothes most conflicts. de Wall, F. B. M. 1999. The end of nature versus nurture. Scientific American, December. The debate over the relative importance of heredity versus environment in determining behavior has raged for many years. In recent years a new synthesis has emerged that acknowledges both contributions to behavior, but more importantly, their interactions. Emlen, S. T. 1975. The stellar-orientation system of a migratory bird. Scientific American, August. A description of planetarium experiments studying the mechanisms by which birds orient to the stars. Emlen, S. T., P. H. Wrege and N. J. Demong. 1995. Making decisions in the family: an evolutionary perspective. American Scientist, vol. 83, pages 148-157. Describes the complex social interactions in a family of white-fronted bee-eaters. Gordon, D. M. 1995. The development of organization in an ant colony. American Scientist, vol. 83, pages 50-57. Shows how simple, local decisions can generate a complex society. Gould, J. L. and P. Marler. 1987. Learning by instinct. Scientific American, January. A discussion of the interactions of learning and instinct, focusing on bees and on birdsong. Gwinner, P. 1986. Internal rhythms in bird migration. Scientific American, April.
A look at circannual rhythms, which play critical roles in long-distance migration. Heinrich, B. and J. Marzluff. 1995. Why ravens share. American Scientist, vol. 83, pages 428-437. Shows how by feeding in groups, ravens are able to eat regularly even when food is scarce. Kirchner, W. H. and W. F. Towne. 1994. The sensory basis of the honeybee's dance language. Scientific American, June. An examination of new experiments that test what components of the honeybee's dance communicate information. Krebs, J. R. and N. B. Davies. 1993. An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology, Third Edition. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. An excellent account of the methods and results of modern studies of behavioral ecology. Moore-Ede, M. C., F. M. Sulzman and C. A. Fuller. 1982. The Clocks That Time Us. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. A well-written book on circadian rhythms that covers most aspects of the subject. Narins, P. M. 1995. Frog communication. Scientific American, August. Discusses why loudly croaking frogs are not a chorus, but rather an assembly of males, each of which employs acoustic adaptations to make himself heard above the din. Pfennig, D. W. and P. W. Sherman. 1995. Kin recognition. Scientific American, June. Describes how many animals can recognize close kin by assessing genetic similarities, by olfaction, or by their having grown up together. Scheller, R. H. and R. Axel. 1984. How genes control an innate behavior. Scientific American, March. A look at how a single gene codes for numerous neural signals. Sherman, P. W. and J. Alcock. 2005. Exploring Animal Behavior: Readings from American Scientist, Fourth Edition. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA. Delightful accounts of recent investigations into the mechanisms of animal behavior. Sherman, P. W. and S. M. Flaxman. 2001. Protecting ourselves from food. American Scientist, vol. 89, pages 142-151. Describes how spices and morning sickness may help protect people from dangers caused by the food we eat. Shuster, S. M. and M. J. Wade. 2003. Mating Systems and Strategies. Princeton University Press, Princeton. An advanced assessment of how sexual selection operates and the varied mating systems that it has produced. Tinbergen, N. 1960. The Herring Gull's World. Doubleday, Garden City, NJ.
A delightful account of the behavior of one species from the pen of one of the founders of modern ethology. Whiten, A. and C. Boesch. 2001. The culture of chimpanzees. Scientific American, January. Describes the social customs of chimpanzees, showing that these animals have what must be considered a culture. Wilson, E. O. 1975. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. A classic review of all aspects of social evolution and animal societies Young, M. 2000. The tick-tock of the biological clock. Scientific American, March. Presents information on the circadian clock mechanisms of mammals and fruit flies. Discusses recent advances in discovering the molecular biology of how the clock generates cycles with a period of about a day.
