Principles of Animal Behavior , the highly an ticipated contemporary text from Professor Lee Alan Dugatkin, takes a uniquely integrative approach to animal behavior. Professor Dugatkin creates a balanced discussion in several by recognizing genetic evolution as the primary force underlying animal behavior while also discussing the role of learning and cultural transmission, by placing equal emphasis on theory and empirical work, by employing a diverse group of case studies, and by covering both vertebrates and invertebrates extensively. Principles of Animal Behavior also features exclusive interviews with leading scholars and researchers, lively prose, and a vivid art program, ensuring that it will be a welcome addition to the field.
Born in 1962, Lee Alan Dugatkin is a professor and distinguished university scholar in the department of biology at the University of Louisville. His main area of research interest is the evolution of social behavior.
A good introductory overview of the field; Dugatkin highlights most all of the important points. A bit watered-down though, content-wise, which seems to be a publisher-promoted trend in textbooks generally (see reviews of Alcock's newest editions on Amazon).
ok it was interesting, but i got sick of writing notes and memorizing every single chapter for my animal behavior & evolution course. there's only so much you can read about cichlid fish and honeybees before getting tired of it all.
This is my least favorite book undergrad text on Animal Behavior. It's way too elementary for college students, and it oversimplifies a lot of things. I thought that the analogy comparing predator-prey adaptations to the arms race during the Cold War (and the accompanying figure of nuclear warheads) was totally stupid.