An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology - 4th Edition by Nicholas B Davies & John R Krebs & Stuart a West (Paperback)

About the Book

Preceded by: An introduction to behavioural ecology / J.R. Krebs, N.B. Davies. 3rd ed. c1993.

Book Synopsis

This textbook helped to define the field of Behavioural Ecology. In this fourth edition the text has been completely revised, with new chapters and many new illustrations and full colour photographs. The theme, once again, is the influence of natural selection on behaviour - an animal's struggle to survive and reproduce by exploiting and competing for resources, avoiding predators, selecting mates and caring for offspring, - and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals.

Stuart A. West has joined as a co-author bringing his own perspectives and work on microbial systems into the book.

Written in the same engaging and lucid style as the previous editions, the authors explain the latest theoretical ideas using examples from micro-organisms, invertebrates and vertebrates. There are boxed sections for some topics and marginal notes help guide the reader. The book is essential reading for students of behavioural ecology, animal behaviour and evolutionary biology.

Key Features:

• Long-awaited new edition of a field-defining textbook
• New chapters, illustrations and colour photographs
• New co-author
• Focuses on the influence of natural selection on behavior, and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals

"The long-awaited update to a classic in this field is now here, presenting new direc-tions in thinking and addressing burning questions. Richly informed by progress in many other disciplines, such as sensory physiology, genetics and evolutionary theory, it marks the emergence of behav-ioural ecology as a fully fledged discipline..... This is a marvellous book, written in a lucid style. A must-read for those in the field, it is also a cornucopia of new thinking for anyone interested in evolution and behaviour."

Manfred Milinski, Nature, 2012

From the Back Cover

This textbook helped to define the field of Behavioural Ecology. In this fourth edition the text has been completely revised, with new chapters and many new illustrations and colour photographs. The theme, once again, is the influence of natural selection on behaviour - an animal's struggle to survive and reproduce by exploiting and competing for resources, avoiding predators, selecting mates and caring for offspring, - and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals.

Written in the same engaging and lucid style as the previous editions, the authors explain the latest theoretical ideas using examples from micro-organisms, invertebrates and vertebrates. There are boxed sections for some topics and marginal notes help guide the reader. The book will be essential reading for students of behavioural ecology, animal behaviour and evolutionary biology.

Review Quotes

"Altogether this is an excellent introductory text, with full and balanced coverage, easy to read and, to the publisher's credit, a physically attractive book. It does the authors great credit that they have so refreshed an enduring classic." (Austral Ecology, 20 July 2015)

"... a new edition of the textbook that has introduced generations of undergraduates (and postgraduates) to the delights of behavioural ecology, inspiring many (myself included) to take up the discipline professionally, is a rare treat. Behavioural ecology is, fundamentally, modern-day natural history and there is no clearer written, more inspiringly enthusiastic guide to the subject on the market. This book sets the gold standard for behavioural ecology and animal behaviour textbooks which will no doubt continue to inform and delight students and researchers in equal measure for many years to come." (Animal Behaviour, 1 March 2013)

"Overall, this seems a timely update to a very useful book; it should be widely used by lecturers and undergraduates alike." (British Ecological Society Bulletin, 1 December 2012)

"[An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology, 4th Edition] Stands tall as the textbook to have in the field of Behavioral Ecology...I expect anyone with an A level in Biology, or equivalent, or an interest in Zoology without the qualification, could pick this book up and get a lot out of it...What this book is, is good science explained well, I scored higher in my behavioral ecology exam than I did in any other exam in my finals. I wouldn't put that entirely down to this book, but it certainly influenced things.

The book is well printed, as you would expect, with great clear photographs used liberally, and a lot of graphs and diagrams.

In summary then, if you want to know why animals behave the way they do, why swordtail fish do really have the long tails, why birds sing, why fish shoal under certain circumstances, why well fed parrot females produce more males, and why related long-tailed tits help each other raise young, then this book really is for you. I recommend it wholeheartedly." (The Amateur Naturalist magazine, 1 November 2012)

"The book opens with a section on Watching and Wondering, capturing the excitement of natural history, that same wonderment that Kruuk describes so well, and then guides the reader through a series of fascinating questions and findings, experiments and field studies. . . This is clearly good for students wishing to put together presentations for assessments, and extremely useful for lecturers, new and old . . I should say that this is a certainty and future generations will owe this book a considerable debt." (Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 1 October 2012)

"Among the most influential books in the field of behavioral ecology, An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology certainly stands out to the extent that it has been called 'a classic textbook." (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2012)

"The long-awaited update to a classic in this field is now here, presenting new direc-tions in thinking and addressing burning questions. Richly informed by progress in many other disciplines, such as sensory physiology, genetics and evolutionary theory, it marks the emergence of behav-ioural ecology as a fully fledged discipline..... This is a marvellous book, written in a lucid style. A must-read for those in the field, it is also a cornucopia of new thinking for anyone interested in evolution and behaviour." (Manfred Milinski, Nature, 2012)

About the Author

Nicholas B. Davies FRS is Professor of Behavioural Ecology in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Pembroke College.

John R. Krebs FRS is Principal of Jesus College and Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford, and a member of the House of Lords.

Stuart West is Professor of Evolutionary Biology in the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford.