A home aquarium seems a peaceful place. Gazing at its inhabitants as they swim slowly through their small universe is a soothing, even hypnotic, experience. But this seeming tranquillity is only surface deep. Like their wild counterparts, these tiny, glittering beings exhibit a wide array of fascinating behaviors.Stéphan Reebs provides a delightfully entertaining, yet scientifically grounded, look at what fishes do and how they do it. From defending their young, to seeking out the perfect sexual partner, to telling time, fishes display a variety of behaviors that may not be readily apparent to the casual observer. Reebs not only describes the behaviors, but also outlines simple experiments that can be performed by observers wishing to learn for themselves just how resourceful—and bizarre—these creatures can be.How Fish Behave introduces us to damselfishes that sing like birds, elephantfishes that communicate electrically, and sticklebacks that deceive other fish into believing they have found food. Drawing on the experimental evidence behind such intrinsically interesting responses, Reebs demonstrates how science is conducted in the field of animal behavior.

The last decade has seen a surge of interest among biologists in a range of social animal phenomena, including collective behaviour and social networks. In ‘Animal Social Behaviour’, authors Ashley Ward and Michael Webster integrate the most up-to-date empirical and theoretical research to provide a new synthesis of the field, which is aimed at fellow researchers and postgraduate students on the topic. ​

With the decline in world fish stocks, our knowledge of fish reproduction has become fundamental. Reproduction is an essential commitment to future generation. It is also a continuous development process throughout ontogeny, requiring energetic, ecological, physiological, anatomical, biochemical and endrocrinological adaptations. The first chapters

The Trinidadian guppy represents a uniguely tractable vertebrate system, which has raised key questions in evolutionary ecology and supplied many of the answers. This work discusses this study and incorporates significant new findings and insights.

In recent years, progress in fish biology has advanced at an unprecedented rate and has led to many breakthroughs in the field. This book provides a wealth of information on the strategies that fish adopt with respect to waters with markedly different physical and chemical characteristics. It shows how their physiology, behaviour and lifestyles are adapted to exploit particular niches and gives comprehensive insight into fish life under extreme conditions. The readers are introduced to the ways in which fish exemplify many phenomena of general biological interest - the existence of competitors, chaos, and predator-prey interaction. Fish pathology as well as the components of the immune system are addressed. In this book, original and at times controversial views are presented, areas which have so far received inadequate attention are highlighted and avenues for further research are suggested.

Shoals, swarms, flocks, herds--group formation is a widespread phenomenon in animal populations. It raises several interesting questions for behavioral ecologists. Why do animals form and live in groups, and what factors influence the ways in which they do this? What are the costs and benefits to an animal of group living? How are these influenced by ecological factors? The authors familiarize the reader with cutting-edge ideas on the ecology and evolution of group-living animals, and detail fascinating case studies demonstrating them in action.

The history of biology is populated by numerous model species or organisms. But few vertebrate groups have aided evolutionary and ecological research more than the live-bearing fishes of the family Poeciliidae. Found throughout tropical and subtropical waters, poeciliids exhibit a fascinating variety of reproductive specializations, including viviparity, matrotrophy, unisexual reproduction, and alternative mating strategies, making them ideal models for research on patterns and processes in ecology, behavior, and evolution. Ecology and Evolution of Poeciliid Fishes is a much-needed overview of the scientific potential and understanding of these live-bearing fishes. Chapters by leading researchers take up a wide range of topics, including the evolution of unisexual reproduction, life in extreme environments, life-history evolution, and genetics. Designed to provide a single and highly approachable reference, Ecology and Evolution of Poeciliid Fishes will appeal to students and specialists interested in all aspects of evolutionary ecology.