Social Behavior of Female Vertebrates focuses on the evolution of reproductive behavior in female vertebrates ranging from fish to birds and humans, including issues of mate choice and other factors underlying female attitudes toward males. It also looks at the evolution of mating systems; the co-evolution of the sexes; sex-role reversal; reproductive competition between females; maternal behavior; and how females enhance the investment received by their offspring from others. It also considers other social behaviors that influence the nature of affiliative associations between females. Organized into three parts encompassing 13 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of behavioral biology and sources of variation in female reproductive success. It then discusses the establishment and maintenance of sex biases, sex differences mediated by sexual selection, constraints on female choice in the mottled sculpin, mate choice by females in sexual selection of bird song, and female manipulation of male avoidance of cuckoldry behavior in the ring dove. The reader is also introduced to the evolution of polyandry in shorebirds; reproductive strategies in human females; social and health-seeking behaviors of Taiwanese women; female roles in cooperatively breeding acorn woodpeckers; altruism in coati bands; cooperation and reproductive competition among female African elephants; mate choice in matrilineal macaque groups; and reproductive competition and cooperation among female yellow baboons. This book is a valuable resource for scientists and behavioral biologists, as well as lay people whose interests span a variety of fields.

Males and females of many species can, and do, live separately for long periods of time. This sexual segregation is widespread and can be on social, spatial or habitat scales. An understanding of sexual segregation is important in the explanation of life history and social preference, population dynamics and the conservation of rare species. Sexual Segregation in Vertebrates explores the reasons why this behaviour has evolved and what factors contribute to it.

Brings together long-term studies of cooperation in vertebrates that challenge our understanding of the evolution of social behavior.

The book aims to integrate our understanding of mammalian societies into a novel synthesis that is relevant to behavioural ecologists, ecologists, and anthropologists. It adopts a coherent structure that deals initially with the characteristics and strategies of females, before covering those of males, cooperative societies and hominid societies. It reviews our current understanding both of the structure of societies and of the strategies of individuals; it combines coverage of relevant areas of theory with coverage of interspecific comparisons, intraspecific comparisons and experiments; it explores both evolutionary causes of different traits and their ecological consequences; and it integrates research on different groups of mammals with research on primates and humans and attempts to put research on human societies into a broader perspective.

Originally published in 1953, this is a classic study in animal behaviour, drawing on the author’s own extraordinary studies of insects, fish, and birds, as well as on the literature. The concept ‘community’ is taken in its widest sense to include all types of association of individuals, not only flocks and herds, but also the family, the pair, and even two animals engaged in combat. The author received the Nobel Prize for his work in this field in 1973.

Comprehensive Overview of Advances in OlfactionThe common belief is that human smell perception is much reduced compared with other mammals, so that whatever abilities are uncovered and investigated in animal research would have little significance for humans. However, new evidence from a variety of sources indicates this traditional view is likely

This book provides new insights into the social behavior of bats - one of the most fascinating topics currently being pursued by researchers. After an introduction reviewing the history of research in bat behavioral ecology, it covers three major themes: bat sociality per se (Part I), bat communication (Part II), and ecological aspects (Part III). Part I offers a concise overview of the social organization and systems of bats, introducing readers to the complexity and dynamics of group structures. Part II is devoted to the innovative field of social communication, focusing on bat songs, dialects and calls. Part III discusses the influence of the environment on bat behavior, particularly with regard to roosting and foraging. This book addresses the needs of researchers working in behavioral sciences, evolution and ecology.