Dunnock Behaviour and Social Evolution (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution) - Softcover

Davies, N. B.

 
9780198546757: Dunnock Behaviour and Social Evolution (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0198546750 ISBN 13: 9780198546757
Publisher: OUP Oxford, 1992

Synopsis

At first sight just a small brown bird, the dunnock's unobtrusive appearance belies its extraordinary behaviour and mating patterns. In this book Nick Davies gives a full account of the mating systems of the dunnock or hedge sparrow, Prunella modularis, which include pairs, a male with two females, two males with one female, and several males with several females. Detailed observations, elegant field experiments, and DNA fingerprinting are combined to show how this variable social organization from selfish individuals competing to maximize their own reproductive success. Further experiments reveal how the cuckoo may thwart the dunnock's parental efforts. David Quinn's exquisite drawings provide a visual summary of the birds' behaviour. All students of ecology, evolution, and animal behaviour will want to be familiar with this work, which addresses the wider issues of the influence of ecology on mating systems and the evolutionary significance of conflict within and between species.

This is the third volume in the Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution, and the first in this series to tackly behavioural ecology. Nick Davies is a Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Cambridge and co-editor with J. R. Krebs of the leading text in the field, Behavioural ecology: an evolutionary approach.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Nick Davies is a Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Cambridge and co-editor with J. R. Krebs of the leading text in this field, Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach.

From the Back Cover

In this book Nick Davies gives a full account of the mating system and the dunnock or hedge sparrow, Prunella modularis, which include pairs, a male with two females, two males with one female, and several males with several females.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
OUP Oxford
Publication date
1992
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0198546750
ISBN 13 
9780198546757
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
288

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780198546740: Dunnock Behaviour and Social Evolution (Oxford Series in Ecology & Evolution)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0198546742 ISBN 13:  9780198546740
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1992
Hardcover