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Animal Contests

Animal Contests

Animal Contests

Ian C. W. Hardy, University of Nottingham
Mark Briffa, University of Plymouth
July 2013
Available
Hardback
9780521887106
$52.00
USD
Hardback
USD
eBook

    Contests are an important aspect of the lives of diverse animals, from sea anemones competing for space on a rocky shore to fallow deer stags contending for access to females. Why do animals fight? What determines when fights stop and which contestant wins? Addressing fundamental questions on contest behavior, this volume presents theoretical and empirical perspectives across a range of species. The historical development of contest research, the evolutionary theory of both dyadic and multiparty contests, and approaches to experimental design and data analysis are discussed in the first chapters. This is followed by reviews of research in key animal taxa, from the use of aerial displays and assessment rules in butterflies and the developmental biology of weapons in beetles, through to interstate warfare in humans. The final chapter considers future directions and applications of contest research, making this a comprehensive resource for both graduate students and researchers in the field.

    • The first book in more than 25 years to focus solely on animal contests, offering the most complete and up-to-date coverage of both theoretical and empirical approaches
    • Explains the context of contest behaviour research, dealing with the relevant theory in an integrated way
    • Provides a taxon-based review of empirical studies of contest behaviour, synthesising a large body of literature while preserving the unique features of different study systems

    Reviews & endorsements

    "All the contributions are detailed, authoritative and clearly written, providing a thorough, critical picture of, as appropriate, current theory on the evolution of animal contests or the current status of relevant empirical research in particular kinds of animal. Taken as a whole, the editors have achieved their aim of providing an across-the-board perspective on the evolution of contest behaviour in animals that links a very extensive body of theory to a growing body of relevant empirical data."
    Felicity Huntingford, Animal Behaviour

    See more reviews

    Product details

    July 2013
    Hardback
    9780521887106
    379 pages
    252 × 193 × 20 mm
    1kg
    70 b/w illus. 11 colour illus. 14 tables
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • List of contributors
    • Foreword Geoff Parker
    • Preface
    • Acknowledgements
    • 1. Introduction to animal contests Mark Briffa and Ian C. W. Hardy
    • 2. Dyadic contests: modelling fights between two individuals Hanna Kokko
    • 3. Models of group or multi-party contests Tom N. Sherratt and Mike Mesterton-Gibbons
    • 4. Analysis of animal contest data Mark Briffa, Ian C. W. Hardy, Martin P. Gammell, Dómhnall J. Jennings, David Clarke and Marlène Goubault
    • 5. Contests in crustaceans: assessments, decisions and their underlying mechanisms Mark Briffa
    • 6. Aggression in spiders Robert W. Elwood and John Prenter
    • 7. Contest behaviour in butterflies: fighting without weapons Darrell J. Kemp
    • 8. Hymenopteran contests and agonistic behaviour Ian C. W. Hardy, Marlène Goubault and Tim P. Batchelor
    • 9. Horns and the role of development in the evolution of beetle contests Emilie C. Snell-Rood and Armin P. Moczek
    • 10. Contest behaviour in fishes Ryan L. Earley and Yuying Hsu
    • 11. Contests in amphibians Mandy L. Dyson, Michael S. Reichert and Tim R. Halliday
    • 12. Lizards and other reptiles as model systems for the study of contest behaviour Troy A. Baird
    • 13. Bird contests: from hatching to fertilisation Sarah R. Pryke
    • 14. Contest behaviour in ungulates Dómhnall J. Jennings and Martin P. Gammell
    • 15. Human contests: evolutionary theory and the analysis of interstate war Scott A. Field and Mark Briffa
    • 16. Prospects for animal contests Mark Briffa, Ian C. W. Hardy and Sophie L. Mowles
    • Index.
      Contributors
    • Geoff Parker, Mark Briffa, Ian C. W. Hardy, Hanna Kokko, Tom N. Sherratt, Mike Mesterton-Gibbons, Martin P. Gammell, Dómhnall J. Jennings, David Clarke, Marlène Goubault, Robert W. Elwood, John Prenter, Darrell J. Kemp, Tim P. Batchelor, Emilie C. Snell-Rood, Armin P. Moczek, Ryan L. Earley, Yuying Hsu, Mandy L. Dyson, Michael S. Reichert, Tim R. Halliday, Troy A. Baird, Sarah R. Pryke, Scott A. Field, Sophie L. Mowles

    • Editors
    • Ian C. W. Hardy , University of Nottingham

      Ian C. W. Hardy is an Associate Professor and Reader in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham, UK.

    • Mark Briffa , University of Plymouth

      Mark Briffa is an Associate Professor (Reader) in the School of Marine Science and Engineering at Plymouth University, UK.