Animal Signals Signalling and Signal Design in Animal Communication

About this book

Essential for understanding how animals cope with their ecological and social environment, the study of animal signals is one of the most active research areas in modern evolutionary biology. With 25 papers written by leading authorities, this provides a comprehensive overview of the fascinating diversity of animal signals.

Contents

Evolutionary implications of the interaction between animal signals and the environment; efficacy and content in avian colour signals; the visual ecology of reef fish colours; avian UV vision and sexual selection; knowledge, information, biases and signal assemblages; a signalling tail; female ornaments - genetically correlated or sexually selected?; handicap, index, and conventional signal elements of bird song; scents of danger - the evolution of olfactory ornament in chemical-mediated predator-prey interactions; signals and multi-modal signalling in spider communication; signal function, signal efficiency and the evolution of anoline lizard dewlap colour; conflicts of interest in signal evolution; environmental dependence of genetic indicator mechanisms; problems in studying receiver biases and their effects on signal evolution; signals, parasites and the immune system; examples of MHC-correlated sexual selection in mice and humans; MHC genotype and ornamentation; is fluctuating asymmetry a visual signal?; communication networks - receiver and signaller perspectives; male-male competition and female choice in the evolution of vocal signalling; why female birds sing; the significance of learning in signal environment - the curious case of the chaffinch; prowess and the resolution of animal fights; sexual signals and speciation; multiple nestling begging signals - reed warbler chicks and cuckoo tricks.

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Biography

Yngve Espmark, Trond Amundsen and Gunilla Rosenqvist, Editors