Presents the story of how this important group of animals use pheromones, sound, vibration, and light for sexual and social communication. Includes the latest theoretical and experimental findings from studies of signaling.
1. Communication in a Lilliputian World; 2. Signal Theory and the Language of Communication; 3. Chemical Signaling and the Olfactory Channel; 4. Sound and Vibration and the Mechanical Channel; 5. Bioluminescence and Reflected Light and the Visual Channel; 6. Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Signals; 7. Signal Evolution: Modification and Diversification
In summary, this is a valuable addition to the literature on animal communication at the introductory level. Greenfield's book is worthwhile precisely because it is brief. I will recommend this book for undergraduate courses and for the generalist reader who wants to know more about this interesting subject. Nature On nearly every page there is an intriguing example from nature, a clear explanation, a thoughtful and novel commentary, a thread leading in an unexpected direction. American Entomologist The drive to organize a broad range of knowledge into a unified, comprehensible scheme is combined with an equal fascination with the details of how each particular system works and the problems that needed to be solved to make it work. This makes for rewarding reading from start to finish. American Entomologist