Antipredator Defenses in Birds and MammalsUniversity of Chicago Press, 2005 - 591 pages In nature, the ability to defend against predators is fundamental to an animal's survival. From the giraffes that rely on their spotted coats to blend into the patchy light of their woodland habitats to the South American sea lions that pile themselves in heaps to ward off the killer whales that prey on them in the shallow surf, defense strategies in the animal kingdom are seemingly innumerable. In Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals, Tim Caro ambitiously synthesizes predator defenses in birds and mammals and integrates all functional and evolutionary perspectives on antipredator defenses that have developed over the last century. Structured chronologically along a hypothetical sequence of predation—Caro evokes a gazelle fawn desperate to survive a cheetah attack to illustrate the continuum of the evolution of antipredator defenses—Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals considers the defenses that prey use to avoid detection by predators; the benefits of living in groups; morphological and behavioral defenses in individuals and groups; and, finally, flight and adaptations of last resort. Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals will be of interest to both specialists and general readers interested in ecological issues. |
Table des matières
1 Definitions and predator recognition | 1 |
2 Morphological traits to avoid detection | 33 |
3 Behavioral mechanisms to avoid detection | 67 |
4 Vigilance and group size | 115 |
5 Factors affecting vigilance | 151 |
6 Conspecific warning signals | 181 |
7 Signals of unprofitability | 225 |
8 Antipredator benefits of grouping | 265 |
10 Nest defense | 335 |
11 Mobbing and group defense | 381 |
12 Flight and behaviors of last resort | 413 |
13 Framing questions about antipredator defenses | 443 |
Scientific names of vertebrates mentioned in the text | 467 |
References | 487 |
| 577 | |
| 587 | |
Autres éditions - Tout afficher
Expressions et termes fréquents
adults alarm calls Anim Behav antipredator behavior antipredator defenses aposematic approach associated ator avian avoid Behav Ecol Sociobiol Biol Sci birds and mammals blackbirds breeding brood California ground squirrels carnivores Caro cheetahs colonies coloration conspecifics conspicuous costs countershading crypsis cryptic Curio declines detection Diana monkeys distance distress calls ecology effect eggs escape Ethology evolution evolutionary example experimental factors feeding females flight flock foraging Gotmark greater group members gull habitat homeotherms hunting hypothesis increase incubation individuals juvenile leopard Lima males mammals mixed-species mobbing monkeys mule deer nest defense nest predation nestling offspring parents patterns playbacks population predation risk prey species primates raptors red colobus reduce reproductive response risk of predation rodents scanning sciurids selection signals snakes Soc Lond sparrow hawks spotted hyenas stotting studies tail tern threat tion tits ungulates vervet vervet monkeys vigilance voles warbler white-tailed deer willow tits young Zool