Covering sex allocation, sex determination and operational sex ratios, this multi-author volume provides both a conceptual context and an instruction in methods for many aspects of sex ratio research. Theory, statistical analysis and genetics are each explained and discussed in the first three sections. The remaining chapters each focus on research in one of a wide spectrum of animal, plant and microbial taxa, including sex ratio distorting bacteria in invertebrates, malarial parasites, birds, human and other mammals, giving critical appraisals of such research. Sex Ratios: Concepts and Research Methods is primarily intended for graduate and professional behavioural and evolutionary ecologists in this field, but it will also be useful to biologists building evolutionary models, and researchers analysing data involving proportions or comparisons across phylogenetically related species.
Covering sex allocation, sex determination and operational sex ratios, this multi-author volume provides both a conceptual context and an instruction in methods for many aspects of sex ratio research. Theory, statistical analysis and genetics are each explained and discussed in the first three sections. The remaining chapters each focus on research in one of a wide spectrum of animal, plant and microbial taxa, including sex ratio distorting bacteria in invertebrates, malarial parasites, birds, human and other mammals, giving critical appraisals of such research. Sex Ratios: Concepts and Research Methods is primarily intended for graduate and professional behavioural and evolutionary ecologists in this field, but it will also be useful to biologists building evolutionary models, and researchers analysing data involving proportions or comparisons across phylogenetically related species.
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 behaviour, 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 fi
