Ecology and Behaviour of the African Buffalo: Social inequality and decision makingSpringer Science & Business Media, 6 dic 2012 - 293 páginas Over the past 30 years or so, research effort in behaviour and ecology has progressed from simple documentation of the habits or habitats of differ ent species to asking more searching questions about the adaptiveness of the patterns of behaviour observed; moved from documenting simply what occurs, to trying to understand why. Increasingly, studies of behav iour or ecology explore the function of particular responses or patterns of behaviour in individuals or populations - looking for the adaptiveness that has led to the adoption of such patterns either at a proximate level (what environmental circumstances have favoured the adoption of some particular strategy or response from within the animal's repertoire at that specific time) or at an evolutionary level (speculating upon what pres sures have led to the inclusion of a particular pattern of behaviour within the repertoire in the first place). Many common principles have been established - common to a wide diversity of animal groups, yet showing some precise relationship between a given aspect of behaviour or population dynamics and some particular ecological factor. In particular, tremendous advances have been made in understanding the foraging behaviour of animals - and the 'decision rules' by which they seek and select from the various resources on offer - and patterns of social organization and behaviour: the adap tiveness of different social structures, group sizes or reproductive tactics. |
Índice
Food for the buffalo | 34 |
Social organization of buffalo cows | 56 |
Social organization of buffalo bulls | 84 |
Population dynamics catastrophes and stability | 106 |
Competition for food | 154 |
predators and grazing by rule of thumb | 178 |
a case of voting | 218 |
The effects of ecology on social organization | 237 |
Protein and energy requirements | 261 |
286 | |
Otras ediciones - Ver todo
Ecology and Behaviour of the African Buffalo: Social Inequality and Decision ... Herbert Prins,Herbert H. T. Prins Vista previa restringida - 1996 |
Ecology and Behaviour of the African Buffalo H. H. T. Prins No hay ninguna vista previa disponible - 1995 |
Términos y frases comunes
adult buffalo adult bulls adult cows African buffalo animals appears approximately average bachelor bulls behaviour buffalo bulls buffalo cows Burchell's zebra cattle Central Herd Centre Chapter Chloris gayana condition crude protein concentration Cynodon dactylon Cynodon plectostachyus Cyperus laevigatus dead stalk density diet dry season ecology ecotone elephant estimated feeding females Figure food intake foraging forest grasslands grazing pressure green leaves herbivores Herd bulls home range impala increased individuals Iraqw killed by lions Lake Manyara large herds leaf long rains males Manyara buffalo mean mixed herd Msasa National Park Ndala night Northern Herd observed oestrus patches pattern period population Prins rainfall rainy season ratio rear relation resightings rift valley rinderpest risk of predation ruminants Serengeti short rains Sinclair social organization species Sporobolus Sporobolus spicatus subadult bulls sward Table tion vegetation types voting Warden's Reports wildebeest woodlands zebra