Anim. Behav., 1997, 54, 1325–1331
Book Reviews
The Golden Eagle.ByJ W. London: (Figure 59) which indicates that eagles breed more T. & A. D. Poyser (1997). Pp. xx+374. Price successfully where they are specialist hunters. £29.95. The monograph is really comprehensive and the 73 tables provide an extensive summary of the The golden eagle is a bird of prey widely distrib- quantitative data for the species found in the uted in the northern hemisphere and a species on scientific literature. In general, I found the book which a lot of scientific research has been carried easy and enjoyable to read, and I think it will out. It is probably one of the best known raptors interest the amateur and the specialist alike. From after the peregrine falcon and the osprey. Jeff my point of view as a specialist, I sometimes Watson’s book on the species is the first compre- found having the tables at the end of the book hensive monograph in the last 40 years, after the while the figures are intercalated in the text incon- work of Seton Gordon (1955). Most monographs venient, especially when the text refers to a figure, on birds of prey are based almost exclusively on and the figure caption refers to another figure the work of a single researcher in a limited area. and one or several tables, and perhaps even an Although Watson’s book is based on his 15 years appendix. I agree this is perhaps the easiest way of of field experience and research with the golden making the book easy to read for the layman, eagle in Scotland, he has taken advantage of while keeping all the details for the specialist, but the numerous researchers that have studied the perhaps it would have been good to try to avoid species in countries such as France, Germany, so many cross references at the cost of making Israel, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the some repetitions. A point on which I do not agree United States. The author has carried out an with Jeff Watson, although almost collateral in extensive review of the literature of the species and this monograph, is his consideration of the has also considered those papers difficult to find, Spanish imperial eagle, Aquila adalberti, as a race often published in local journals, and those diffi- of Aquila heliaca. All people working with the cult to read, in languages other than English. imperial eagle have the opposite view and all From that point of view, Watson has done an scientific and conservation papers published impressive job. The monograph also takes a more recently give the Spanish form a full species status. comparative than a mere descriptive approach, Also, recent molecular genetic research supports and explores the similarities and differences in the the consideration of the Spanish imperial eagle as ecology of the species in different parts of its a full species (Seibold et al. 1996). range, and compares the golden eagle with other In conclusion, this monograph is of generally species of the genus Aquila. high quality and reflects the long first-hand experi- The structure of the book is similar to that of ence of the author with the species and the other bird monographs. A total of 22 chapters extensive review and integration he has done review most aspects of the biology of the species: on the research carried out in different parts of distribution, hunting behaviour, food, nest sites, the world. ranging behaviour, population density, popu- lation estimates and trends, breeding cycle, breed- J B ing performance, moult, movements, mortality, Estacio´n Biolo´gica de Don˜ana, CSIC threats and conservation. There is also an inter- Pabello´n del Peru´, Avda. Marı´a Luisa s/n esting chapter on history and tradition which 41013 Seville, Spain. reviews the information available on the relation- ship between golden eagles and people in Europe, North America and Central Asia, and a final References chapter on aspects of the biology of this species The Golden Eagle: King of Birds that require further research. As I said previously, Gordon, S. 1955. . London: Collins. the chapters are not only of a descriptive nature Seibold, I., Helbig, A. J., Meyburg, B.-U., Negro, J. J. & but also compare populations in different parts of Wink, M. 1996. Genetic differentiation and molecular the range and different species of eagles, and try to phylogeny of European Aquila eagles according to find ecological factors that explain the differences. Cytochrome b nucleotide sequences. In: Eagle Studies I found particularly interesting the relationship (Ed. by B.-U. Meyburg & R. D. Chancellor), pp. between dietary breadth and breeding success 1–15. Berlin: World Working Group on Birds of Prey.
0003–3472/97/111325+07 $25.00/0/ar970629 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour 1325 1326 Animal Behaviour, 54, 5
Parental Care: Evolution, Mechanisms, and Adap- complete appreciation of the stimuli that parents tive Significance. Edited by J. S. R & respond to and the factors initiating and termi- C. T. S. Advances in the Study of nating different parental behaviours in a single Behavior. Vol. 25. San Diego: Academic Press organism. Perhaps the most strikingly in-depth (1996). Pp. xix+715. Price $99.00 hardback. study of proximate mechanisms is lucidly pro- vided by Le´vy et al. on the establishment of a This edited volume of the Advances in the Study of selective bond between mother sheep and their Behavior series represents a departure from the young. They examine genetic and environmental past in being organized by a single theme, that of influences as well as take a detailed look at the parental care. The goal of the editors was to hormonal and neurochemical events that alter include a broad taxonomic range, and indeed maternal responsiveness to cues and trigger there are chapters on parental care by inverte- maternal recognition. brates, fish, amphibians and reptiles as well as A theme running through many of the chapters by birds and mammals. The editors also wished in the second and third sections identifies a topic to investigate the study of parental care with a needing a spotlight in the future: non-genetic wide variety of approaches: functional, ecological, individual variation, especially among females. developmental, physiological and psychological, Gowaty’s chapter on field studies on birds exam- all within an evolutionary framework. This ines this question from an evolutionary perspec- breadth of perspective is the strength of this tive; functional aspects of individual differences excellent volume. Inevitably there is some uneven- in maternal style of primates (measured on two ness among the 17 chapters and a few are little continua of protectiveness and rejection) are more than descriptive compendia, but the multi- covered by Fairbanks; Bridges includes a fascinat- faceted collection of studies should bring new ing discussion of the effects of the memory of insights to those of us who have primarily used experience and their possible proximate mech- only one or a few approaches. anisms on the willingness and effectiveness of The first section covers the ecology and evol- maternal care by rats. ution of parental care in the taxa for which it is I find few faults with this volume; one is the optional. The chapters on the vertebrates have as dearth of discussions of quantitative models for a theme, emphasized by its organization, the the evolution of parental care. Gowaty is the only behavioural, physiological and developmental author to consider parental care as an ESS and to adaptations required for the transition of repro- cite the important contributions by Maynard duction from aquatic to terrestrial environments. Smith and Grafen. A review of paternal care by The pivotal position of amphibians, for which mammals with this focus would have been wel- terrestrial egg laying and parental care is closely come. Collections like this volume would also do linked, is emphasized by Crump, whose chapter well to encourage reviews that cross major taxo- is rich with natural history detail. She uses an nomic boundaries. Snowdon’s chapter on helping evolutionary approach to examine the extremely behaviour by birds and mammals serves to unify variable reproductive modes of amphibians, the some of the themes presented throughout the vol- life-history consequences of parental care and the ume. These are minor omissions, however, in light distribution of parental care between the sexes. of the many topics excellently covered. I recom- Most chapters in this section try to include dis- mend this collection to students as a review of cussions of both proximate and ultimate factors. particular topics and to practitioners of the study For example, Trumbo’s excellent chapter on of parental care for new insights into aspects not invertebrates includes a section on the hormonal usually considered. mechanisms of insect parental care and argues for M P S the importance of understanding these mechan- Department of Zoology, isms, and how they may differ between taxa, to University of New Hampshire, provide tools for exploring the cost and benefits Durham, NH 03824, U.S.A. of life-history trade-offs and insights into the multiple origins of insect sociality. The second and third sections comprise chap- Social Influences on Vocal Development. Edited ters on the physiological and experiential factors by C T. S &M affecting parental behaviour and the adaptive H. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer- significance of parental care, respectively. There sity Press (1997). Pp. ix+352. Price £60. are three chapters on proximate mechanisms for the control of maternal behaviour of the Norway In this book, Snowdon & Hausberger have as- rat. Together they provide the reader with a very sembled contributions from researchers working Book Reviews 1327 on vocal communication in a number of taxa, influence of social or interactive tutoring on song including birds, cetaceans, non-human primates acquisition. Another example of the comparative and children. Their aim was to present a compara- approach this book is taking is the chapter by tive view of the vocal development of these differ- Locke & Snow in which they examine the mech- ent taxa, stressing the parallels emerging from anisms underlying vocal learning in human and studies on different species. The editors have non-human primates. Their emphasis is on the chosen contributors with a naturalistic approach, degree to which such mechanisms are special to emphasizing the complexity in which communi- the language system or rather are related to more cation takes place. The volume contains 16 chap- general social capacities and the social context in ters, the first eight of which are devoted to bird which vocal learning takes place. Although this vocal communication, followed by two chapters book does not provide definite answers to the on vocal learning in cetaceans, two chapters on questions raised above, it nevertheless brings the plasticity of vocal communication in non- up numerous important aspects related to this human primates and finally four chapters based exciting topic. on studies of verbal and non-verbal communi- I very much appreciate the editors’ effort to cation in children. The heavy focus on bird com- present conflicting views on similar topics rather munication presumably has its roots in the than a unified view. For example, McGowan & fact that this is one of the best studied areas Reiss and Tyack & Sayigh have divergent views of communication research. The integration of on the signature whistles in bottlenosed dolphins, studies on different taxa in one volume is wel- and Nelson and Baptista & Gaunt present con- come, although a more even distribution among flicting interpretations of the influence of different taxa would have been appropriate. This might tutoring regimes on the development of bird song. have also reduced the overlap between review Thus, the book will certainly stimulate the debate sections of some of the chapters on birds. between researchers in this area and will also The common denominator of these studies, as encourage newcomers to the field to develop a indicated by the title, is how social interaction critical stance. influences vocal development. This raises two In the introductory section, there should have important questions: how can we define and been a more careful application of phylogenetic measure social influences? And second, how can termini (such as the odd ‘gap in continuity in the vocal development be disentangled? Regarding evolution from birds to humans’), and a more the latter, the book provides some excellent thorough outline of the editors’ conceptual frame- analyses of the different levels that can be ident- work. None the less, Snowdon & Hausberger have ified in vocal development. Noteworthy is the managed to create a valuable resource for the chapter by Seyfarth & Cheney in which they discussion of both the convergences in the strate- outline the differences in development in vocal gies of vocal learning in phylogenetically distinct production, vocal usage, and responses to vocal- species and the differences in more closely related izations in human and non-human primates. species. The book serves as a good basis for Among others, this chapter draws attention to the further research aiming to identify the selection importance of assessing the acquisition of com- pressures working on vocal learning and vocal municative competence. West, King & Freeberg plasticity. Social Influences on Vocal Development argue along very similar lines. I very much will be an important source for all interested in enjoyed their well-written report on vocal devel- putting their work in a broader perspective. opment in cowbirds, in which they take the reader J F through the process of how they came to realize Institut fu¨r Verhaltensbiologie, that their assay of learning success in hand-reared Freie Universita¨t Berlin, cowbirds, testing the potency to elicit a copulation Haderslebenerstr. 9, solicitation display in female cowbirds via play- 12163 Berlin, back, did not quite reflect the males’ competence Germany. in adequate usage of vocalizations in a social setting. West et al. extended their studies to the The Garter Snakes: Evolution and Ecology.By influence of social experience on the males’ per- D A. R,N B. F & formance, leading to the first, and more difficult, R A. S. Norman, Ohio: University question of the definition of social influences. of Oklahoma Press (1996). Pp. 332. Price $65.00 Nelson also addresses this issue in his thorough hardback. review of studies that have assessed social influ- ences during tutoring and vocal practice in birds, This book will be an invaluable resource to arguing for a cautious interpretation of the those doing garter snake research. It provides a 1328 Animal Behaviour, 54, 5 comprehensive overview of the evolutionary re- care of garter snakes. Chapter 4 summarizes what lationships, ecology, behaviour and captive care is known about many aspects of garter snake of garter snakes and gives a detailed description ecology and conservation with the goals of of each of the 30 known species. Much of this explaining the ecological success of the group and information is widely scattered throughout the pointing out where more data are needed. Topics literature or is unavailable elsewhere, such as covered are: (1) reproductive ecology, (2) foraging the numerous personal communications cited. The ecology, (3) population ecology and (4) thermal genus Thamnophis has been studied extensively, ecology. These reviews are concise but complete but as the authors point out, there remain major and will allow researchers in other areas to put gaps in knowledge about particular areas, such as their findings into an ecological context. The four learning abilities, or about certain species and summary tables are particularly useful as they give populations, especially those in the southern U.S. an overview of what is known about a topic while and in Mexico. Thus, this book is a timely contri- effectively pointing out what is not known. As an bution that should do much to stimulate even example, the summary table on the diet of garter more research on garter snake biology, especially snakes species (pp. 68–69) includes information in those areas lacking data. It is written for both on just 20 of the 30 garter snake species. professional herpetologists and for snake hobby- Chapter 5 covers research on garter snake ists and succeeds in presenting technical infor- behaviour, including overviews of foraging behav- mation in a highly readable manner. Although it iour, habitat selection, thermoregulatory be- contains a few minor errors, such as citation years haviour, anti-predator behaviour, orientation and that do not match in the text and reference list and navigation, reproductive behaviour, hibernation, some mislabelled figures, it is an attractive book aggregations, learning and genetics/evolution of that is well written and thoroughly researched. behaviour. Perhaps inevitably, summarizing The book’s organization is also effective, with the such a large number of topics results in uneven first two sections covering general principles of coverage with some topics, such as reproductive taxonomy, ecology and behaviour and the last behaviour, receiving several pages of coverage and section providing the species accounts. others, such as aggregations, receiving only one The first section consists of three chapters paragraph. None the less, this chapter will be a covering taxonomy and evolution. Topics include valuable starting place for anyone interested in the history and current state of garter snake doing research on any aspect of garter snake systematics, the proposed names for all species behaviour. It includes several nice graphs and line and subspecies of garter snakes and an identifi- drawings which are representative of the type of cation key. This section reflects impressive, research done in these areas. meticulous research in an area that has been rife Chapter 6, covering captive care, gives an excel- with contradictory results; in fact, it contains lent overview of the requirements for keeping literature citations going back to 1758. The infor- garter snakes in captivity, including information mation in this chapter will be very useful for those on housing, handling, feeding, hygiene, diseases doing research on garter snake taxonomy; the and treatment and captive propagation. So much descriptions of the taxonomic characters used to misinformation exists about reptile care that the determine relationships among garter snakes information in this chapter, including everything should aid standardization in the field. Because of from maintaining proper humidity levels to a the subject matter, this section is the most difficult procedure for enticing garter snakes to eat to read, and terms such as ‘meristic’ and ‘men- mice, will be valuable to both hobbyists and sural’, which may not be generally known to professional herpetologists. non-professionals, are used without being defined The last section comprises over half of the text in the text (although there is a glossary in the back and provides detailed species accounts and colour of the book). This section is also primarily plates of all 30 garter snake species. Each species descriptive, in that it presents a number of histori- account includes a summary of (1) previous scien- cal and current, often contradictory, phylogenetic/ tific names, (2) key taxonomic features used in family trees of the known species, rather than identification, (3) a description of the distribution providing an evaluation of which species consist- of the species, including a range map, (4) a ently are shown to be closely related and where description of the morphological features of the more uncertainty exists. Some of this information species (e.g. scale counts, relative tail length, can be gleaned from later chapters, but an explicit relative head size), (5) taxonomic comments and summary would have been helpful. (6) a very useful section on life history and ecol- The second section, composed of three chap- ogy. This last section includes information on ters, deals with ecology, behaviour and the captive habitat, activity patterns, feeding, reproduction, Book Reviews 1329 population biology, captive maintenance and Although I did not agree with all of it, I did conservation. Such information has never been enjoy reading this book. It was informative, brought together so completely, and these species thought-provoking, and occasionally controver- accounts should be an impetus for comparative sial, a good vehicle for stimulating discussion of research on the relationships between mor- many subjects. Of 29 contributors, most are phology, ecology and behaviour. The length of university-based, 25 in America, two in the the species descriptions varies from about two Netherlands, one in Denmark and one in New pages (the Tamaulipan montane garter snake, Zealand. It also has a heavy American bias in T. mendax) to about 13 pages (the common garter terms of examples given, which gives an overall snake, T. sirtalis) reflecting the different amount cosy feel to the book. It was not always easy to of information available for each species. An read, but there is a clear structure, which makes it additional feature that would have been useful to easy to dip in and out or read the chapters in any include would be a section listing the closest order. The three main parts that organize the 15 known relatives of each species. chapters are: (1) problems and issues; (2) conser- This book will obviously be useful to those vation and the four levels of behavioural study; studying snakes or other reptiles. Moreover, since and (3) examples and case studies. At the begin- garter snakes have often been used as model ning of each of these parts is a short introduction organisms in the study of taxonomy, ecology and and each chapter ends with a helpful conclusions behaviour, The Garter Snakes also has much to section. offer anyone interested in general questions in I was disappointed by the beginning of the these areas. Although this book clearly and con- book because I had hoped that there would be cisely provides an overview of the current body some explanation of who are perceived to be of knowledge on garter snakes, perhaps its behaviourists and conservationists. Some debate greatest contribution lies in the research it will about the science and non-science of conservation inspire. biology (for example, Lawton 1997) would have set the scene. Alternatively, the beginning of the B B. B book would have benefited from an outline of Department of Psychology, the difference between deciding what to conserve Hollins College, and how to conserve. These come later in the Roanoke, VA 24020, U.S.A. book but at the start there are two camps, conser- vation and behaviour, into which the audience is split. This potentially alienates a large group of Behavioral Approaches to Conservation in the conservationists who have a sound behavioural Wild. Edited by J R. C & and scientific background. Therefore, two un- R B. Cambridge: Cambridge defined groups are pitted against each other, University Press (1997). Pp. xviii+382. Price creating a somewhat negative atmosphere. This £55.00 hardback, £19.95 paperback. occurs through statements such as ‘behavioural biology, or ethology, currently is not considered a There has been a growing urgency of late, to significant component of conservation biology’, highlight behaviour as an important tool in con- which appears in the first sentence of chapter 1. It servation. The relationship between behaviour is perhaps unfair of me to pick up on this one (animal or human) and conservation is a legiti- phrase, but I do so mainly to urge any conser- mate subject; the potential audience is large and vation scientist who may be put off by this, to diverse. This book will attract anyone whose read on. interest lies within the following spectrum of sub- The remaining chapters in part 1 make for jects: pure behavioural research, behavioural ecol- much more interesting reading and at least ogy, conservation science, conservation biology engender enthusiasm for past, present and, in and conservation management. In particular, this some cases, future profitable collaboration book focuses on the relevance of behavioural between behavioural research and conservation. research to the active conservation of animal In particular, chapter 4 on invertebrate behaviour populations in the wild and sets two major objec- entitled ‘Conservation, behaviour, and 99% of the tives. The first is to stimulate behavioural world’s biodiversity: is our ignorance bliss?’ pro- researchers into thinking about how their specific vides refreshing insight into the importance of areas of study can contribute to the conservation including invertebrate behaviour in conservation of biodiversity. The second is to show conser- schemes. It also warns of the applied information vationists the relevance of behavioural research in lost or yet to be discovered from extinct or solving conservation problems. unstudied invertebrates. 1330 Animal Behaviour, 54, 5
In part 2, the behavioural theories at the insects. This attempt stems from a conference of basis of chapters 5 and 6 were easily related to the Animal Behavior Society in Kingston in 1992, conservation in terms of captive breeding or immediately highlighting the deficiencies that the re-introduction programmes. It was more difficult book shares with many conference volumes: an to connect conservation problems of wild popu- element of parochiality in selection of contribu- lations with the described theories on behavioural tors (only two are from outside North America), causation and its ontogenetic development; how- and unacceptable delays in getting the material ever, at least it made me think about it. The last into print. References published after 1994 are two chapters in part 2 provide thorough discus- virtually absent, and even some of the citations sions on more controversial subjects that relate from 1994 or thereafter appear to be added almost directly to conservation in the wild. Populations parenthetically at the proof stage. of wild, endangered animals under threat from Such delays would be unimportant if the field human exploitation are discussed in terms of was not moving quickly, or the reviews and sustainable harvesting, a subject that is less research reports had intrinsic value beyond the incredible when discussed in terms of the detailed published literature. I feel that the chief difficulty behavioural information necessary. ‘What is a in the current case was missing out on most of the species?’ is the question put to readers in the recent input derived from molecular ecology. The last chapter. The taxonomic relevance of behav- second problem is that some of the authors have iour and the implications to conservation are taken their fields a long way conceptually or discussed. empirically since these articles were written, so Part 3 is the largest and the most varied of the some of the chapters are no longer the best entry book; it has primarily a practical conservation into the literature (this is particularly notable flavour because it is based on actual case studies for the work on mole-rats, and discussions on and examples. This section highlights the con- reproductive skew in general). tribution of bioacoustics, behavioural ecology, What about the geographical concentration behavioural toxicology, behavioural genetics, sen- of the authors? From the perspective of an sory biology and neuroethology to the practical Australian, some taxa get short shrift. Marsupials solutions used to solve various conservation prob- are mentioned only once, but are listed as lems. There is a lot of information brought monotremes instead (page 338)! The challenging together which has not been accessible in one presence of monoestrous reproduction in dasy- volume, nor presented in this way before. I believe urids is therefore overlooked by Asa. Although this is a valuable read in particular for students of plural breeding is thoroughly reviewed by Lewis & animal behaviour. Forget about whether you are Pusey, it is unfortunate that there is no equally in the behaviourists’ or conservationists’ camp, if thorough overview that attempts to map the you are unsure whether this book is of interest to phylogenetic distribution of helping behaviour in you, read any one of chapters 9–14 and you are mammals, and we are left with the feeling that it sure to find out. occurs only in callitrichids, canids, rodents and one mongoose. G G None the less, some of the single species or Conservation Science Department, single taxon studies break new ground. I found Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the discussion by Creel and his co-workers of the The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, U.K. failure of well-designed models to predict the behaviour of male mongooses particularly illumi- Reference nating, and the parallels between callitrichids and Lawton, J. H. (1997). The science and non-science of canids suggest generalizations that unite taxa that conservation biology. Oikos 79, 3–5. seem at first glance to be quite dissimilar. Does the study of mammalian cooperative breeding illuminate analysis of comparable prob- Cooperative Breeding in Mammals. Edited by lems in birds? The authors in this volume high- N G. S &J A. F. light the utility of dissection of the physiological Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1997). and endocrinological basis of reproduction in Pp. xiii+390. Price £50.00. mammals, an area where mammalian studies are aeons ahead of their avian counterparts, and A review of cooperative breeding in mammals is should stimulate ornithologists to do much better. timely, coming on the heels of a remarkable series Evidence from rodents that helpers benefit from of monographs on cooperative breeding in birds, practice at reproduction should also stimulate and a new flurry of books on social evolution in more analysis of this topic in birds. A closing Book Reviews 1331 contribution by Mumme attempts to identify behaviour in birds and mammals, and that we specific areas of common interest, and reflects the may end up with greater insights from concentrat- general tendency to apply avian models to eco- ing on the differences rather than the similarities logical and evolutionary interpretations of the between the two groups. mammalian data. Is this fair? I get the impression The volume is attractively produced, well-edited that cooperative breeding is very common among and generally free of errors. However, its hefty the select group of mammals that exhibit paternal price may deter private purchasers. care: by contrast it is much more rare in birds. Yet only Carter & Roberts highlight the importance of A C asking why paternal care (and sometimes mon- Division of Biology and Zoology, ogamy) occurs in these mammals in the first place. Australian National University, I suspect that we are therefore some way from a Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. model that predicts the distribution of cooperative