Review
“A fundamental challenge in modern science is to understand the links from brains to the plastic behaviour of individuals, groups, societies and species assemblages—and to understand how these interactions are fashioned within an evolutionary and ecological context. Dukas and Ratcliffe and their impressive team of contributors accept this challenge in a fascinating and expertly edited volume that begins with the ultimate and proximate mechanisms of learning, then addresses exciting advances in avian cognition, before proceeding to decision making in mate choice and predator-prey interaction and culminating in the role of cognition in sociality. Biologists of all descriptions as well as psychologists and social scientists need to read this book.”—Stephen J. Simpson, University of Sydney
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Stephen J. Simpson )
“Cognitive Ecology II is truly impressive. The wide range of questions addressed demonstrates this field’s vitality and broad appeal. It illustrates basic principles using examples from across the animal kingdom and a wide variety of sensory systems and adeptly combines progress reports on well-established topics (e.g. bird song) with syntheses of emerging topics (e.g. social information processing). Ten years ago, Dukas’s first Cognitive Ecology identified a new field; Cognitive Ecology II will define and motivate this exciting and important discipline for the next decade.”—David Stephens, University of Minnesota
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David Stephens )
“In the first Cognitive Ecology, Reuven Dukas succeeded in bringing together the disparate threads of research in a then just emerging discipline. The book was certainly not alone in attending to animal cognition, but for behavioural ecologists it served as a reference that made clear that learning, attention, and perception could no longer be ignored. More than ten years later, Dukas’ and Ratcliffe’s Cognitive Ecology II provides vivid evidence that the field has achieved maturity and structure. The book updates some of the major topics covered in the first volume, such as avian song, predator-prey interactions, and mate choice, and offers a treatment of emerging fields such as social information use and innovations. But most importantly, it continues in its role of reference for all those that ask questions about behavioural mechanisms. If you need to assess the current state of animal cognition and want to know which questions will pave the way for the coming decade, then Cognitive Ecology II is an absolute must-read. Buy it.”—Luc-Alain Giraldeau, L''Université du Québec à Montréal
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Luc-Alain Giraldeau )
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
Reuven Dukas is associate professor of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior, and a member of the Animal Behaviour Group at McMaster University. John Ratcliffe is assistant professor at the Center for Sound Communication at the Institute of Biology of the University of Southern Denmark.
