Ecology and Behaviour of the African Buffalo: Social Inequality and Decision Making (Chapman & Hall Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour Series) [Hardcover]

H.H.T Prins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 041244240X | ISBN-13: 978-0412442407 | Publication Date: November 30, 1995 | Edition: 1

What are the benefits that animals gain from living in a social group? This question has been the primary focus of the author's ecological interest. After many years of original and innovative research on the African buffalo, particularly at Lake Manyara in northern Tanzania, Herbert Prins has now summarized the results of much of this widely-respected work in this fascinating book. While advantages in reduction of the risks of predation or in increased efficiency of foraging on certain types of resources are now widely recognized, until now there has been less attention paid to the idea of the animals themselves as `information centres' and the extent to which the individual may be able to make use of information gathered by conspecifics, adjusting its own behaviour in response. Such a case-study has wide implications for research on social structure and organization in other species, and these are explored within the book. However, it is not a book aimed simply at the academic researcher, zoologist and behavioural ecologist; since it is written in a readable and accessible style, the book will also be enjoyed by wildlife enthusiasts, interested naturalists, wildlife biologists and wildlife managers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book will come to be seen as a milestone in the development and testing of ideas in behavioural ecology...This is a brilliant book. - Mammal News; In all, this is a highly informative and easily readable text which makes an excellent companion to, and extension of, the earlier work of Grimsdell (1969) and Sinclair (1977), and helps dispel many of the old myths propagated by white hunters about this animal. - Journal of Animal Ecology; ...of great interest and value to people working on related species in wild, domestic or feral conditions...Specialists in African ungulates will appreciate the generous provision of detail...excellent photographs... - Animal Behaviour; After many years of original and innovative research on the African buffalo, particulary at Lake Manyara in northern Tanzania, Herbert Prins has now summarized the results of much of this widely-respected work in this fascinating book. Such a case-study has wide implications for research on social structure and organization in other species, and these are explored within the book - Ethology Ecology & Evolution; This book is a landmark in socio-ecological studies of ungulates...no other work that I can recall has gone into such detail and sifted through the data so thoroughly....Ecology and Behavior of the African Buffalo is an exceptional interesting study, one that sets a new and higher standard for future studies. -African Worldlife Update

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (November 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041244240X
• ISBN-13: 978-0412442407
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,396,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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