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Modelling in behavioural ecology: An introductory text
TREE vol. 2, no. 5, May 7987
A Model Text
Modelling in Behavioural Ecology: An Introductory Text by Dennis Lendrem, Croom Helm, 1986. f25.00 hbk, f72.95 pbk (ix + 214 pages) ISBN 0 7099 4179 6 Models clarify ideas’. Currently, a manageable number of optimization models influence the majority of rein behavioural search programs ecology. If models really are important, students should know more than a list of theoretical conclusions; they should understand the logical steps that lead from a set of assumptions to a statement of a hypothesis. Dennis Lendrem has written a text with this sort of objective in mind. He anticipates that his book will help students transform their ideas into quantitative, testable models of efficient behaviour. His method involves explaining the algebraic derivations, in a step-by-step fashion, of some economic models commonly cited by behavioural ecologists. Lendrem’s rather complete, and generally careful, analyses of a few representative theories distinguish this text from those that offer more comprehensive, but less detailed, reviews of models and tests. I am sure that most readers will find the book interesting, and I think that Lendrem has written a useful primer on applications of optimization theory in ecology. The book begins with a few introductory remarks and a brief demonstration of mathematical the methods used in later chapters. The introduction stresses an important point: a thorough understanding of a mathematical model leads to more rigorous and more important tests of that model’s predictions. The message may seem obvious, but a recent critical review* of experiments on foraging behaviour suggests that it is worth repeating. The next two chapters examine aspects of foraging theory: there is a review of the more important deterministic models and a discussion of risk-sensitive foraging. But I think that the best part of the book is the chapter on vigilance for predators in solitary and social animals. Lendrem explains how the interaction of theory and data have resulted in a succession of models exhibiting increased mathematical generality and greater biological realism. A later chapter tackles the application of optimal control theory to I found this behavioural sequences; chapter weaker than the others. Lendrem then looks at some issues involving territoriality. He focusses on 140
models developed for very specific consumer-resource interactions3-6. A chapter on two-person matrix games is followed by a Summary that includes the usual caveats to be heeded when employing optimization theory to predict behaviour. Lendrem has organized his book very effectively. The pace is crisp, but the author delivers the promised completeness in his presentation of a model’s algebraic details. Outside of the mathematics, the style is informal. Lendrem introduces several topics by recounting his conversations or correspondence with a particular model’s author. The figures are generally very well presented and useful, and I found only a few errors in the entire book. Since the author’s intent is to convey an enthusiasm for a selected set of representative models, he should not be criticized for omissions. My complaints are minor; I liked the book and recommend it. Lendrem’s text can be used profitably by advanced undergraduates (if they have some minimal familiarity with the appropriate mathematics). Most graduate students in behavioural ecology will also benefit by reading the book; Lendrem’s concentration on theory complements more general texts. The book does not present new results, but it will succeed in motivating students to enroll in a mathematics course and then to develop their skills as a modeller. No reader will miss Lendrem’s appreciation of the significant role mathematical models have played in the recent growth and
continuing vitality of behavioural ecology. The text also conveys a picture of some current trends. For example, stochastic models are replacing deterministic theories in a few areas, and the frequency-dependent nature of many competitive phenomena has generated interest in game theory. Models in behavioural ecology do more than guide empirical research and stimulate new theory. Models express assumptions and predictions with a clarity that has fostered interdisciplinary discussion of the economics of behaviour7,8. As the number and sophistication of these models increase, Lendrem’s book will prove a valuable first step for most students.
Thomas Caraco Department of Biological Sctences, StateUniversity of NewYork,Albany, NewYork 12222,USA.
References 1 Fretwell, S.D. (1972) Populations Princeton Seasonal Environment,
in a
University Press 2 Steohens. D.W. and Krebs. J.R. (1986) Foraging Theory, Princeton University Press 3 Gill, F.B. and Wolf, L.L. (1975) Ecology 56,333-345 4 Pyke, G.H. (1979)Am. Nat. 114,131-145 5 Davies, N.B. and Houston, A.I. (1981) J. Anim. Ecol. 50,157-180 6 Houston, A.I., McCleery, R.H. and Davies, N.B. (1985) J. Anim. Ecol. 54, 227-239 7 Fantino, E. and Abarca, N. (1985) Behav. Brain Sci. 8,315-330 8 Kagel, J.H., Green, L. and Caraco, T. (1986) Anim. Behav. 34,271-283
Interdisciplinary Interactions
Predator-Prey Relationships: Perspectives and Approaches from the Study of Lower Vertebrates edited by Martin E. Feder and George V. Lauder, University of Chicago Press, 7986. f27.95 hbk, f70.25 pbk (x + 198 pages) ISBN 0226 23946 2 The modern trend towards specialization has had the result that biologists working on a given type of interaction are often unaware of the approaches and questions being asked by members of a different subdiscipline who work on the same interaction. The editors of this volume are two functional morphologists who, in 1984, organized a symposium on predator-prey rela-
tionships in ‘lower vertebrates’, in an attempt to promote communication between different types of scientists working on this interaction. The articles in their book include most of the symposium papers and one additional work, and the approaches used ranged from neurophysiology to natural history. Sensory physiology, functional morphology and organismal metabolism are well represented, while population dynamics is neglected entirely, and only a single article focusses on behavioral ecology. The first section of the book is concerned with physiology and energetics. An article by Gans considers the functional morphology of predator-prey relationships, and Gans illustrates this approach using
A Model Text
Modelling in Behavioural Ecology: An Introductory Text by Dennis Lendrem, Croom Helm, 1986. f25.00 hbk, f72.95 pbk (ix + 214 pages) ISBN 0 7099 4179 6 Models clarify ideas’. Currently, a manageable number of optimization models influence the majority of rein behavioural search programs ecology. If models really are important, students should know more than a list of theoretical conclusions; they should understand the logical steps that lead from a set of assumptions to a statement of a hypothesis. Dennis Lendrem has written a text with this sort of objective in mind. He anticipates that his book will help students transform their ideas into quantitative, testable models of efficient behaviour. His method involves explaining the algebraic derivations, in a step-by-step fashion, of some economic models commonly cited by behavioural ecologists. Lendrem’s rather complete, and generally careful, analyses of a few representative theories distinguish this text from those that offer more comprehensive, but less detailed, reviews of models and tests. I am sure that most readers will find the book interesting, and I think that Lendrem has written a useful primer on applications of optimization theory in ecology. The book begins with a few introductory remarks and a brief demonstration of mathematical the methods used in later chapters. The introduction stresses an important point: a thorough understanding of a mathematical model leads to more rigorous and more important tests of that model’s predictions. The message may seem obvious, but a recent critical review* of experiments on foraging behaviour suggests that it is worth repeating. The next two chapters examine aspects of foraging theory: there is a review of the more important deterministic models and a discussion of risk-sensitive foraging. But I think that the best part of the book is the chapter on vigilance for predators in solitary and social animals. Lendrem explains how the interaction of theory and data have resulted in a succession of models exhibiting increased mathematical generality and greater biological realism. A later chapter tackles the application of optimal control theory to I found this behavioural sequences; chapter weaker than the others. Lendrem then looks at some issues involving territoriality. He focusses on 140
models developed for very specific consumer-resource interactions3-6. A chapter on two-person matrix games is followed by a Summary that includes the usual caveats to be heeded when employing optimization theory to predict behaviour. Lendrem has organized his book very effectively. The pace is crisp, but the author delivers the promised completeness in his presentation of a model’s algebraic details. Outside of the mathematics, the style is informal. Lendrem introduces several topics by recounting his conversations or correspondence with a particular model’s author. The figures are generally very well presented and useful, and I found only a few errors in the entire book. Since the author’s intent is to convey an enthusiasm for a selected set of representative models, he should not be criticized for omissions. My complaints are minor; I liked the book and recommend it. Lendrem’s text can be used profitably by advanced undergraduates (if they have some minimal familiarity with the appropriate mathematics). Most graduate students in behavioural ecology will also benefit by reading the book; Lendrem’s concentration on theory complements more general texts. The book does not present new results, but it will succeed in motivating students to enroll in a mathematics course and then to develop their skills as a modeller. No reader will miss Lendrem’s appreciation of the significant role mathematical models have played in the recent growth and
continuing vitality of behavioural ecology. The text also conveys a picture of some current trends. For example, stochastic models are replacing deterministic theories in a few areas, and the frequency-dependent nature of many competitive phenomena has generated interest in game theory. Models in behavioural ecology do more than guide empirical research and stimulate new theory. Models express assumptions and predictions with a clarity that has fostered interdisciplinary discussion of the economics of behaviour7,8. As the number and sophistication of these models increase, Lendrem’s book will prove a valuable first step for most students.
Thomas Caraco Department of Biological Sctences, StateUniversity of NewYork,Albany, NewYork 12222,USA.
References 1 Fretwell, S.D. (1972) Populations Princeton Seasonal Environment,
in a
University Press 2 Steohens. D.W. and Krebs. J.R. (1986) Foraging Theory, Princeton University Press 3 Gill, F.B. and Wolf, L.L. (1975) Ecology 56,333-345 4 Pyke, G.H. (1979)Am. Nat. 114,131-145 5 Davies, N.B. and Houston, A.I. (1981) J. Anim. Ecol. 50,157-180 6 Houston, A.I., McCleery, R.H. and Davies, N.B. (1985) J. Anim. Ecol. 54, 227-239 7 Fantino, E. and Abarca, N. (1985) Behav. Brain Sci. 8,315-330 8 Kagel, J.H., Green, L. and Caraco, T. (1986) Anim. Behav. 34,271-283
Interdisciplinary Interactions
Predator-Prey Relationships: Perspectives and Approaches from the Study of Lower Vertebrates edited by Martin E. Feder and George V. Lauder, University of Chicago Press, 7986. f27.95 hbk, f70.25 pbk (x + 198 pages) ISBN 0226 23946 2 The modern trend towards specialization has had the result that biologists working on a given type of interaction are often unaware of the approaches and questions being asked by members of a different subdiscipline who work on the same interaction. The editors of this volume are two functional morphologists who, in 1984, organized a symposium on predator-prey rela-
tionships in ‘lower vertebrates’, in an attempt to promote communication between different types of scientists working on this interaction. The articles in their book include most of the symposium papers and one additional work, and the approaches used ranged from neurophysiology to natural history. Sensory physiology, functional morphology and organismal metabolism are well represented, while population dynamics is neglected entirely, and only a single article focusses on behavioral ecology. The first section of the book is concerned with physiology and energetics. An article by Gans considers the functional morphology of predator-prey relationships, and Gans illustrates this approach using