Behavioral Ecology of Tropical Birds

by Bridget J.M. Stutchbury, Eugene S. Morton

Overview

Behavioral Ecology of Tropical Birds, Second Edition provides the most updated and comprehensive review on the evolution of behavior in tropical landbirds. The book reviews gaps in our knowledge that were identified twenty years ago when the first edition was published, highlights recent discoveries that have filled those gaps, and identifies new areas in urgent need of study. It covers key topics, including timing of breeding, movement ecology, life history traits, slow vs. fast pace of life, mating systems, mate choice, territoriality, communication, biotic interactions, and conservation.

Written by international experts on the behavior of tropical birds, the book explores why the tropics is a unique natural laboratory to study the evolution of bird behavior and why temperate zone species are so different. A recent surge of studies on tropical birds has helped to reduce the temperate zone bias that arose because most avian model species in behavioral ecology were adapted to northern temperate climates. This is an important resource for researchers, ecologists and conservationists who want to understand the rich and complex evolutionary history of avian behavior.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780128238141
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	09/29/2022
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Bridget Stutchbury is a Distinguished Research Professor of Biology at York University in Toronto, Canada. She is an internationally recognized expert on songbird behavior, migration, and conservation. She and her graduate students have studied mating systems, communication, and territory defense in a range of resident passerines in Panama, as well as the non-breeding ecology of migrants in Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica. She has also published numerous papers on the behavioral ecology of temperate-breeding passerines and she pioneered the use of light-level geolocators to track start-to-finish long distance migration of small birds. Dr. Stutchbury is the recipient of numerous research awards, including a Canada Research Chair award, the Margaret Morse Nice Award for lifetime achievement from the Wilson Ornithological Society, the Elliott Coues Award for outstanding and innovative contributions to ornithological research from the American Ornithological Society, and the Jamie Smith Memorial Mentoring Award from the Society of Canadian Ornithology.

Eugene Morton is a Senior Scientist Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. He received his PhD in Evolutionary Biology from Yale University. He has written several books on avian communication. He has studied tropical birds since 1964, chiefly in Panama, but also in Mexico, Cuba, and Venezuela. His tropical research has focused on frugivory, vocal communication and the winter ecology of migrants. Dr. Morton has worked extensively on both Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds and tropical birds, giving him a unique perspective on the evolution of the bird behavior. Dr. Morton was awarded the William Brewster Medal for his exceptional body of work on birds of the Western Hemisphere from the American Ornithological Society. He has served on the boards on numerous bird and conservation associations and was once President of the Association of Field Ornithologists.

Table of Contents

1. Why are tropical birds interesting? 2. Breeding seasons 3. Life history traits 4. Pace of life 5. Mating systems and mate choice 6. Territoriality 7. Migration and movement behavior 8. Communication 9. Biotic Interactions 10. Conservation and behavior 11. Conclusion: Is the temperate zone bias still a problem?

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The only book that provides a broad review of the behavioral ecology of tropical landbirds

Editorial Reviews

This is a stimulating book and a rich source of research ideas written at a level suitable for undergraduates...
—Ibis

Jeremy Lindsell

The principal strength of this book is the authors' breadth of experience, which provides credibility to their claims. ...I recomm<%END%> Behavioral Ecology of Tropical Birds to budding behavioral ecologists who are on the prowl for research topics that may alter the directions of the field, and to ecologists in the temperate zone who wonder why their colleagues go to the bother and expense of mounting behavioral research projects in the tropics.
—Ecology

Tom A. Langen

This original and valuable book will help to broaden the understanding of avian ecology throughout the world.

D. Flaspohler

"This original and valuable book will help to broaden the understanding of avian ecology throughout the world." —D. Flaspohler, Michigan Technical University, in CHOICE (January 2002)

“This is a stimulating book and a rich source of research ideas written at a level suitable for undergraduates..." —Jeremy Lindsell in IBIS (2001)

"The principal strength of this book is the authors' breadth of experience, which provides credibility to their claims. ...I recommend Behavioral Ecology of Tropical Birds to budding behavioral ecologists who are on the prowl for research topics that may alter the directions of the field, and to ecologists in the temperate zone who wonder why their colleagues go to the bother and expense of mounting behavioral research projects in the tropics." —Tom A. Langen, Clarkson University, in ECOLOGY (November 2001)

From the Publisher