Intraspecific Variation in the Social Systems of Wild Vertebrates (Cambridge Studies in Behavioural Biology)

It is often assumed by those studying animal behavior that the social system adopted by a species is a fixed product of natural selection. There is now an interesting body of evidence that this is not always the case, & that alternative forms of social organization may be adopted according to circumstances. Examples could be species in which some individuals or populations are monogamous while others are polygynous or polyandrous; species in which individuals are territorial under some circumstances & organized by dominance under others; or species in which the young are cared for only by their parents in some cases or at other times by older siblings. Dale Lott has assembled behavioral research in this fascinating field to create a contemporary overview of our current understanding of this phenomenon. This report has implications for the study of social systems in general & for the conservation & management of animals.Dale F. Lott is the author of 'Intraspecific Variation in the Social Systems of Wild Vertebrates (Cambridge Studies in Behavioural Biology)', published 1991 under ISBN 9780521370240 and ISBN 0521370248.