Graeme D. Ruxton

Nick Colegrave

Written primarily for mid-to-upper level undergraduates, this compelling introduction to power analysis offers a clear, conceptual understanding of the factors that influence statistical power, as well as guidance on improving and presenting the outcomes of power analyses to justify experimental design decisions.

An Introduction for the Life Sciences

Power Analysis

H. Martin Schaefer

Communication is an essential factor underpinning the interactions between species and the structure of their communities. Plant-animal interactions are particularly diverse due to the complex nature of their mutualistic and antagonistic relationships. However the evolution of communication and the underlying mechanisms responsible remain poorly understood. Plant-Animal Communication is a timely summary of the latest research and ideas on the ecological and evolutionary foundations of communication between plants and animals, including discussions of fundamental concepts such as deception, reliability, and camouflage. It introduces how the sensory world of animals shapes the various modes of communication employed, laying out the basics of vision, scent, acoustic, and gustatory communication. Subsequent chapters discuss how plants communicate in these sensory modes to attract animals to facilitate seed dispersal, pollination, and carnivory, and how they communicate to defend themselves against herbivores. Potential avenues for productive theoretical and empirical research are clearly identified, and suggestions for novel empirical approaches to the study of communication in general are outlined.

Plant-Animal Communication

Thomas N. Sherratt

William L. Allen

Michael P. Speed

Avoiding Attack discusses the diversity of mechanisms by which prey avoid predator attacks and explores how such defensive mechanisms have evolved through natural selection. It considers how potential prey avoid detection, how they make themselves unprofitable to attack, how they communicate this status, and how other species have exploited these signals. Using carefully selected examples of camouflage, mimicry, and warning signals drawn from a wide range of species and ecosystems, the authors summarise the latest research into these fascinating adaptations, developing mathematical models where appropriate and making recommendations for future study. This second edition has been extensively rewritten, particularly in the application of modern genetic research techniques which have transformed our recent understanding of adaptations in evolutionary genomics and phylogenetics. The book also employs a more integrated and systematic approach, ensuring that each chapter has a broader focus on the evolutionary and ecological consequences of anti-predator adaptation. The field has grown and developed considerably over the last decade with an explosion of new research literature, making this new edition timely.

The Evolutionary Ecology of Crypsis, Aposematism, and Mimicry

Avoiding Attack

Eben Goodale

Guy Beauchamp

Mixed-Species Groups of Animals: Behavior, Community Structure, and Conservation presents a comprehensive discussion on the mixed-species groups of animals, a spectacular and accessible example of the complexity of species interactions. They are found in a wide range of animals, including invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds, and in different habitats, both terrestrial and aquatic, throughout the world. While there are more than 500 articles on this subject scattered in separate categories of journals, there has yet to be a general, cross-taxa book-length introduction to this subject that summarizes the behavior and community structure of these groups. The authors first survey the diversity of spatial associations among animals and then concentrate on moving groups. They review the major classes of theories that have been developed to explain their presence, particularly in how groups increase foraging efficiency and decrease predation. Finally, they explore the intricacies of species interactions, such as communication, that explain species roles in groups and discuss what implications these social systems have for conservation. Functions as a single resource for readers inside and outside of academia on mixed-species groups, serving as a foundation for future research in this field Begins with an empirical summary of mixed-species distribution and reviews how the theories explaining their adaptive benefits are supported by the evidence Includes many aspects of mixed-group behavior (e.g. foraging, communication, collective decision-making, dominance, social roles of species and leadership, relationship to conservation) that were not previously or easily accessible

Behavior, Community Structure, and Conservation

Mixed-Species Groups of Animals

Experimental Design for the Life Sciences explains how to organise experiments and collect data to make analysis easier, and conclusions more robust. An approachable and articulate style conveys even the most challenging concepts in clear and practical terms, showing how experimental design is about clear thinking and biological understanding, not mathematical or statistical complexity.

Graeme D. Ruxton

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