The Social Life of Greylag Geese: Patterns, Mechanisms and Evolutionary Function in an Avian Model System

ISBN 10: 052182270X / ISBN 13: 9780521822701

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2013

About this Item

no dust jacket as issued No dust jacket. Very Good hardcover with light shelfwear - NICE! Standard-sized.

Seller Inventory # mon0000275013

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Social Life of Greylag Geese: Patterns, Mechanisms and Evolutionary Function in an Avian Model System
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052182270X
• ISBN 13: 9780521822701
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

The flock of greylag geese established by Konrad Lorenz in Austria in 1973 has become an influential model animal system and one of the few worldwide with complete life-history data spanning several decades. Based on the unique records of nearly 1000 free-living greylag geese, this is a synthesis of more than twenty years of behavioural research. It provides a comprehensive overview of a complex bird society, placing it in an evolutionary framework and drawing on a range of approaches, including behavioural (personality, aggression, pair bonding and clan formation), physiological, cognitive and genetic. With contributions from leading researchers, the chapters provide valuable insight into historic and recent research on the social behaviour of geese. All aspects of goose and bird sociality are discussed in the context of parallels with mammalian social organisation, making this a fascinating resource for anyone interested in integrative approaches to vertebrate social systems.

About the Authors

Isabella B. R. Scheiber is a visiting researcher at the Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization Group of Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands, and an Associate Scientist at Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle, Austria.

Brigitte M. Weiß is a visiting researcher at the Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany and an associate scientist at Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle, Austria.

Josef Hemetsberger is a scientist at the Department of Behavioural Biology, Universität Wien, Austria, and Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle, Austria.

Kurt Kotrschal is Professor of Zoology at the Department of Behavioural Biology, Universität Wien, Austria, and Director of Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle, Austria.