Animal Communication Networks

This book is about how and why animals communicate. It summarises research progress and prospects in the rapidly expanding topic of animal communication networks. Covering several different animal groups and types of signal, it also highlights research at the interface with other disciplines (for example, psychology and physiology).

Most animal communication has evolved and now takes place in the context of a communication network, i.e. several signallers and receivers within communication range of each other. This idea follows naturally from the observation that many signals travel further than the average spacing between animals. This is self evidently true for long-range signals, but at a high density the same is true for short-range signals (e.g. begging calls of nestling birds). This book provides a current summary of research on communication networks and appraises future prospects. It combines information from studies of several taxonomic groups (insects to people via fiddler crabs, fish, frogs, birds and mammals) and several signalling modalities (visual, acoustic and chemical signals). It also specifically addresses the many areas of interface between communication networks and other disciplines (from the evolution of human charitable behaviour to the psychophysics of signal perception, via social behaviour, physiology and mathematical models).

This book is about how and why animals communicate. It summarises research progress and prospects in the rapidly expanding topic of animal communication networks. Covering several different animal groups and types of signal, it also highlights research at the interface with other disciplines (for example, psychology and physiology).

This book demonstrates the application of network theory to the social organization of animals.

This book explores the strikingly similar ways in which information is encoded in nonverbal man-made signals (e.g., traffic lights and tornado sirens) and animal-evolved signals (e.g., color patterns and vocalizations). The book also considers some coding principles for reducing certain unwanted redundancies and explains how desirable redundancies enhance communication reliability. Jack Hailman believes this work pioneers several aspects of analyzing human and animal communication. The book is the first to survey man-made signals as a class. It is also the first to compare such human-devised systems with signaling in animals by showing the highly similar ways in which the two encode information. A third innovation is generalizing principles of quantitative information theory to apply to a broad range of signaling systems. Finally, another first is distinguishing among types of redundancy and their separation into unwanted and desirable categories. This remarkably novel book will be of interest to a wide readership. Appealing not only to specialists in semiotics, animal behavior, psychology, and allied fields but also to general readers, it serves as an introduction to animal signaling and to an important class of human communication.

A valuable overview and analysis of foundational concepts in animal behaviour studies, including information, meaning, communication, signals and cues. Its comprehensive introduction and numerous illustrations will make it accessible to students and researchers from a wide variety of academic backgrounds, ranging from ethology and evolutionary biology to philosophy of mind.

This volume explains the key ideas, questions and methods involved in studying the hidden world of vibrational communication in animals. The authors dispel the notion that this form of communication is difficult to study and show how vibrational signaling is a key to social interactions in species that live in contact with a substrate, whether it be a grassy lawn, a rippling stream or a tropical forest canopy. This ancient and widespread form of social exchange is also remarkably understudied. A frontier in animal behavior, it offers unparalleled opportunities for discovery and for addressing general questions in communication and social evolution. In addition to reviews of advances made in the study of several animal taxa, this volume also explores topics such as vibrational communication networks, the interaction of acoustic and vibrational communication, the history of the field, the evolution of signal production and reception and establishing a common vocabulary.

How can we explain the peacock's beautiful tail decorations, or the wonderful song of the nightingale? Why are some smells nice and others nasty? How do animals signal their intentions and qualities to potential partners? How do offspring tell parents about their needs? Are signals tuned to the environment, and to the mental abilities of receivers? Essential for understanding how animals cope with their ecological and social environment, the study of animal signals is one of the most active research areas in evolutionary biology. Understanding the signalling systems of nature has wide-ranging relevance including biological conservation and human communication. Written by international scientists, this is a comprehensive overview of the fascinating diversity of animal signals and signalling functions. Combining reviews and research, the book is aimed at both students and professional scientists.