Adfærdsbiologi og dyrs opførsel

First published in 1985, Behaviour Analysis and Contemporary Psychology presents chapters from the first European Meeting on the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour. The book is divided into six parts and provides a useful account of issues and work in behaviour analysis by both European and North American contributors at the time.

2020 Reprint of the 1952 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. The book's title refers to the legendary Seal of Solomon, a ring that supposedly gave King Solomon the power to speak to animals. Lorenz claims that he likewise achieved this feat of communication with several species. He accomplished this by raising them in and around his home and observing their behavior. King Solomon's Ring describes the methods of his investigation, and his resulting findings about animal psychology. Lorenz's findings include the surprisingly refined social system of the common Eurasian jackdaw, the uncanny behavior and bodily features of the tiny water shrew, and the surprisingly complex interactions of seemingly unintelligent aquarium fish. He interlards his narrative with anecdotes based on his unusual methods, without which he could not have made many of his observations.King Solomon's Ring dispels several common misconceptions about animals' intelligence, but at the same time points out many of their similarities with humans, although some of these similarities come from speculative extrapolations (in fact, Lorenz has been criticized for excessive anthropomorphism). King Solomon's Ring also addresses the issue of keeping pets. Lorenz praises the benefits that a pet owner derives from his pet, however, he also describes the hazards that an animal can pose to the inhabitants and material contents of a house, and the ways in which a pet's captivity can make it miserable, and explains how to avoid each of these causes for discontent. A few of the findings it presents have found their way into common knowledge since its publication, such as the phenomenon of imprinting.'It is one of the best and most penetrating non-technical books about animals and animal nature that has ever been written ... every sensitive reader will agree that the book is a work of humanity, wisdom and balance as well as of delightful humour.' - W H ThorpeContents: Animals as a nuisance -- Something that does no danage : the aquarium -- Robbery in the aquarium -- Poor fish -- Laughing at animals -- Pitying animals -- Buying animals -- The language of animals -- The taming of the shrew -- The covenant -- The perennial retainers -- Morals and weapons.

Bats are widely distributed and vary enormously in their ecology, sociality, and behavior. They offer diverse cultural and economic contributions to human populations, such as ecotourism, guano, medicinal products, religious significance, and vector control, to name a few. Insectivorous bats consume massive quantities of insects and other arthropods, controlling important agricultural pests and potential disease vectors. Bats feeding on nectar help to maintain diversity in forests through the dispersal of seeds and pollen, essential to many plant species with high economic, biological, and cultural value. At the same time, bats are often associated with zoonotic disease risks, a trend that has been magnified by the global COVID-19 pandemic, although no direct infection from bat to human has been demonstrated. Rapid deforestation is also a major contributing factor to new viral emergences. This book suggests that education is a suitable tool to minimize prejudice against bats and a key step to creating a harmonious coexistence between humans and bats. Chapters address such topics as bats in folklore and culture, bat dispersal patterns, bats in ecosystem management, pesticide exposure risks, roost-tier preference, diversity and conservation, and ecology of white-nose syndrome.

On September 6, 2007, an African Grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age thirty-one. His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were "You be good. I love you."What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex's case, headline news. Over the thirty years they had worked together, Alex and Irene had become famous?two pioneers who opened an unprecedented window into the hidden yet vast world of animal minds. Alex's brain was the size of a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first met, birds were not believed to possess any potential for language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence. Yet, over the years, Alex proved many things. He could add. He could sound out words. He understood concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none. He was capable of thought and intention. Together, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling reality: We live in a world populated by thinking, conscious creatures.The fame that resulted was extraordinary. Yet there was a side to their relationship that never made the papers. They were emotionally connected to one another. They shared a deep bond far beyond science. Alex missed Irene when she was away. He was jealous when she paid attention to other parrots, or even people. He liked to show her who was boss. He loved to dance. He sometimes became bored by the repetition of his tests, and played jokes on her. Sometimes they sniped at each other. Yet nearly every day, they each said, "I love you." Alex and Irene stayed together through thick and thin?despite sneers from experts, extraordinary financial sacrifices, and a nomadic existence from one univer­sity to another. The story of their thirty-year adventure is equally a landmark of scientific achievement and of an unforgettable human-animal bond.

DANSK SALGSTEKST:Bogen handler om, hvordan man kvantitativt kan beskrive dyrs adfærd med henblik på en vægtning af individets og miljøets betydning. Den empiriske basis er en række undersøgelser af hundestejlen (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.), som psykologen Iven Reventlow gennemførte i 1960'erne med assistance fra Jens Mammen og Arne Friemuth Petersen. I undersøgelserne kombinerede Reventlow adfærdsbiologiske og statistiske metoder, og derved kunne han som den første bestemme individ- og miljøparametrene ud fra en arts hanlige adfærdsrepertoire under forplantningen i dens naturlige miljø. Hundestejlens adfærdsrepertoire er relativt enkelt, og dermed er den velegnet til afprøvning af målingsmodeller, som siden kan bruges til arter med mere kompleks adfærd og i sidste instans til at bestemme generelle parametre for vekselvirkning mellem individ og miljø.Af speciel psykologisk-etologisk interesse er Reventlows resultater vedrørende de motivationssystemer, der antages at styre den observerede adfærd. Udover etologiens to primære systemer – for forplantningsadfærd og territorieforsvar – argumenterer Reventlow for eksistensen af et tredje, autonomt system for rede-bygning, -forsvar og -vedligeholdelse. Argumentationen er eksperimentelt begrundet, og det samme er hans beskrivelse af motivationens dynamiske udvikling i tid. Dermed har han muliggjort kvantitative bestemmelser af individparametre og miljøparametre, og disses interaktion, i stedet for de traditionelle statistiske gennemsnit, som har domineret og stadig dominerer eksperimentel etologi og adfærdsforskning.Den statistiske model, som Reventlow anvendte, var udviklet af Georg Rasch. Den svarede dårligt til både den umiddelbare beskrivelse og den teoretiske forståelse af fiskenes adfærd og var beregningsmæssigt tung at arbejde med. Derfor foreslog Reventlow og Mammen en forbedring af modellen, som blev afvist af Rasch. I kommentaren og efterskriften fremlægger Jens Mammen dette forslag til en statistisk model, som hermed er klar til anvendelse på både det gamle og eventuelt nyt empirisk materiale. Modellen lever op til de generelle krav, som især kendes fra dimensionsanalyse i fysikken.Reventlows undersøgelser har ikke opnået den internationale interesse, de fortjener, især fordi de aldrig tidligere er blevet publiceret på engelsk. ENGELSK SALGSTEKST:The book sets out to find descriptive models for hierarchically organized behaviour using the relatively simple behavioural repertoire of the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) as a test case, but with potential generalizations to other species, including humans. In collaboration with statistician Georg Rasch, Reventlow arrived at determining quantitatively, for the first time in the study of behaviour, the relative effect upon a resulting, observed behaviour from the animal’s sensitivity, motivation etc. (individual parameters) on the one hand, and those of the natural environment (milieu parameters) on the other. Of special interest for the psychobiology of sticklebacks are his results concerning the motivational systems, that ethologists presume control two kinds of overt behaviour, as he presents experimentally based arguments for the existence of a third autonomous motivation-system for the male stickleback’s building and maintenance of its nest which, together with the previously established two primary systems for mating and territorial defence, better explains the existing results than the ethologists’ two-system’s motivational hierarchy alone seems to be able to do. As something also new, compared to traditional ethological methods, Reventlow presents a mathematical two-parameter model for the temporal development of motivation during an ongoing activity for the individual fish. The ensuing Commentary and Postscript by Professor Jens Mammen address a number of problems inherent in the employed model and concludes that a ‘waiting-time’ model of the Weibull-type would be more advantageous for calculating the parameters and thereby quantifying the interaction between the individual and the milieu. In fact this issue was intensely debated at the time in connection with the empirical investigations and raised some basic questions about demands to mathematical models and to collaboration between mathematicians and other scientists which were not fulfilled, leading to suboptimal conditions for the research project.In the Postscript possible causes to these problems are discussed, building on available sources, including some biographical material. Also a simple way to use the proposed Weibull-model, applicable on both the original and possible new data, is presented.

In this remarkable groundbreaking book, a documentarian and conservationist, determined to dispel misplaced fear and correct common misconceptions, explores in-depth the secret lives of sharksmagnificent creatures who play an integral part in maintaining the health of the worlds oceans and ultimately the planet.From the Jaws blockbusters to Shark Week, we are conditioned to see sharks as terrifying cold-blooded underwater predators. But as Ocean Guardian founder William McKeever reveals, sharks are evolutionary marvels essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. We can learn much from sharks, he argues, and our knowledge about them continues to grow. The first book to reveal in full the hidden lives of sharks, Emperors of the Deep examines four speciesMako, Tiger, Hammerhead, and Great Whiteas never before, and includes fascinating details such as:Sharks are 50-million years older than trees;Sharks have survived five extinction level events, including the one that killed off the dinosaurs;Sharks have electroreception, a sixth-sense that lets them pick up on electric fields generated by living things;Sharks can dive 4,000 feet below the surface;Sharks account for only 6 human fatalities per year, while humans kill 100 million sharks per year.McKeever goes back through time to probe the sharks pre-historic secrets and how it has become the worlds most feared and most misunderstood predator, and takes us on a pulse-pounding tour around the world and deep under the waters surface, from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to the coral reefs of the tropical Central Pacific, to see sharks up close in their natural habitat. He also interviews ecologists, conservationists, and world-renowned shark experts, including the founders of Greenpeaces Rainbow Warrior, the head of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, and the self-professed last great shark hunter.At once a deep-dive into the misunderstood world of sharks and an urgent call to protect them, Emperors of the Deep celebrates this wild species that hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of the oceanif we can prevent their extinction from climate change and human hunters.

Using data from (non-feeding) field studies the author shows that chimpanzees live peacefully in non-hierarchical groups on home ranges open to all. This highly and necessarily positive mutual dependence system is characteristic of both undisturbed chimpanzees and humans who live by the 'immediate-return' foraging system.