Bøger af Scott Forbes

Why do baby sharks, hyenas, and pelicans kill their siblings? Why do beetles and mice commit infanticide? Why are twins and birth defects more common in older human mothers? A Natural History of Families concisely examines what behavioral ecologists have discovered about family dynamics and what these insights might tell us about human biology and behavior. Scott Forbes's engaging account describes an uneasy union among family members in which rivalry for resources often has dramatic and even fatal consequences. In nature, parents invest resources and control the allocation of resources among their offspring to perpetuate their genetic lineage. Those families sometimes function as cooperative units, the nepotistic and loving havens we choose to identify with. In the natural world, however, dysfunctional familial behavior is disarmingly commonplace. While explaining why infanticide, fratricide, and other seemingly antisocial behaviors are necessary, Forbes also uncovers several surprising applications to humans. Here the conflict begins in the moments following conception as embryos struggle to wrest control of pregnancy from the mother, and to wring more nourishment from her than she can spare, thus triggering morning sickness, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Mothers, in return, often spontaneously abort embryos with severe genetic defects, allowing for prenatal quality control of offspring. Using a broad sweep of entertaining examples culled from the world of animals and humans, A Natural History of Families is a lively introduction to the behavioral ecology of the family.

For at bliver dinosaurjæger skal du være klar til at rejse i både tid og sted. Denne bog vil guide dig til fjerne dele af verden og vise dig, hvor og hvordan du finder levn af dinosaurer – lige fra knogler og tænder til æg og fodspor. Den vil også føre dig langt tilbage i tiden for at undersøge, hvor og hvordan dinosaurerne levede – og lade dig møde nogle af de største, farligste og mærkeligste dyr, der nogensinde har eksisteret.Her er et par eksempler på, hvad du kan lære her i bogen:at klæde dig som dinosaurjægeridentificere en dinosaurfinde klipper fyldt med fossilergrave knogler opgenskabe et skeletog meget meget mere…Bogen er for alle nysgerrige børn, der har lyst til at lære mere om fortidens store dyr.