Perspectives in Ethology

One of the attractive features of the great classical ethologists was their readiness to ask different kinds of questions about behavior - and to do so without muddling the answers. Niko Tinbergen, for instance, was interested in the evolution of behavior. But he also had interests in the present-day sur vival value of a behavior pattern and in the mechanisms that control it from moment to moment. Broad as his interests were, he clearly separated out the problems and recognized that questions about the history, function, control, and development of behavior require distinct approaches - even though the answers to one type of question may aid in finding answers to another. The open-minded (and clear-headed) style of ethologists like Tinbergen was based on a recognition that there are diverse ways of usefully con ducting research on behavior. This consciousness has been partially sub merged in recent years by new waves of narrowly focused enthusiasm. For instance, the study of the behavior of whole animals without recourse to lower levels of analysis, and the treatment of sociobiological theories as ex planation for how individuals develop, has meant that the relatively fragile plants of neuroethology and behavioral ontogeny have almost disappeared under the flood.

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1 The Nature and Description of Behavior Patterns.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. Describing Behavior: Two Methods or One?.- IV. The Domains of Regularity.- A. Location in Space.- B. Orientation to the Environment.- C. Topography of the Animal.- D. Intrinsic Properties of the Animal.- E. Changes Effected in the Physical Environment.- F. A Note on Context.- V. Natural Units of Behavior.- A. The Existence of Natural Units.- B. The Role of the Describer.- C. The Level and Scope of the Unit.- VI. The Description of Behavior Patterns.- A. The Selection of Domains.- B. The Selection of Regularities and Specific Features.- C. The Objectivity of Pure Description.- VII. Conclusions.- VIII. Summary.- IX. Acknowledgments.- X. References.- 2 Individual Differences in Animal Behavior.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. Differences in Feeding Behavior.- IV. Strategies of Behavior.- V. Communication of Identity.- VI. Model Action Patterns.- VII. Adaptiveness or Noise?.- VIII. Conclusion.- IX. Acknowledgments.- X. References.- 3 Toward a Falsifiable Theory of Evolution.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. The Tautology of Evolutionary Biology.- IV. The Tautology in Behaviorism.- V. A Resolution of the Tautology.- VI. Some Concluding Remarks.- VII. Acknowledgments.- VIII. References.- 4 Evolutionary, Proximate, and Functional Primate Social Ecology.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. Evolutionary Social Ecology.- IV. Proximate Social Ecology.- V. Functional Social Ecology.- VI. Interdigitation of Evolutionary, Proximate, and Functional Social Ecology.- VII. Acknowledgments.- VIII. References.- 5 Social Structure and Individual Ontogenies: Problems of Description, Mechanism, and Evolution.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. Ontogenetic Trajectories.- IV. Homeostasis or Steady State?.- V. Evolution of Maturational Controls.- VI. Conclusion.- VII. Acknowledgments.- VIII. Appendix.- IX. References.- 6 On a Possible Relation Between Cultural Transmission and Genetical Evolution.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. Components of Intelligence.- IV. Habit and Instinct.- V. Assimilative Selection.- VI. Evolution of Intelligence.- VII. Acknowledgments.- VIII. References.- 7 The Behavior of Organisms, as it is Linked to Genes and Populations.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. Integrative Levels in Biology.- IV. Behavior: The Interaction of the Organism with Its Environment.- V. Integrative Levels in the Evolutionary Process.- VI. Acknowledgments.- VII. References.- 8 From Causations to Translations: What Biochemists can Contribute to the Study of Behavior.- I. Abstract.- II. On Levels of Analysis.- III. The Objects of Behavioral Study.- IV. The Inadequacy of Systems Approaches.- V. The Hazards of Reification.- VI. The Reductionist Fallacy.- VII. Springing the Trap?.- VIII. From Causes to Translations.- IX. Theory into Practice.- X. Acknowledgments.- XI. References.- 9 Behavior and the Physical World of an Animal.- I. Abstract.- II. The Parameters of Concern.- III. The Physical World Comes First.- IV. Size and the Physical World.- V. Behavior and the Flow of Fluids.- VI. Remarks in Conclusion.- VII. References.- 10 Escalated Fighting and the War of Nerves: Games Theory and Animal Combat.- I. Abstract.- II. Introduction.- III. Escalation in Contests.- IV. Games Theory and Animal Contests.- A. Some Basic Ideas.- B. A Simple Model: The War of Attrition.- C. Models with Escalation.- D. Hawks and Doves.- E. Explanation by Models.- F. A Benefit of Destructive Combat?.- G. The War of Nerves.- H. Is Risk Important?.- I. Contests with Small Injuries.- J. Contests as Random Walks.- V. Discussion.- VI. Acknowledgments.- VII. References.- 11 Science and the Law: A Muddled Interface.