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

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108810551 ISBN 13: 9781108810555

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2019

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 this title

Book Description:

Based on 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, physiological and cognitive.

About the Author:

Isabella B. R. Scheiber is a visiting researcher at the Behavioural Ecology and Self-Organization Group of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and an Associate Scientist at the Konrad Lorenz Research Station (KLF), Grünau, Austria.

Brigitte M. Weiß is a visiting researcher at the Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany and an associate scientist at the KLF, Grünau, Austria.

Josef Hemetsberger is a scientist at the Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, and the KLF, Grünau, Austria.

Kurt Kotrschal is Professor of Zoology at the Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, and Director of the KLF, Grünau, Austria.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1108810551
• ISBN 13: 9781108810555
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 255
• Editor: Scheiber Isabella B. R., Weiß Brigitte M., Hemetsberger Josef, Kotrschal Kurt