Animal Intelligence : From Individual to Social Cognition

Animals are constantly being challenged with on-the-spot decisions. Animal Intelligence presents a unified approach to studying all these questions. Written in an accessible and charming style, and with undergraduate and graduate students in mind, this book should be read by anyone with an interest in the world of animal behaviour.

From ants to whales, the lives of animals are filled with challenges that demand minute-by-minute decisions: to fight or flee, dominate or obey, take-off, share, eat, spit out or court. Learning develops adaptive tuning to a changeable environment, while intelligence helps animals use their learned experiences in new situations. Using examples from field to laboratory, Animal Intelligence pools resources from ethology, behavioural ecology and comparative psychology to help the reader enter the world of wild intelligence through the analysis of adventures, of ideas and methods, rather than through theoretic modelling. It reminds us that there is a world of intellectual biodiversity out there, providing a multi-faceted panorama of animal intelligence. Written in an accessible and charming style, and with undergraduate and graduate students in mind, this book should be read by anyone with an interest in the world of animal behaviour.