Behavioural Responses to a Changing World

Human-induced environmental change currently represents the single greatest threat to global biodiversity. Species are typically adapted to the local environmental conditions in which they have evolved. Changes in environmental conditions initially influence behaviour, which in turn affects species interactions, population dynamics, evolutionary processes and, ultimately, biodiversity. How animals respond to changed conditions, and how this influences population viability, is an area of growing research interest. Yet, despite the vital links between environmental change, behaviour, and population dynamics, surprisingly little has been done to bridge these areas of research. Behavioural Responses to a Changing World is the first book of its kind devoted to understanding behavioural responses to environmental change. The volume is comprehensive in scope, discussing impacts on both the mechanisms underlying behavioural processes, as well as the longer-term ecological and evolutionary consequences. Drawing on international experts from across the globe, the book covers topics as diverse as endocrine disruption, learning, reproduction, migration, species interactions, and evolutionary rescue.Foreword ; Introduction ; PART I: MECHANISMS ; 1. Understanding behavioural responses and their consequences ; 2. Environmental disturbance and animal communication ; 3. The endocrine system: can homeostasis be maintained in a changing world? ; 4. Experience and learning in changing environments ; PART II: RESPONSES ; 5. Dispersal ; 6. Migration ; 7. Foraging ; 8. Reproductive behaviour ; 9. Social behaviour ; 10. Species interactions ; PART III: IMPLICATIONS ; 11. Behavioural plasticity and environmental change ; 12. Population consequences of individual variation in behaviour ; 13. Ecosystem consequences of behavioural plasticity and contemporary evolution ; 14. The role of behavioural variation in the invasion of new areas ; 15. Sexual selection in changing environments: consequences for individuals and populations ; 16. Evolutionary rescue under environmental change? ; 17. Ecotourism, wildlife management, and behavioural biologists: changing minds for conservation ; Index