The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle
Since the time of Darwin, altruism and other forms of cooperation have puzzled evolutionary biologists. Several theories have been proposed to explain these behaviors, but each has weaknesses in the framework of traditional natural selection. The Zahavis, working with babblers (group-living birds), developed the handicap principle and signal selection to explain these apparent paradoxes. (Their theory proposes that when an animal behaves altruistically, it does so to increase its status within its group as a partner or rival.) This book presents their evidence, elaborated in many technical papers since the 1970s, to explain such behaviors in babblers and such diverse organisms as slime molds, social insects, peafowl, and human children playing tag. The handicap principle is an important new theory that explains many seemingly diverse problems in evolutionary biology. This book is highly readable yet rigorous enough for specialists. Essential for any academic collection and worthwhile for general collections.?Bruce D. Neville, Univ. of New Mexico Lib., AlbuquerqueCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.