The Acoustic Sense of Animals / / William C. Stebbins.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter HUP e-dition: Complete eBook Package
• VerfasserIn: Stebbins, William C.,
• Place / Publishing House: Cambridge, MA : : Harvard University Press, , [2013]; ©1983
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Edition: Reprint 2014
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (168 p.) :; illustrations

This immensely readable introduction to animal acoustics explains not only how animals hear but why they listen. It is a unique blend of audition, auditory anatomy, physics of sound, and methods of psychophysics, combined with behavior, natural history, and evolution. The Acoustic Sense of Animals is ideal for graduate and undergraduate courses, and for professionals in fields such as sensory physiology and animal behavior. In his broadly comparative approach, Stebbins explores the function of hearing for each animal in its particular ecological setting and the significance of communication for members of a species. He renders the evolution of hearing with special emphasis on the peripheral auditory system and basic auditory function. Although ample evidence is brought to bear, both from the laboratory and from field studies, the book is not burdened with excessive detail. The writing is crisp, and the references are tailored to those most useful for nonspecialists. The Acoustic Sense of Animals covers a complex field with balance and clarity within a solid evolutionary framework. Equally important, it conveys the controversy and excitement that will motivate students.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- CONTENTS -- 1. SOUND AND HEARING -- 2. INSECTS: THE AUDIBLE INVERTEBRATES -- 3. THE ENIGMATIC FISHES -- 4. AMPHIBIANS, REPTILES, AND BIRDS -- 5. THE TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS -- 6. AERIAL AND AQUATIC MAMMALS -- 7. THE DISCRIMINATING PRIMATES -- 8. EPILOGUE -- SUGGESTED READINGS -- ILLUSTRATION CREDITS -- Index