Escaping From Predators: An Integrative View of Escape Decisions

When a predator attacks, prey are faced with a series of 'if', 'when' and 'how' escape decisions – these critical questions are the foci of this book. Cooper and Blumstein bring together a balance of theory and empirical research to summarise over fifty years of scattered research and benchmark current thinking in the rapidly expanding literature on the behavioural ecology of escaping. The book consolidates current and new behaviour models with taxonomically divided empirical chapters that demonstrate the application of escape theory to different groups. The chapters integrate behaviour with physiology, genetics and evolution to lead the reader through the complex decisions faced by prey during a predator attack, examining how these decisions interact with life history and individual variation. The chapter on best practice field methodology and the ideas for future research presented throughout, ensure this volume is practical as well as informative.

About the Author

William E. Cooper, Jr is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, and a Research Associate in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at University of Arizona. A behavioural ecologist by background, he has over thirty-five years of teaching and research experience in behaviour, ecology and evolution. He has specialised in escape behaviour for the past twenty years, with particular interest in reptilian behaviour.

Daniel T. Blumstein is Professor and Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Professor in UCLA's Institute of Environment and Sustainability. He has studied animal behaviour throughout the world, with research focusing on the evolution of social and antipredator behaviour and the effects that mechanisms of behaviour have on higher-level ecological processes and for wildlife conservation.