[PDF] Cognition Mediated Coevolution eBook

Author : Sharoni Shafir
Publisher :
Page : 15 pages
File Size : 21,77 MB
Release : 2011
Category :
ISBN :

GET BOOK

Abstract. In this paper we emphasize the role of pollinator perception and decision-making processes in mediating floral nectar distribution strategies. Since pollinator choice behavior is guided by how the pollinator perceives and evaluates floral rewards, we hypothesize that plants have evolved strategies that maximize their perceived profitability, through pollinator cognition-mediated co-evolution. We focus on two classes of cognitive phenomena, context dependent evaluations and risk-sensitivity. These phenomena are of interest to psychologists and biologists. Our paper is an attempt to show the value of cross-disciplinary exchange of theories and ideas. A review of the ecology literature suggests that pollinators evaluate variability in nectar volume in proportion to the mean, and thus choice behavior is guided by the coefficient of variation (standard deviation/mean) of the distribution. This functional relationship is predicted by Weber's law, which describes a wide range of psychophysical phenomena. Simulations show that this phenomenon also affects how pollinators perceive skewed nectar distributions. Cognition-mediated co-evolution theory should be a fruitful approach to understanding the evolution of pollinator-plant interactions.

Author : Alice Travis
Publisher : Universal-Publishers
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 17,63 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 1581129815

GET BOOK

In a bold, reasoned, and meticulously researched knowledge leap, Cognitive Evolution erases the demarcation between life and intelligent life, deciphers the concepts of intelligence and cognition, and moves our kind to the precipices of digitizing the anatomical gnome of reason. Cognitive Evolution suggests that the high order mental behaviors of Homo sapiens are rooted in the same biology as the moth's attraction to light, worker bees' foreknowledge of their assignments, ants' knowledge of the mechanics to execute the architectural design of an ant hill, or a female cat's instinct to open the umbilical sack after giving birth. Author Alice Travis ponders, "If we begin with what we accept to be intelligent life, at what point does life become non-intelligent?" It was the recognition that there is no such point that gave birth to Cognitive Evolution, and its groundbreaking interpretation of intelligence. Electronic ebook edition available. Click on Diesel ebooks logo to the left.

Author : Joan M. Lucariello
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 287 pages
File Size : 18,22 MB
Release : 2004-07-19
Category : Family & Relationships
ISBN : 1135626731

GET BOOK

In this work the contributors examine ways in which cognition is embedded in everyday, meaningful activities and the role of social context and cultural symbol symptoms, such as language and text influence children's developing concepts and thought.

Author : Peter J.B. Slater
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 517 pages
File Size : 28,83 MB
Release : 2005-01-30
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 0080490158

GET BOOK

The aim of Advances in the Study of Behavior is to serve scientists engaged in the study of animal behavior, including psychologists, neuroscientists, biologists, ethologists, pharmacologists, endocrinologists, ecologists, and geneticists. Articles in the series present critical reviews of significant research programs with theoretical syntheses, reformulation of persistent problems, and/or highlighting new and exciting research concepts. Volume 34 is purely eclectic and illustrates the breadth of behavior research. Contents include sexual conflict among insects, the evolution of sexual cannibalism, odor processing and activity patterns in honeybees, hormone secretion in vertebrates, bird song organization, food transfer in primates, game theory approaches to mutualism, as well as neural mechanisms of learning and memory and how these change during infant development.

Author : Carlos M. Herrera
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 449 pages
File Size : 30,67 MB
Release : 2009-11-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 0226327957

GET BOOK

Plants produce a considerable number of structures of one kind, like leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, and this reiteration is a quintessential feature of the body plan of higher plants. But since not all structures of the same kind produced by a plant are identical—for instance, different branches on a plant may be male or female, leaf sizes in the sun differ from those in the shade, and fruit sizes can vary depending on patterns of physiological allocation among branches—a single plant genotype generally produces a multiplicity of phenotypic versions of the same organ. Multiplicity in Unity uses this subindividual variation to deepen our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary factors involved in plant-animal interactions. On one hand, phenotypic variation at the subindividual scale has diverse ecological implications for animals that eat plants. On the other hand, by choosing which plants to consume, these animals may constrain or modify plant ontogenetic patterns, developmental stability, and the extent to which feasible phenotypic variants are expressed by individuals. An innovative study of the ecology, morphology, and evolution of modular organisms, Multiplicity in Unity addresses a topic central to our understanding of the diversity of life and the ways in which organisms have coevolved to cope with variable environments.

Author : Joseph Seckbach
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 509 pages
File Size : 50,72 MB
Release : 2010-10-11
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9048193168

GET BOOK

This new book takes us through a journey from early life to modern agriculture. The thirty eight authors present current studies on the interrelation of plants-animals. This topic has always fascinated man, as evidenced even by the first chapters of Genesis. The world of aqueous and terrestrial fauna appeared on early earth only after the flora covered the areas with the green pigmentation. Almost all life depends upon sunlight via the photosynthesis of the botanical world. We read abut the harnessing of bee pollination of crops to make it an essential component of modern agriculture endeavor. Some plants seduce insects for pollination by their appearance (e.g., disguised orchids entice visitors); there is the production of sweet nectar as a bribe in flowers to attract bees, butterflies, and honey-sucking birds. A particular outstanding phenomena are the carnivorous plants that have developed trapping and digesting systems of insects and higher animals.

Author : Jamal Uddin
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 462 pages
File Size : 29,27 MB
Release : 2012-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9535106643

GET BOOK

In the last few decades, Spectroscopy and its application dramatically diverted science in the direction of brand new era. This book reports on recent progress in spectroscopic technologies, theory and applications of advanced spectroscopy. In this book, we (INTECH publisher, editor and authors) have invested a lot of effort to include 20 most advanced spectroscopy chapters. We would like to invite all spectroscopy scientists to read and share the knowledge and contents of this book. The textbook is written by international scientists with expertise in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, Biology and Nanotechnology many of which are active in research. We hope that the textbook will enhance the knowledge of scientists in the complexities of some spectroscopic approaches; it will stimulate both professionals and students to dedicate part of their future research in understanding relevant mechanisms and applications of chemistry, physics and material sciences.

Author : Pat Willmer
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 790 pages
File Size : 48,17 MB
Release : 2011-07-25
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0691128618

GET BOOK

Pollination and Floral Ecology is a very comprehensive reference work to all aspects of pollination biology.

Author : Lars Chittka
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 360 pages
File Size : 32,17 MB
Release : 2005-08-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780521018401

GET BOOK

Important breakthroughs have recently been made in our understanding of the cognitive and sensory abilities of pollinators, such as how pollinators perceive, memorize, and react to floral signals and rewards; how they work flowers, move among inflorescences, and transport pollen. These new findings have obvious implications for the evolution of floral display and diversity, but most existing publications are scattered across a wide range of journals in very different research traditions. This book brings together outstanding scholars from many different fields of pollination biology, integrating the work of neuroethologists and evolutionary ecologists to present a multidisciplinary approach.

Author : Edward O. Wilson
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 746 pages
File Size : 39,21 MB
Release : 2006-03
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780801883293

GET BOOK

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson is one of the leading biologists and philosophical thinkers of our time. In this compelling collection, Wilson's observations range from the tiny glands of ants to the nature of the living universe. Many of the pieces are considered landmarks in evolutionary biology, ecology, and behavioral biology. Wilson explores topics as diverse as slavery in ants, the genetic basis of societal structure, the discovery of the taxon cycle, the original formulation of the theory of island biogeography, a critique of subspecies as a unit of classification, and the conservation of life's diversity. Each article is presented in its original form, dating from Wilson's first published article in 1949 to his most recent exploration of the natural world. Preceding each piece is a brief essay by Wilson that explains the context in which the article was written and provides insights into the scientist himself and the debates of the time. This collection enables us to share Wilson's various vantage points and to view the complexities of nature through his eyes. Wilson aficionados, along with readers discovering his work for the first time, will find in this collection a world of beauty, complexity, and challenge.