
Optima for Animals
Revised Edition
R. McNeill Alexander(Author)
Princeton University Press
Will be published approx. on 1. December 1996
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-0-691-02798-2 (ISBN)
Description
Optimization theory is designed to find the best ways of doing things. The structures of animals, their movements, their behavior, and their life histories have all been shaped by the optimizing processes of evolution or of learning by trial and error. In this revised edition of R. McNeill Alexander's widely acclaimed Optima for Animals, we see how extraordinarily diverse branches of biology are illuminated by the powerful methods of optimization theory. What is the best strength for a bone? Too weak a bone will probably break but an excessively stout one will be cumbersome. At what speed should humans change from walking to running? Should a bird take only big juicy worms or should it eat every worm it finds, and do birds make the best choices? Why do the males of some species of fishes and the females of others look after the young, while the young of others are looked after by both parents or neither? Is it possible that all these policies can be optimal, in different circumstances? This book shows how these and many other questions can be answered. The mathematics involved is explained very simply, with biology students in mind, but the book is not just for them.
It is also for professionals, ranging from teachers to researchers.
It is also for professionals, ranging from teachers to researchers.
Reviews / Votes
"This is a comprehensively revised edition, now taking in not only optimum structures and movements, but also the games theory of animal behaviour strategies and life styles... It is in this breadth of its Darwinian perspective and the detail of its analysis and examples that the book's strength lies."--Journal of Biological EducationMore details
Edition
Revised Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
38 line illus. 7 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
270 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-02798-2 (9780691027982)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2021
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€103.99
Available for download
Previous edition
R.McNeill Alexander
Optima for Animals
Book
07/1982
Hodder Arnold H&S
€29.86
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
R. McNeill Alexander is Professor of Zoology at the University of Leeds and Secretary of the Zoological Society of London. The author of fourteen books, most of them on the mechanics of human and animal movement, Alexander is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a recipient of the Muybridge Medal of the International Society for Biomechanics.
Content
Preface1Introduction12Optimum structures173Optimum movements454Optimum behaviour655Optimum life-styles1056Dangers and difficulties1417Mathematical summary151References161Index167