Optima for Animals

Revised Edition

By: R. McNeill Alexander

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Paperback | 10 February 1997

At a Glance

Paperback
176 Pages

Edition Type
Revised

Dimensions(cm)
25.4 x 19.6 x 1.0

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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.

Industry Reviews

"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 Education

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Preface	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Optimization and evolution	p. 1
Maxima and minima	p. 2
Optima for aircraft	p. 7
Fitting lines	p. 8
The best shape for cans	p. 11
The shortest path	p. 13
Conclusion	p. 15
Optimum structures	p. 17
Tubular bones	p. 17
Strengths of bones	p. 22
Compound eyes	p. 30
Eggshells	p. 35
Semicircular canals	p. 39
Herbivore guts	p. 40
Optimum movements	p. 45
Bounding flight	p. 45
High jumping	p. 48
Walking and running	p. 50
Gaits of dogs and sheep	p. 56
Gaits for tortoises	p. 58
Optimum behaviour	p. 65
Choosing worms	p. 65
Food for a moose	p. 68
When to give up	p. 71
Ideal free ducks	p. 75
Two-armed bandits	p. 76
Hunger and thirst	p. 84
Gamble when desperate	p. 88
Hunting lions	p. 91
Territories	p. 92
Discretion or valour	p. 95
Optimum life-styles	p. 105
How many eggs?	p. 105
When to make queens	p. 109
Growing or breeding	p. 117
Breeding and survival	p. 125
Sex ratios	p. 130
A battle of the sexes	p. 134
Parents and cuckolders	p. 137
Dangers and difficulties	p. 141
What is optimized?	p. 141
What is possible?	p. 145
What can go wrong?	p. 146
Criticisms	p. 148
Mathematical summary	p. 151
Maxima of functions of one variable	p. 151
Maxima of functions of several variables	p. 153
Maxima of functions with constraints	p. 153
Linear programming	p. 154
Maximum of the smaller of two alternatives	p. 155
Calculus of variations	p. 157
The Pontryagin method	p. 157
Dynamic programming	p. 158
Evolutionarily stable strategies	p. 158
Catastrophe theory	p. 159
References	p. 161
Index	p. 167
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Optima for Animals

Revised Edition

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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