This textbook helped to define the field of Behavioral Ecology. In this fourth edition the text has been completely revised, with new chapters and many new illustrations and full color photographs. The theme, once again, is the influence of natural selection on behavior – an animal's struggle to survive and reproduce by exploiting and competing for resources, avoiding predators, selecting mates and caring for offspring, – and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals.

Stuart A. West has joined as a co-author bringing his own perspectives and work on microbial systems into the book.

Written in the same engaging and lucid style as the previous editions, the authors explain the latest theoretical ideas using examples from micro-organisms, invertebrates and vertebrates. There are boxed sections for some topics and marginal notes help guide the reader. The book is essential reading for students of behavioral ecology, animal behavior and evolutionary biology.

Key Features:

• Long-awaited new edition of a field-defining textbook
• New chapters, illustrations and color photographs
• New co-author
• Focuses on the influence of natural selection on behavior, and how animal societies reflect both cooperation and conflict among individuals