Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)... I'm a researcher whose field of study includes animal movement and migration -- Hugh Dingle is one of the premier scientists in this field of study, and this book is THE seminal work on the topic. I reference it regularly.
Rather than just describing all the different examples of migration, Hugh attempts to unify the field under one comprehensive theoretical framework. He succeeds magnificently, starting with an explicit working defininiton of what migration is, then using this to discuss the physiology, mechanisms, and evolution of this behavior. The book is filled with fascinating examples from the scientific literature that clearly illustrate the points he is trying to make. If there are gaps in the story, it is no fault of the author -- there are many gaps in our knowledge. ...Hugh is obsessed with insects, there is a good reason for that. Insects make excellent test subjects for these studies -- they perform impressive migrations, they are easy to deal with, and easy to manipulate experimentally. Consequently, a great deal of migration research has involved one kind of insect or another.
The book is articulate and highly readable, though I agree that a good background in the biological sciences will help. It is not intended for the casual reader. I highly recommend it (five stars isn't enough), though, for anyone who wants to really delve into the subject.
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Migration is one of the most fascinating and dramatic of all animal behaviors.Historically, however, the study of migration has been fragmented, with ornithologists, entomologists, and marine biologists paying little attention to work outside their own fields.This treatment of the subject shows how comparisons across taxa can in fact illuminate migratory life cycles and the relation of migration to other movements.The book thus takes an integrated ecological perspective, focusing on migration as a biological phenomenon.The work is divided into four parts, each with a brief introductory section.Part I defines migration, gives examples, and places migration in the spectrum of movement behaviors, concluding with a chapter on methods for its study.Part II focuses on proximate mechanisms, including physiology and morphology (and the constraints associated with them), the interactions between migration and wind and current patterns, and the various orientation and navigation mechanisms by which migrants find their way about.Part III on the evolution of migratory life histories addresses the evolutionary and ecological basis for migration and the roles of migration not only in the lives of organisms, but also in the ecological communities in which they live.Part IV is devoted to a brief consideration of migration and its relation to pest management and conservation.As a major contribution to a vital subject, this work will be valued by all researchers and students in the field of animal behavior, ecology, and zoology.
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