Vladimir Dinets

Covering diverse species from garter snakes to Komodo dragons, this book delves into the evolutionary origins and fascinating details of the mysterious social lives of reptiles. Reptiles have been too often dismissed as dull animals with tiny brains and simple, "asocial" lives. In reality, reptiles engage in a remarkable diversity of complex social behavior. They can live in families; communicate with one another while still in the egg; and hunt, feed, migrate, court, mate, nest, and hatch in groups. In The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles, J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, and Gordon M. Burghardt—three of the world's leading experts on reptiles—bring together a wave of new research with a synthesis of classic studies to produce the only authoritative look at the social behaviors of the most provocative animals on the planet. The book covers turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodilians, and the enigmatic tuatara. Enhanced with dozens of images, it takes readers through a myriad of social interactions, tendencies, and intimacies ranging from fierce territorial battles to delicate paternal care and from promiscuous pairings to monogamous partnerships. This unique text• explains why reptiles have been neglected as subjects of social behavior studies;• provides numerous examples across all major reptilian groups that overturn the false paradigm of "solitary" reptiles; • explores the sensory, genetic, physiological, life history, and other factors underlying social behavior in reptiles; • presents the case that evolutionary "experiments" found among reptiles offer unparalleled opportunities for understanding how and why social behavior evolves in animals; and• identifies new and developing areas of research helping to reshape our view of reptiles. Revealing the secrets of reptilian social relationships through original quantitative research, field studies, laboratory experiments, and careful analysis of the literature, The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles elevates these fascinating animals to key players in the science of behavioral ecology.

Todos os crocodilianos t m uma categoria particular de sinais usados ​​como an ncios publicit rios durante a temporada de acasalamento. Cada chamada uma combina o de alguns componentes com propriedades f sicas diferentes, como posturas corporais, chamadas vocais, cabe adas e vibra es infra-sonoras. Esses componentes diferem em sua capacidade de transportar informa es sobre o status e localiza o do animal, e seu uso adaptado estrutura do habitat. Os sons vocais s o mais usados ​​em habitats aqu ticos fragmentados, onde s o mais eficazes, enquanto os sons vocais s o mais usados ​​em habitats aqu ticos cont nuos. Uma compara o de sinaliza o e habitats preferidos por esp cies de crocodilianos existentes, bem como da sinaliza o por popula es conspec ficas alop tricas que habitam diferentes habitats, confirma esta teoria. Mas em popula es que habitam habitats mistos, os animais individuais n o ajustam sua composi o de sinal estrutura do habitat, o que significa que as diferen as observadas entre popula es e esp cies s o adapta es evolu das. No decorrer do estudo, novas informa es sobre a sinaliza o foram obtidas para muitos crocodilianos, fornecendo informa es sobre sua ecologia e hist ria evolutiva.

Tutti i coccodrilli hanno una particolare categoria di segnali usati come annunci pubblicitari durante la stagione degli amori. Ogni chiamata una combinazione di alcuni componenti con propriet fisiche diverse, come posture del corpo, chiamate vocali, colpi di testa e vibrazioni infrasuoni. Questi componenti differiscono nella loro capacit di trasportare informazioni sullo stato e sulla posizione dell'animale e il loro uso adattato alla struttura dell'habitat. I suoni vocali sono usati maggiormente negli habitat acquatici frammentati dove sono pi efficaci, mentre gli schiaffi sono usati maggiormente negli habitat acquatici continui. Un confronto tra la segnalazione e gli habitat preferiti da specie di coccodrilli esistenti, nonch la segnalazione da popolazioni conspecifiche allopatriche che abitano diversi habitat, conferma questa teoria. Ma nelle popolazioni che abitano habitat misti, i singoli animali non adattano la loro composizione del segnale alla struttura dell'habitat, il che significa che le differenze osservate tra popolazioni e specie sono adattamenti evoluti. Nel corso dello studio, sono state ottenute nuove informazioni sulla segnalazione per molti coccodrilli, fornendo approfondimenti sulla loro ecologia e storia evolutiva.

Wszystkie krokodyle mają określoną kategorię sygnal w używanych jako reklamy w okresie godowym. Każde wezwanie jest polączeniem kilku element w o r żnych wlaściwościach fizycznych, takich jak postawa ciala, okrzyki glosowe, oklaski i wibracje infradźwiękowe. Komponenty te r żnią się zdolnością do przenoszenia informacji o stanie i lokalizacji zwierzęcia, a ich wykorzystanie jest dostosowane do struktury siedliska. Dźwięki wokalne są używane częściej w podzielonych środowiskach wodnych, gdzie są bardziej skuteczne, podczas gdy uderzenia są używane częściej w ciąglych siedliskach wodnych. Por wnanie sygnalizacji i preferowanych siedlisk przez istniejące gatunki krokodyli, a także sygnalizacji przez alopatyczne populacje tego samego gatunku zamieszkujące r żne siedliska, potwierdza tę teorię. Jednak w populacjach zamieszkujących siedliska mieszane poszczeg lne zwierzęta nie dostosowują skladu sygnalu do struktury siedliska, co oznacza, że ​​obserwowane r żnice między populacjami i gatunkami są ewolucyjnymi adaptacjami. W trakcie badań uzyskano nowe informacje na temat sygnalizacji dla wielu krokodyli, dostarczając wglądu w ich ekologię i historię ewolucji.

Tous les crocodiliens ont une cat gorie particuli re de signaux utilis s comme appels publicitaires pendant la saison des amours. Chaque appel est une combinaison de quelques composants avec des propri t s physiques diff rentes, telles que des postures corporelles, des appels vocaux, des claques la t te et des vibrations infrasons. Ces composants diff rent par leur capacit transmettre des informations sur l' tat et l'emplacement de l'animal, et leur utilisation est adapt e la structure de l'habitat. Les sons vocaux sont davantage utilis s dans les habitats aquatiques fragment s o ils sont plus efficaces, tandis que les claques sont davantage utilis es dans les habitats aquatiques continus. Une comparaison de la signalisation et des habitats pr f r s par les esp ces de crocodiliens existantes, ainsi que de la signalisation par les populations allopatriques consp cifiques habitant diff rents habitats, confirme cette th orie. Mais dans les populations vivant dans des habitats mixtes, les animaux individuels n'adaptent pas leur composition de signal la structure de l'habitat, ce qui signifie que les diff rences observ es entre les populations et les esp ces sont des adaptations volu es. Au cours de l' tude, de nouvelles informations sur la signalisation ont t obtenues pour de nombreux crocodiliens, fournissant des informations sur leur cologie et leur histoire volutive.

Alle Krokodile haben eine bestimmte Kategorie von Signalen, die w hrend der Paarungszeit als Werbeanrufe verwendet werden. Jeder Anruf ist eine Kombination einiger weniger Komponenten mit unterschiedlichen physikalischen Eigenschaften, wie K rperhaltungen, Stimmanrufen, Headslaps und Infraschallvibrationen. Diese Komponenten unterscheiden sich in ihrer F higkeit, Informationen ber den Status und den Standort des Tieres zu transportieren, und ihre Verwendung ist an die Lebensraumstruktur angepasst. Stimmger usche werden h ufiger in fragmentierten aquatischen Lebensr umen verwendet, wo sie effektiver sind, w hrend Ohrfeigen h ufiger in kontinuierlichen aquatischen Lebensr umen verwendet werden. Ein Vergleich der Signal- und bevorzugten Lebensr ume vorhandener Krokodilarten sowie der Signal bertragung durch allopatrische Artgenossenpopulationen, die in verschiedenen Lebensr umen leben, best tigt diese Theorie. In Populationen, die in gemischten Lebensr umen leben, passen einzelne Tiere ihre Signalzusammensetzung jedoch nicht an die Lebensraumstruktur an, was bedeutet, dass die beobachteten Unterschiede zwischen Populationen und Arten Anpassungen sind. Im Verlauf der Studie wurden f r viele Krokodile neuartige Informationen zur Signal bertragung erhalten, die Einblicke in ihre kologie und Evolutionsgeschichte gew hren.

A born naturalist and a fearless traveler, Vladimir Dinets wrote travel guides, conducted field research, and lived a couple of lives before he was accepted into the PhD program in zoology at the University of Miami. He thought crocodiles were a dead-end research topic—survivors from the age of the dinosaurs but not much else—until he witnessed groups of up to seventy alligators performing mating choruses that included infrasound vibrations—a form of communication extremely rare in nature—and a “dance” unknown in the scientific literature but that resembled a scene from Jurassic Park. To prove his thesis about the language of crocodiles, he spent the next six years traveling around the world on shoestring budgets and in extreme circumstances, studying almost every living species. At the same time, as a man desiring companionship in life, he sought love. With adventures on five continents, Dragon Songs is his account of this quest. It includes an escape from a boiling lava lake in the Afar Desert, being chased up a tree by a tiger in India, hitching a ride with a cocaine smuggler in Bolivia, and diving with giant Greenland sharks—all in the name of studying crocodiles, among which he routinely paddled in his inflatable kayak. Of course, not everything went according to plan. But, in the end, his ground-breaking research helped change the field. And during the course of his adventures, he met and courted his future wife.