Sperm Whales : Social Evolution in the Ocean
- Book Review,
by Hal Whitehead
From Book News, Inc.
Whitehead (biology, Dalhousie U., Canada) uses statistical methodologies to explore the social behavior and cultural traits of sperm whales within the context of their evolutionary and ecological niche. He devotes separate chapters to the habitat, migratory patterns, population dynamics, behavior and vocalizations, social structures, and culture (differentiable behavior among groups). This material is then used to tease out some hypotheses about social and cultural evolution in the open ocean.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Book Description
Famed in story as "the great leviathans," sperm whales are truly creatures of extremes. Giants among all whales, they also have the largest brains of any creature on Earth. Males can reach a length of sixty-two feet and can weigh upwards of fifty tons.
With this book, Hal Whitehead gives us a clearer picture of the ecology and social life of sperm whales than we have ever had before. Based on almost two decades of field research, Whitehead describes their biology, behavior, and habitat; how they organize their societies; and how their complex lifestyles may have evolved in this unique environment. Among the many fascinating topics he explores is the crucial role that culture plays in the life of the sperm whale, and he traces the consequences of this argument for both evolution and conservation. Finally, drawing on these findings, Whitehead builds a general model of how the ocean environment influences social behavior and cultural evolution among mammals as well as other animals.
The definitive portrait of a provocative creature, Sperm Whales will interest animal behaviorists, conservationists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists as well as marine mammalogists.
From the Inside Flap
Famed in story as "the great leviathans," sperm whales are truly creatures of extremes. Giants among all whales, they also have the largest brains of any creature on Earth. Males can reach a length of sixty-two feet and can weigh upwards of fifty tons.
With this book, Hal Whitehead gives us a clearer picture of the ecology and social life of sperm whales than we have ever had before. Based on almost two decades of field research, Whitehead describes their biology, behavior, and habitat; how they organize their societies; and how their complex lifestyles may have evolved in this unique environment. Among the many fascinating topics he explores is the crucial role that culture plays in the life of the sperm whale, and he traces the consequences of this argument for both evolution and conservation. Finally, drawing on these findings, Whitehead builds a general model of how the ocean environment influences social behavior and cultural evolution among mammals as well as other animals.
The definitive portrait of a provocative creature, Sperm Whales will interest animal behaviorists, conservationists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists as well as marine mammalogists.
About the Author
Hal Whitehead is the Killam Professor in the Department of Biology at Dalhousie University in Canada. He is the author of Voyage to the Whales and coeditor of Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.
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