Animal Communication Theory

Information and Influence

Ulrich E. Stegmann

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9781107013100
• eBook ISBN:
  9781107352391
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Veterinary Medicine

The explanation of animal communication by means of concepts like information, meaning and reference is one of the central foundational issues in animal behaviour studies. This book explores these issues, revolving around questions such as: what is the nature of information? What theoretical roles does information play in animal communication studies? Is it justified to employ these concepts in order to explain animal communication? What is the relation between animal signals and human language? The book approaches the topic from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including ethology, animal cognition, theoretical biology and evolutionary biology, as well as philosophy of biology and mind. A comprehensive introduction familiarises non-specialists with the field and leads on to chapters ranging from philosophical and theoretical analyses to case studies involving primates, birds and insects. The resulting survey of new and established concepts and methodologies will guide future empirical and theoretical research.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• Contributors
• Introduction: A primer on information and influence in animal communication
• Part I Varieties of information
• 1 Influence and information in communication networks
• 2 Animal communication as information-mediated influence
• 3 Communication as information use: insights from statistical decision theory
• 4 Communication as a transfer of information: measurement, mechanism and meaning
• 5 Natural information, intentional signs and animal communication
• Part II Influence and manipulation
• Communication without meaning or information: abandoning language-based and informational constructs in animal communication theory
• 7 Information in animal communication: when and why does it matter?
• 8 Mitogenetic rays and the information metaphor: transmitted informationhas had its day
• 9 The importance of integrative biology to sexual selection and communication
• Part III Case studies
• 10 Animal signals: always influence, sometimes information
• 11 Learned signals and consistency of delivery: a case against receiver manipulation in animal communication
• 12 Information, inference and meaning in primate vocal behaviour
• 13 Information and uncertainty in meerkats and monkeys
• 14 The neural representation of vocalisation perception
• Part IV Animal signals in evolutionary perspective
• 15 The value of information in signals and cues
• 16 Information and influence in sender–receiver models, with applications to animal behaviour
• Part V From animal signals to human language
• 17 Information, meaning and animal communication
• 18 Information, influence and inference in language evolution
• Index