Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: There is probably no one who knows as much about Blue-footed Boobies (Sula nebouxii) as does Hugh Drummond, having spent a lifetime studying them. The depth of his knowledge, from his and his students’ work on booby behavior, sibling rivalry, and sexual infidelity is truly impressive. For anyone who has had questions about what a booby is doing, why it might be doing it, and how the behavior evolved, this is the book to read. He presents a thorough analysis of the long hours of observations and the many experiments that he and his colleagues have conducted at the booby colony on Isla Isabel, Mexico, seeking answers that explain the reasons for, and evolution of, various booby behaviors. Included are discussions of the sociobiology of booby behavior with comparisons to many other species including snakes, other birds, and perhaps most interestingly, humans. Throughout, Drummond makes comparisons between boobies and humans, such as referring to the family conflicts of blue-foots arising from similar behavioral mechanisms to those in our lives. Drummond also argues that blue-foots are more relevant models to illuminate human behavior than are chimps and bonobos, as humans and Blue-footed Boobies are exposed to similar selection pressures throughout their lives. This, to say the least, is an interesting reason to read on.
Source: The Auk
Author: E A Schreiber
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4401441425