Pheromones and other kinds of chemical communication underlie the behavior of all animals. Building on the strengths of the first edition, widely recognized as the leading text in the subject, this is a comprehensive overview of how pheromones work. Extensively revised and expanded to cover advances made over the last ten years, the book offers a thorough exploration of the evolutionary and behavioral contexts of chemical communication along with a detailed introduction to the molecular and neural basis of signal perception through olfaction. At a time of ever increasing specialization, Wyatt offers a unique synthesis, integrating examples across the animal kingdom. A final chapter critically considers human pheromones and the importance of olfaction to human biology. Its breadth of coverage and readability make the book an unrivaled resource for students and researchers in a range of fields from chemistry, genetics, genomics, molecular biology and neuroscience to ecology, evolution and behavior.
Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; List of SI prefixes; 1. Animals in a chemical world; 2. Methods for identifying and studying semiochemicals; 3. Pheromones, chemical cues and sexual selection; 4. Coming together and keeping apart: aggregation pheromones and host-marking pheromones; 5. Territorial behavior, pheromones and signature mixtures; 6. Pheromones and social organization; 7. Pheromones and recruitment communication; 8. Fight or flight: alarm pheromones and cues; 9. Perception and response to chemical communication: from chemosensory receptors to brains, behavior and development; 10. Finding the source: pheromones and orientation behavior; 11. Breaking the code: illicit signalers and receivers of semiochemicals; 12. Using semiochemicals: applications of pheromones and signature mixtures; 13. On the scent of human attraction: human pheromones?; Appendix. An introduction to some chemical terms for non-chemists; References; Index.
