From the shell wars of hermit crabs to little blue penguins spying on
potential rivals, power struggles in the animal kingdom are as diverse
as they are fascinating, and this book illuminates their surprising
range and connections.
The quest for power in animals is so much richer, so much more nuanced
than who wins what knock-down, drag-out fight. Indeed, power struggles
among animals often look more like an opera than a boxing match. Tracing
the path to power for over thirty different species on six continents,
writer and behavioral ecologist Lee Alan Dugatkin takes us on a journey
around the globe, shepherded by leading researchers who have discovered
that in everything from hyenas to dolphins, bonobos to field mice,
cichlid fish to cuttlefish, copperhead snakes to ravens, and meerkats to
mongooses, power revolves around spying, deception, manipulation,
forming and breaking up alliances, complex assessments of potential
opponents, building social networks, and more. Power pervades every
aspect of the social life of animals: what they eat, where they eat,
where they live, whom they mate with, how many offspring they produce,
whom they join forces with, and whom they work to depose. In some
species, power can even change an animal's sex. Nor are humans
invulnerable to this magnificently intricate melodrama: Dugatkin's tales
of the researchers studying power in animals are full of unexpected
pitfalls, twists and turns, serendipity, and the pure joy of scientific
discovery.
