Bats Sing, Mice Giggle · Revealing the Secret Lives of Animals by Shanor, Karen -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction

Bats sing, mice giggle What did the animals know?

Part I Sensing

1 A Supercharged World

Animals that detect electric fields Fish that generate electric fields Magnetic fields

2 Good Vibrations

Vibrations in the undergrowth Vibrations in the ground Resonance and synchronization Synchronization and swarming behavior Human vibrations Levels of interaction

3 Sounds for Tracking and Talking

How does biosonar work? Bats in the Caribbean Bat communication Seafarers that swim with sounds

4 Tasting and Touching

Dinner is served! The taste of catfish Food on your palate Finger-licking good What about smelling? Polar bears The secret touch Reach out and touch someone Bat acrobatics

Part II Surviving

5 Alarming Behavior and Survival Strategies

Alarm! Alarm! Alarm! Different yells tell of different enemies Different dialects, different terrain Camouflage, bluff or outmaneuver Cockroaches and coyotes: the ultimate in survival? Earthquakes: animal perceptions and alarms

6 From Frogcicles to Dreamstates

Dead or alive? Don’t ask a bear The peeping frogcicle Catching Zzzzs Ready for flight Animals that dream and what they dream about

7 Animal Marathons by Land and Sea

The flying spider Marathon fliers Checking the scale and getting in shape Reducing drag and keeping track of the group The great land migrations Migrations by sea Other ways of getting around

Part III Socializing

8 Wit, Wiles and Good Fun

The amazing abilities of African gray parrots Monkey see, monkey do Washoe and Koko Smarter than we thought A sense of “self” The eyes have it Memory and counting

9 Eavesdropping and Deception

Eavesdropping Sex, lies and videotapes: the audience effect Deception in its many forms

10 Rhythm, Song and Dance

Bobbing to the beat Songs The dawn chorus: group dynamics

11 Flirting, Courting and Coupling

Virgin birth Hermaphrodites and sequential hermaphrodites The superorganism “Pregnant” males Couples: finding, choosing, engaging Coupling for life—or at least until the children leave the nest

Epilogue

Notes, References and Further Reading

Introduction Chapter 1: A Supercharged World Chapter 2: Good Vibrations Chapter 3: Sounds for Tracking and Talking Chapter 4: Tasting and Touching Chapter 5: Alarming Behavior and Survival Strategies Chapter 6: From Frogcicles to Dreamstates Chapter 7: Animal Marathons by Land and Sea Chapter 8: Wit, Wiles and Good Fun Chapter 9: Eavesdropping and Deception Chapter 10: Rhythm, Song and Dance Chapter 11: Flirting, Courting and Coupling