Built by Animals : The Natural History of Animal Architecture

from Termite Mounds And Caterpillar Cocoons To The Elaborate Nests Of Social Birds And The Deadly Traps Of Spiders, The Constructions Of The Animal World Can Amaze And At Times Even Rival Our Own Feats Of Engineering. But How Do Creatures With Such Small Brains Build These Complex Structures? What Drives Them To Do It? In This Fascinating Volume, Mike Hansell Looks At The Extraordinary Structures That Animals Build—whether Homes, Traps, Or Courtship Displays—and Reveals What Science Can Tell Us About This Incredible Behavior. We Look At Wasp's Nests, Leaf-cutting Ants, Caddis Flies And Amoebae, And Even The Extraordinary Bower Bird, Who Seduces His Mate With A Decorated Pile Of Twigs, Baubles, Feathers, And Berries. We Discover How Some Animals Produce Their Own Building Materials, Such As The Silk Secreted By Spiders To Weave An Array Of Different Web And Traps, Or The Glue Some Insects Produce To Hold Their Buildings Together. And We Learn How A Vast Colony Of Social Insects Can Create Nests Which May Penetrate Up To Twenty Feet Into The Ground And House Millions Of Individuals—all Built By Tiny-brained Animals Repeating Many Simple Actions As They Roam Randomly Around The Structure. Hansell Also Sheds Light On How Animal Buildings Have Evolved Over Time, How Insect Societies Emerged, How Animals Can Alter Their Wider Habitat, And Even Whether Some Animals Have An Aesthetic Sense. Finally, He Shows How Animal Structures May Reveal Clues To The Origins Of Our Own Tool Use And Appreciation Of Beauty. built By Animals Offers A Colorful Account Of A Facet Of Animal Behavior That Will Delight Anyone Interested In The Natural World. The Barnes & Noble Review It Is To The General Discredit And Shame Of Humanity That Most Of Us Know Far More About The Eating Disorders Of Pop Stars Than We Know About The Complicated Suite Of Manipulations Employed By Mountain Gorillas In Preparing A Favorite Type Of Thorny Vegetation For Consumption: A Total Of 256 Recognizable Handling Techniques The Resulting Bundles Of Thistles, Opines Naturalist Mike Hansell In built By Animals, Is Much More Complicated Than, Say, A Paper Airplane But More Easily Overlooked. If Gorillas Made Paper Aeroplanes Rather Than Food Bundles, Then Every Museum Would Have One And Every Schoolchild Would Know About Them. In Hansell's Enthralling Survey -- And Exploration Into The Evolution -- Of The Various Structures Created By The Non-human Inhabitants Of Our Planet (and Their Tool Usage As Well), This Kind Of Lively, Fanciful, Vivid Talk Alternates Quite Frequently With Sturdy, Lucid, Astonishing Blueprints Of Animal, Insect, And Even Amoeboid Behavior. (behavior Plus Materials Equal Structure, Is Hansell's Formula.) Hansell's Tour De Force Might Be His Nearly 15-page Disquisition On The Construction And Physics Of A Spider's Orb Web. Often Directly Addressing The Reader, And Encouraging Amateur Scientists To Conduct Their Own Investigations, Hansell Remains Rigorously Rational And Empirical, While Not Neglecting Higher-level Speculative Questions Regarding Non-human Consciousness -- All Without Falling Into Anthropomorphism Or The Mindless Gosh-wowery Of Certain Nature Documentaries. It Is To The Eternal Credit And Pride Of Humanity That Scientists Like Mike Hansell Strive With Insight And Ingenuity To Catalogue The Wonders Of The Natural World And To Convey Their Findings In Such Enthusiastic Fashion To The Rest Of Us Blinkered Anthropocentrics. -- paul Difilippo From termite mounds and caterpillar cocoons to the elaborate nests of social birds and the deadly traps of spiders, the constructions of the animal world can amaze and at times even rival our own feats of engineering. But how do creatures with such small brains build these complex structures? What drives them to do it? In this fascinating volume, Mike Hansell looks at the extraordinary structures that animals build--whether homes, traps, or courtship displays--and reveals what science can tell us about this incredible behavior. We look at wasp's nests, leaf-cutting ants, caddis flies and amoebae, and even the extraordinary bower bird, who seduces his mate with a decorated pile of twigs, baubles, feathers, and berries. We discover how some animals produce their own building materials, such as the silk secreted by spiders to weave an array of different web and traps, or the glue some insects produce to hold their buildings together. And we learn how a vast colony of social insects can create nests which may penetrate up to twenty feet into the ground and house millions of individuals--all built by tiny-brained animals repeating many simple actions as they roam randomly around the structure. Hansell also sheds light on how animal buildings have evolved over time, how insect societies emerged, how animals can alter their wider habitat, and even whether some animals have an aesthetic sense. __Built by Animals__ offers a colorful account of a facet of animal behavior that will delight anyone interested in the natural world.**Now Available in Paperback** From termite mounds that in relative terms are three times as tall as a skyscraper, to the elaborate nests of social birds and the deadly traps of spiders, the constructions of the animal world can amaze and at times humble our own engineering and technology. But how do creatures with such small brains build these complex structures? What drives them to do it? Which skills are innate and which learned? Here, Mike Hansell looks at the extraordinary structures that animals build - whether homes, traps, or courtship displays - and reveals the biology behind their behaviour. He shows how small-brained animals achieve complex feats in a small-brained way, by repeating many simple actions and using highly evolved self-secreted materials. On the other hand, the building feats or tool use of large-brained animals, such as humans or chimps, require significantly more complex and costly behaviour. We look at wasp's nests, leaf-cutting ants, caddisflies and amoebae, and even the extraordinary bower bird, who seduces his mate with a decorated pile of twigs, baubles, feathers and berries. Hansell explores how animal structures evolved over time, how insect societies emerge, how animals can alter their wider habitat, and even whether some animals have an aesthetic sense. ISBN-13: 9780199205578 Contents 6 List of Figures 7 Preface 8 1. The Builders 10 2. Builders Change the World 35 3. You Don鈥檛 Need Brains to be a Builder 67 4. Who鈥檚 in Charge Round Here? 101 5. From One Nest to Another 130 6. Two Routes Lead to Trap Building 156 7. The Magic of the Tool Users 189 8. Beautiful Bowers? 225 Notes and References 261 Index 267 A 267 B 267 C 268 D 269 E 269 F 270 G 270 H 270 I 271 J 271 K 271 L 271 M 272 N 273 O 273 P 273 Q 274 R 274 S 274 T 276 U 276 V 277 W 277 Y 277 # Publisher: Oxford University Press,USA # Number Of Pages: 280 # Publication Date: 2009-03-15 Contents......Page 6 List of Figures......Page 7 Preface......Page 8 1. The Builders......Page 10 2. Builders Change the World......Page 35 3. You Don’t Need Brains to be a Builder......Page 67 4. Who’s in Charge Round Here?......Page 101 5. From One Nest to Another......Page 130 6. Two Routes Lead to Trap Building......Page 156 7. The Magic of the Tool Users......Page 189 8. Beautiful Bowers?......Page 225 Notes and References......Page 261 B......Page 267 C......Page 268 E......Page 269 H......Page 270 L......Page 271 M......Page 272 P......Page 273 S......Page 274 U......Page 276 Y......Page 277 From vast termite mounds that outstrip our own skyscrapers, to elaborate birds nests, delicate shells, and deadly spiders' traps, the constructions of the animal world can amaze and at times humble our own engineering and technology. Mike Hansell reveals the biology behind animal architecture - showing how small brains have evolved to produce complex and beautiful structures. - ;From termite mounds that in relative terms are three times as tall as a skyscraper, to the elaborate nests of social birds and the deadly traps of spiders, the constructions of the animal world can amaze and at times h "'Animal builders' create structures - whether homes, traps, or for courtship display - that amaze us with their apparent ingenuity. But how do creatures with such small brains build these complex forms, sometimes working in teams with a clear division of labour towards a common goal? Which skills are inherited and which learned? And how did these behaviours evolve? Mike Hansell considers builders from across the animal kingdom to explore these questions and reveal the ways in which different animals achieve their building feats."--Jacket From termite mounds that outstrip our own skyscrapers, to elaborate birds nests, delicate shells, and deadly spiders' traps, the constructions of the animal world can amaze and humble our own engineering. This work reveals the biology behind animal architecture, showing how small brains have evolved to produce complex and beautiful structures. List of Figures/ vi Preface/ Vi 1. The Builders/1 2. Builders Change the World/ 26 3. You Don't Need Brains to be a Builder/ 58 4. Who's in Charge Round Here?/ 92 5. From One Nest to Another/ 121 6. Two Routes Lead to Trap Building/ 147 7. The Magic of the Tool Users/ 180 8. Beautiful Bowers? / 216 Notes and References/ 252 Index/ 258 Mike Hansell. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 252-257) And Index.