African Mole-Rats
Ecology and Eusociality

This volume, first published in 2000, explores the range of social systems in this fascinating group to understand how complex social systems evolved.

Nigel C. Bennett (Author), Chris G. Faulkes (Author), Jennifer Jarvis (Foreword by)

9780521018654, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 August 2005

288 pages, 68 b/w illus. 28 tables
23.4 x 15.4 x 1.4 cm, 0.405 kg

'This is an excellent and fascinating book.' Biologist

African mole-rats are a unique taxon of subterranean rodents that range in sociality from solitary-dwelling species through to two 'eusocial' species, the Damaraland Mole-Rat and the Naked Mole-Rat. The Naked Mole-Rat is arguably the closest that a mammal comes to behaving like social insects such as bees and termites, with large colonies and a behavioural and reproductive division of labour. As a family, the Bathyergidae represent a model system with which to study the evolution and maintenance of highly social cooperative breeding strategies. In this book, first published in 2000, Nigel Bennett and Chris Faulkes provide a synthesis of the knowledge of bathyergid systematics, ecology, reproductive biology, behaviour and genetics. With this, they explore the role of these factors in the evolution of sociality in the Bathyergidae in the context of both vertebrates and invertebrates. This will be an important new resource for anyone interested in the evolution of sociality, and in mole-rats in particular.

Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction to the Bathyergidae
2. The subterranean niche
3. The food resource of African Mole-Rats
4. Social organisation in African Mole-Rats
5. Life history patterns and reproductive biology
6. Social suppression of reproduction in African Mole-Rats
7. The genetic structure of Mole-Rat populations
8. The evolution of sociality on African Mole-Rats
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Zoology: Mammals [PSVW7], Animal ecology [PSVS], Animal behaviour [PSVP]