Kin Recognition
Kin recognition, or the ability to recognize one's genetic relations, is universal throughout the animal kingdom, from amebas to humans. This trait benefits the organism by helping to insure the survival of a specific gene group, and it is also an important factor in mate choice. Indeed, kin recognition is one of the fastest growing and most exciting areas of behavior. The study of kin recognition requires a multidisciplinary approach, and Dr. Hepper has brought together leading researchers from zoology, biology, psychology, and sociology to create a thought-provoking and critical analysis of our current knowledge of the phenomenon, with particular emphasis on the underlying processes involved and their significance for the evolution of social behavior. Together they attempt to answer the questions of how individuals recognize other individuals as kin, nonkin, or different classes of kin and why they respond differently to kin and nonkin.The correlation between kinship and behaviour in non-human primates / Irwin S. Bernstein -- Co-operation and reciprocity in birds and mammals / J. David Ligon -- Kinship and fellowship in ants and social wasps / Pierre Jaisson -- Successes and failures of parent-offspring recognition in animals / Michael D. Beecher -- Kinship, kin discrimination and mate choice / C.J. Barnard and Peter Aldhous -- Genetic components of kin recognition in mammals / Edward A. Boyse, Gary K. Beauchamp, Kunio Yamazaki and Judith Bard -- Kim recognition in amphibians / Bruce Waldman -- Kin recognition cues of vertebrates / Zuleyma Tang Halpin --Recognizing kin : ontogeny and classification / Peter G. Hepper --Parental states as mechanisms for kinship recognition and deception about relatedness / Robert W. Elwood -- Fetal learning : implications for the development of kin recognition / Scott R. Robinson and William P. Smotherman -- Information processing and storage during filial imprinting / Mark H. Johnson -- The honey bee as a model kin recognition system / Wayne M. Getz -- Mutual mother--infant recognition in humans
