Cheats and Deceits

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY JUN 27, 2016

Cheating and deception abounds in the natural world, as Stevens, associate professor in sensory and evolutionary ecology at the University of Exeter (U.K.), reveals in this discussion of the ways plants and animals make use of deceptive strategies to enhance their chances of reproducing. He discusses myriad examples from around the world, always focusing on the evolutionary pressures at work. Stevens shares information from Victorian natural historians such as Alfred Russel Wallace, Henry Bates, and Charles Darwin who first noted some of the most obvious cases of mimicry and offered explanations for their existence. Current scientists also receive their due, revealing how increasingly sophisticated experiments have become as they try to determine how and whether deception occurs. Throughout, Stevens draws a distinction between sensory exploitation and mimicry, pointing to the evolutionary pressures that yield dramatically different results in the two cases. His somewhat encyclopedic approach, coupled with his rather dry writing style, make the book better for dipping into than voraciously absorbing. The color plates nicely supplement Stevens's text and will help readers appreciate the nature of many of the deceptions discussed. Illus.