Review: [untitled] Author(s): David A. Ebert Reviewed work(s): The Secret Life of Sharks: A Leading Marine Biologist Reveals the Mysteries of Shark Behavior by A. Peter Klimley Source: The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 78, No. 4 (Dec., 2003), p. 511 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3691434 Accessed: 16/01/2009 13:20 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucpress. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected].
The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Quarterly Review of Biology.
http://www.jstor.org
DECEMBER 2003
NEW BIOLOGICAL BOOKS
511
hammerhead sharks unfortunately are not nearly as striking. Klimley's white shark research in central and northern California is recounted in Chapters 9 through 13. In Chapter 14 he makes the case for shark conservation. The author's accounts are, for the most part, a rehash of his research originally published in books and journals and now written for nonprofessionals. Unfortunately, he does not fully convey the feeling one has at making a new discovery or experiencing animal behaviors that few will ever see. His storytelling manner gravitates from the casual to somewhat scientific, and it is difficult at times to discern who is his intended audience. At several junctures, Klimley goes into minute detail on the operational aspects of his equipment, but then gives a much less descriptive account of his actual observations. Overall, the book serves as an autobiographical reference on Klimley's 30-year professional career. The writing style is a bit dry and monotonous, and it would have benefited from a few more illustrations. The author does relay interesting anecdotal observations, but some of his conclusions are the result of supposition and inference rather than scientific rigor. As a book on the life of sharks it remains wanting. As an autobiographical account THE SECRETLIFE OF SHARKS:A LEADINGMARINE of Klimley it serves its purpose. BIOLOGIST REVEALS THE MYSTERIES OF SHARK DAVIDA EBERT,Pacific SharkResearchCenter,Moss BEHAVIOR. Landing Marine Laboratories,Moss Landing, CaliBy A Peter Klimley. New York: Simon & Schuster. fornia $25.00. ix + 292 p + 19 pl; ill.; index. ISBN: 07432-4170-3. 2003. The book's title implies that it will reveal some HORSEBEHAVIOR. SecondEdition. NoyesSeriesin Animal Behavior, Ecology, Conservationand Management. interesting secrets on the life of sharks. The author has certainly done some fine behavioral research By GeorgeH Waring.Nonoich (New York):NoyesPubin the past on two well-known species, scalloped lications/William AndrewPublishing. $79.00. xiv + hammerhead and white sharks. In the acknowledg442 p; ill.; index. ISBN: 0-8155-1484-0. 2003. The excellent first edition of this book (1983. Park ments, Klimley comments that most of the articles in the volume are the result of his research that Ridge (NJ): Noyes Publications) remained a stanwas previously published in peer-reviewedjournals. dard reference for many years until it became outHe also acknowledges that he has written this book dated by the steady publication of new research. for the general public, not professional scientists, to Waring has once again carefully studied the scigive laics a sense of the fun and excitement of sci- entific research literature and written an excellent entific exploration. Despite its promising title and summary of our knowledge of the normal behavior its stated intention, the book never really delivers. of the horse. This new edition follows the outstandIn the first three chapters, Klimley tells of his ing organization and writing style of the first ediearly interest in marine biology, his career as a Mas- tion and is an essential addition to the bookshelf ters Degree student at the University of Miami, and of any behaviorist who studies the behavior of of the trials and errors of his graduate research. horses and ungulates. The author recounts his days as a doctoral student The book is organized into seven parts: Part I at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in Chapters covers the basics, including evolution, sensory abil4 through 8. It is during this phase of his career ities, and motor patterns; the next part covers that he begins research on scalloped hammerhead behavioral development, learning, and memory; sharks in the Gulf of California. His description of Part III reviews our knowledge of maintenance the Mexican communities and the landscape are activities; the fourth part covers reproductive behavior, including maternal behavior; Part V covvividly recounted, but his accounts of diving with
relate to important performance capacities? For example, it would be interesting to determine if seasonal changes in testosterone level (see Chapter 8 by Hews and Quinn) affect performance capacities (i.e., bite force), which in turn could affect the ability of males to defend territories. Unlike reproductive characteristics, however, lizards are model systems for the study of performance (DJ Irschick, T Garland, Jr. 2001. Annual Reviewof Ecologyand Systematics32:367-396), so this lack of integration of performance data and social behavior is surprising. Nevertheless, this omission does not detract from the work in the book, but only highlights the next frontier in studies of lizard (or any animal) behavior. Overall, this volume will serve as a valuable source of data and references for biologists interested in behavior in a variety of animals. This book will also serve as excellent reading material for both advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, particularly in a classroom setting. We highly recommend this fine work. SHAWNVINCENT,CHRISTINE DUNCANJIRSCHICK, and SIMONLAILVAUX, Ecology& EvoluBUCKLEY, tionaryBiology,Tulane University,New Orleans,Louisiana
