Kumar, Rahul In conversation with “beste-der-besten” of Ethology and Evolution: Professor Raghavendra Gadagkar. Indian Entomologist. UNSPECIFIED.
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PDF (Kumar, R., (2024). In conversation with “beste-der-besten” of Ethology and Evolution: Professor Raghavendra Gadagkar. Indian Entomologist. https://www.indianentomologist.org/post/in-conversation-with-beste-der-besten-of-ethology-and-evolution-professor-ra)
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Abstract
In 1973, history was created when three ethologists Karl von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz, and Nikolaas Tinbergen were awarded Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries about the organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns. It was the first time that someone received a Nobel Prize for studying animal behaviour. They mostly published in German. Textbooks on animal behaviour got flooded with German jargons, for example, terms like Prägung, Rundtanz, Schwänzeltanz, Ausdrucksbewegungen, jugunruhe, etc. are still in use. Their discoveries were globally recognized for establishing ethology as a formal scientific discipline and postulating its basic principles, a discipline which was there in existence for a long time but never considered an independent scientific discipline. It was intrinsic in Darwin’s writings, Bates’s observations, Wallace’s explorations, and many other observational studies associated with animal behaviour for centuries without any formal name. This field was given a name and association of other disciplines like molecular biology and evolution with this area opened a wonderful universe of scientific research and discourse. Not only human beings, but other animals also observe and learn from other animal’s behaviour in their own way for their benefit and survival. For example, predators learn behavioural patterns of the preys and vice versa. According to mythology, there was a King named Solomon who wore a magical ring that allowed him to communicate with the animals in their own language. Konrad Lorenz, in his book which he named after King Solomon, King Solomon’s Ring, talks about the secret world of animals based on his observations in completely mesmerizing way through illustrative storytelling. This book teleports the reader to a completely new magical world. Powerful storytelling coupled with strong observational skills of the author, makes this book a real masterpiece. From the fascinating work on ants by legendary E.O. Wilson aka “Modern Darwin” to captivating BBC documentaries with narrations of fabulous David Attenborough, the fascinating field of animal behaviour has come a long way in the West.
| Item Type: | Other |
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| Additional Information: | The copyright for this article belongs to Indian authors. |
| Department/Centre: | Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Apr 2024 08:23 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Apr 2024 08:23 |
| URI: | https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/84423 |
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