John Alcock – Emeritus
Animal Behavior, Insect Mating Systems
Dr. Alcock's research deals with the evolution of diversity in insect mating systems. He studies selected species of desert insects in Arizona and Western Australia, in an attempt to document the variety of male mate-locating techniques in various bees, wasps, butterflies, dragonflies and other insects. The goal of his research is to test hypotheses on the adaptive value of the different ways in which males find mating partners.
Selected Publications
Alcock, J. 2005. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. Eighth edition. Sinauer Associates. Sunderland , Mass. 640 pp.
Alcock, J., L. W. Simmons, & M. Beveridge. 2005. Seasonal change in offspring sex and size in Dawson 's burrowing bees ( Amegilla dawsoni ) (Hymenoptera: Anthophorini). Ecological Entomology 30:1-8.
Kemp, D.J., J. Alcock and G.R. Allen. 2005. Sequential size assessment and multicomponent decision rules mediate aerial wasp contests. Animal Behaviour, in press.
Alcock, J. 2003. A textbook history of animal behaviour. Animal Behaviour 65: 3-10.
Kemp, D. & J. Alcock. 2003. Lifetime resource utilization, flight physiology and the evolution of contest competition in territorial insects. American Naturalist 162: 290-301.
Alcock, J. 2001. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. Seventh edition. Sinauer Associates. Sunderland, Mass. 640 pp.
Alcock, J. 2001. The Triumph of Sociobiology. Oxford University Press, New York.
Alcock, J. 1998. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. Sixth Edition. Sinauer Associates. Sunderland, MA. 625 pp.
Alcock, J. 1997. In A Desert Garden. W.W. Norton, NY. 186 pp.
Alcock, J. and T.F. Houston. 1996. Mating systems and sexual size dimorphism in Australian hylaeine bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Ethology 102:591-610.
Alcock, J. 1996. Provisional rejection of three alternative hypotheses on the maintenance of a size dichotomy in Dawson's burrowing bees (Amegilla dawsoni) (Apidae, Anthophorini). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 39:181-188.
Alcock, J. 1990. Sonoran Desert Summer. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ. 187 pp.