Leks /

Hoglund and Alatalo, both university zoology professors from Sweden and Finland, respectively, have produced a well-researched monograph on leks and lekking, an important mechanism in mate selection among a surprisingly wide representation of the animal kingdom. Ten chapters encompass taxonomic diversity on leks; several aspects of sexual selection; the evolution of leks, exploring and evaluating several hypotheses; and hopeful avenues for future research. The authors' concise, very readable scientific prose is bountifully supplemented by high quality graphs and tables that show that animal behavior patterns can be readily quantified. Twenty-nine pages of references, many from the current literature; a rather short subject and species index. For students of animal behavior and zoology. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty. H. N. Cunningham Jr. Pennsylvania State University at Erie-Behrend College