Animal Vocal Communication: A New Approach results from our belief that the field of animal communication needs new blood. We have tried, independently, to convince colleagues that the informational perspective is not adequate as a concept or methodology to understand either the evolution or the process of vocal communication. In 1987, we began to collaborate on this book, deciding on the order of authors with the toss of a coin.

We have attempted to include in this book those aspects of theory that we feel have ‘staying power,’ i.e., those that suggest and provide the best questions and will not lead to blind alleys. Game theory, in particular, has increased in popularity. It deals with frequency dependence – the concept that the success of an animal's behavior depends on the relative frequency with which it occurs in the animal's own population. A game-theoretic approach can be contrasted with studies of adaptation that deal with structure, function and with nonsocial activities as well as with social behavior. Adaptation suggests optimization, such as the optimal shape of a bird's wing for soaring flight. But both of these approaches have staying power; they are complementary to each other rather than in conflict. A behavioral strategy will not work if someone else can do it better because they have the better structural design. It is the latter that affects the outcome of evolutionary competition.