The emergence of the genus Homo is widely linked to the colonization of 'new' highly seasonal savannah habitats. However, until recently, our understanding of the possible impact of seasonality on this shift has been limited because we have little general knowledge of how seasonality affects the lives of primates. This 2005 book documents the extent of seasonality in food abundance in tropical woody vegetation, and then presents systematic analyses of the impact of seasonality in food supply on the behavioural ecology of non-human primates. Syntheses in this volume then produce broad generalizations concerning the impact of seasonality on behavioural ecology and reproduction in both human and non-human primates, and apply these insights to primate and human evolution. Written for graduate students and researchers in biological anthropology and behavioural ecology, this is an absorbing account of how seasonality may have affected an important episode in our own evolution.

DIANE K. BROCKMAN is Assistant Professor in Anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, having moved recently from Duke University, NC. Her research concerns environmental mechanisms influencing reproduction, development and life history in human and non-human primates. Current studies involve the hormonal basis of seasonal reproduction, female mate competition, male life history patterns and aging, and the metabolic costs of reproduction in females.

CAREL P. VAN SCHAIK is now Professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, having also moved recently from Duke University. He studies behavioral ecology and the social evolution of primates, and is also interested in the conservation of tropical forests. His previous books include the edited works "Infanticide by Males and its Implications" (with Charles Janson; 2000) and "Sexual Selection in Primates" (with Peter Kappeler; 2004).