Amotz Zahavi
Amotz Zahavi (Hebrew אמוץ זהבי; b. 1928 in Petah Tikva, Palestine ) is an Israeli zoologist and conservationist. He became internationally known as Socio- biologist, and especially by the 1975 established theory of the so-called handicap principle ( עיקרון ההכבדה ), were crossed in the considerations of the evolution of research and empirical findings from behavioral research with each other. With the help of this theory he could jointly explain with his wife Prof. Avishag Zahavi, why could develop behaviors and physical features in the process of evolution, which seem to reduce at first glance, the fitness of the individuals. Such features were interpreted just as an expression of fitness.
Life
His mother is narrated that Amotz Zahavi already watched birds, when he could not even walk and talk. For his final thesis in zoology, he spent the early 1950s, three breeding seasons long with ornithological studies in the Huleh wetlands at the Jordan. After completing his Master's degree ( M.Sc.) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1954, he spent a year in Oxford ( England) with Professor Niko Tinbergen. Also in 1954 he married his wife Avishag. His studies in the wetlands at the Jordan led him in 1953, together with some friends to found the conservation organization Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel ( SPNI ).
After his return from England he renounced for the time being to continue his academic career and led for 15 years, the SPNI. 1980 SPNI the Israel Prize was awarded the highest honors of the state for individuals or organizations. Amotz Zahavi and his two successors in office, the SPNI line were singled out for praise during the ceremony for their personal commitment.
Only in 1970 concluded Amotz Zahavi his doctoral thesis, namely the behavior of wagtails (Motacilla alba), wintering in Israel. Together with Peter Ward developed Zahavi because of its field studies the theory that the group are used to form the " exchange of information " about attractive food sources for wintering birds. The year before (1969 /70) he had spent another year at Oxford, in David Lack at Edward Grey Institute, and was thereby involved in a controversy between paint and Vero Wynne- Edwards Wynne -Edwards theory of group selection; during which Zahavi was a passionate advocate of individual selection.
As a professor of zoology and Founding Director of the Institute for Nature Conservation Research, Tel Aviv University (Israel ) studied Amotz Zahavi 1970 to more than 30 years, the social behavior of Graudrosslinge ( Turdoides squamiceps, in English: Arabian Babbler ) in the Hatzeva Field Station in the Arava Valley in southern Israel. Graudrosslinge are songbirds that to about 20 individuals live in groups together, jointly defend a territory jointly build a nest and the young of the highest-ranking female jointly provide.
His behavior observations were pooled from 1975 in his development of the theory of the so-called handicap principle. His theoretical considerations have been for years rejected by the peer, which meant that he could first results of his research with difficulty publishing in prestigious journals; now his theory is widely recognized, however.
From 1984 to 1987 he was Head of Zoology at the University of Tel Aviv, and even in 2006 he was involved with further studies at the Grausdrosslingen. In addition, he examined the applicability of the handicap principle to chemical signals.
In 2010 he was awarded with prize money of 60,000 euros International Prize of Fyssen Foundation.
Amotz Zahavi Avishag and have two daughters and two grandchildren.