Amotz Zahavi

Amotz Zahavi (Hebrew: אמוץ זהבי) (August 14, 1928[1] – May 12, 2017) was an Israeli evolutionary biologist, a Professor in the Department of Zoology at Tel Aviv University, and one of the founders of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.Amotz Zahavi was influenced to study zoology by the director of the zoo at Tel Aviv, Heinrich Mendelssohn.He worked in particular on the Arabian babbler, a long-lived and social bird with altruistic behaviour among unrelated individuals, not explainable by kin selection.The altruistic act is costly to the donor, but may improve attractiveness to potential mates, a form of competitive altruism.[7] Towards the end of his life he attempted to apply his theory at the molecular scale and sought to examine for example whether the neurotransmitter acetylcholine was selected due to its toxicity.
Zahavi with wild Arabian babblers , whose social behavior he studied
Petah TikvaBritish Mandate of PalestineTel Aviv, IsraelIsraeliTel Aviv UniversityHandicap principleBiologyHebrewevolutionary biologistZoologySociety for the Protection of Nature in Israelevolution of signalsAvishag ZahaviArabian babblersSignalling theoryevolutionsexual selectionhonest signallingArabian babbleraltruisticcompetitive altruisminformation centre hypothesisneurotransmitteracetylcholineFyssen Foundation's International PrizeBibcodeCiteSeerXList of Israel Prize recipientsJ Theor Biol