A multi-author volume Major Events in Early Vertebrate Evolution examines the origin and early evolution of the backboned animals (vertebrates)-the group which comprises all fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, including ourselves. This volume draws together evidence from fossils, genes, and developmental biology (the study of how embryos grow and develop) to answer questions such as:
*When did the first backboned animals appear?
*How are the different groups of backboned animals related to each other?
*How did bones and teeth evolve?
The authors are all experts of international standing in their respective fields, and present some of their own recent findings in conjunction with reviews of the latest work in this fast-moving and fascinating area of biology.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203468031

The most trusted and best-selling textbook on the diverse forms and fascinating lives of vertebrate animals. Covering crucial topics from morphology and behavior to ecology and zoogeography, Donald Linzey's popular textbook, Vertebrate Biology, has long been recognized as the most comprehensive and readable resource on vertebrates for students and educators. Thoroughly updated with the latest research, this new edition discusses taxa and topics such as * systematics and evolution * zoogeography, ecology, morphology, and reproduction * early chordates * fish, amphibians, reptiles (inclusive of birds), and mammals * population dynamics * movement and migration * behavior * study methods * extinction processes * conservation and management For the first time, 32 pages of color images bring these fascinating organisms to life. In addition, 5 entirely new chapters have been added to the book, which cover * restoration of endangered species * regulatory legislation affecting vertebrates * wildlife conservation in a modern world * climate change * contemporary wildlife management Complete with review questions, updated references, appendixes, and a glossary of well over 300 terms, Vertebrate Biology is the ideal text for courses in zoology, vertebrate biology, vertebrate natural history, and general biology. Donald W. Linzey carefully builds theme upon theme, concept upon concept, as he walks students through a plethora of topics. Arranged logically to follow the most widely adopted course structure, this text will leave students with a full understanding of the unique structure, function, and living patterns of all vertebrates.

Philosophers and therapists have long theorised about how psychological mechanisms for love, jealousy, anxiety, depression and many other human characteristics may have evolved over millions of years. In the dawn of the new insights on evolution, provided by Darwin's theories of natural selection, Freud, Jung and Klein sought to identify and understand human motives, emotions and information processing as functions deeply-rooted in our evolved history. Despite this promising start and major developments in modern evolutionary psychology, anthropology and sociobiology, the last fifty years has seen little in the way of therapies derived from an evolutionary understanding of human psychology. The contributors to this timely book illuminate how an evolution focused approach to psychopathology can offer new insights for different schools of therapy and provide a rationale for therapeutic integration.
Genes on the Couch brings together respected clinicians who have integrated evolutionary insights into their case conceptualisations and therapeutic interventions. Various psychotherapy schools are represented, and each author provides illustrative examples of the interventions used. Specific topics addressed include the nature of evolved mental mechanisms; regulation/dysregulation of internal processes; attachment and kinship in therapy; the importance of internalising warmth as a therapeutic goal; kin selection and incest avoidance; co-operation and deception in social relations; difficulties in working with certain male clients; gender differences in therapy and the roles of shame and guilt in treatment.
Providing up-to-date summaries of recent thinking in this increasing important but diverse area, Genes on the Couch will be of interest to psychotherapists, psychiatrists and a wide range of mental health professionals.

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The publication in 1998 of Susan Blackmore's bestselling 'The meme machine' re-awakened the debate over the highly controverial field of memetics. In the past couple of years, there has been an explosion of interest in 'memes'. The one thing noticably missing though, has been any kind of proper debate over the validity of a concept regarded by many as scientifically suspect. Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science pits leading intellectuals, (both supporters and opponents of meme theory), against eachother to battle it out, and state their case. With a foreword by Daniel Dennett, and contributions from Dan Sperber, David Hull, Robert Boyd, Susan Blackmore, Henry Plotkin, and others, the result is a thrilling and challenging debate that will perhaps mark a turning point for the field, and for future research. Superbly edited by Robert Aunger, Darwinizing culture is a thought provoking book, that will fascinate, stimulate, (and occasionally perhaps infuriate) a broad range of readers including, psychologists, biologists, philosophers, linguists, and anthropologists.

Economics is traditionally taken to be the social science concerned with the production, consumption, exchange, and distribution of wealth and commodities. Economists carefully track the comings and goings of the human household, whether written small (microeconomics) or large (macroeconomics) and attempt to predict future patterns under different situations. However, in constructing their models of economic behavior, economists often lose sight of the actual characteristics and motivations of their human subjects. In consequence, they have found the goal of an explanatory and predictive science to be elusive. Economics as an Evolutionary Science reorients economics toward a more direct appreciation of human nature, with an emphasis on what we have learned from recent advances in evolutionary science. The authors integrate economics and evolution to produce a social science that is rigorous, internally coherent, testable, and consistent with the natural sciences. The authors suggest an expanded definition of "fitness," as in Darwin's survival of the fittest, emphasizing not only the importance of reproduction and the quality of offspring, but also the unique ability of humans to provide material wealth to their children. The book offers a coherent explanation for the recent decline in fertility, which is shown to be consistent with the evolutionary goal of maximizing genetic success. In addition, the authors demonstrate the relevance to economics of several core concepts derived from biologists, including the genetics of parent-offspring conflict, inclusive fitness theory, and the phenomena of R-selection and K-selection. The keystone of their presentation is a cogent critique of the traditional concept of "utility." As the authors demonstrate, the concept can be modified to reflect the fundamental evolutionary principle whereby living things-including human beings-have been selected to behave in a manner that maximizes their genetic representation in future generations. Despite the extraordinary interest in applying evolutionary biology to other disciplines, Economics as an Evolutionary Science marks the first major attempt at a synthesis of biology and economics. Scholarly yet accessible, this volume offers unique and original perspectives on an entire discipline. Arthur E. Gandolfi is vice president and senior portfolio manager for Citicorp Bank Cards Treasury. He is co-author of The International Transmission of Inflation. Anna Sachko Gandolfi is professor of economics, finance, and management at Manhattanville College at Purchase, NY. David P. Barash is professor of psychology and zoology at the University of Washington where he has taught since 1973. He is the author of twenty books and more than 170 technical articles.

The issues surrounding Darwin's theory of evolution as a function of the survival of the fittest have hardly abated since they were initially promulgated about 150 ago. The reason is clear: behind the theory of evolution is a doctrine of the structure of organisms that can be explained only by fitting the adaptation to the external world. The older doctrines of creation have been at odds with evolutionism from the outset--sometimes utilizing straight theological arguments and at other times employing sophisticated scientific arguments. Into the breach steps Friedrich S. Rothschild, a trained neurologist, psychologist and physician. On the basis of his research in comparative embryology, Rothschild argues that the central nervous system of animals as well as humans conveys meaning just like language, and is not just a system aimed at adaptation to the external environment. His theory of biosemiotics introduces the concept of inner adaptation. This adaptation to the principal forces assigns meaning to life. In monotheistic religions this force is called God. The issue of adaptation is therefore both external and internal, related to the growth of the person no less than it is to the environment. This book is intended for those who are interested in life and its varied meanings, to students of sociobiology and medicine as well as those concerned with humanities. " Friedrich S. Rothschild" graduated from medical school in 1923, went on to specialize in psychiatry, studying under Erich Fromm and Kurt Goldstein. In 1936 he emigrated from Germany to Palestine. After the establishment of the State of Israel, he served as professor of psychiatry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of "Symbolism of Brain Structure; The Ego and the Regulation of the Perception Process; "and "The Central Nervous System as Symbolic Perception. "

This book presents a synthesis of the modern approaches to the study of ontogeny and the interpretation of the fossil evidence for human origins. Recent years have seen significant developments in the understanding of the regulation of embryonic pattern formation and skeletal adaptation, and in techniques for the visualizations and analysis of ontogenetic transformations, offering the prospect of understanding the mechanisms underpinning phylogenetic transformation in the skeleton. Advances in developmental biology, molecular genetics, biomechanics, microscopy, imaging and morphometrics are brought to bear on the subject.
Key Features
* Reviews important hot subject areas
* Juxtaposes contributions by developmental biologists and those by evolutionary morphologists
* Makes some bold insights; synthesizes development and evolution

Population genomics has provided unprecedented opportunities to unravel the mysteries of marine organisms in the oceans' depths. The world's oceans, which make up 70% of our planet, encompass diverse habitats and host numerous unexplored populations and species. Population genomics studies of marine organisms are rapidly emerging and have the potential to transform our understanding of marine populations, species, and ecosystems, providing insights into how these organisms are evolving and how they respond to different stimuli and environments. This knowledge is critical for understanding the fundamental aspects of marine life, how marine organisms will respond to environmental changes, and how we can better protect and preserve marine biodiversity and resources. This book brings together leading experts in the field to address critical aspects of fundamental and applied research in marine species and share their research and insights crucial for understanding marine ecosystem diversity and function. It also discusses the challenges, opportunities and future perspectives of marine population genomics.

Now widely recognised as a standard in the field, the Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory provides the most complete context possible for understanding the 65-million-year story of humankind's origins.
The Encyclopedia gathers the work of 49 internationally recognised scholars, each a leading authority writing under the guidance of a distinguished team of editors from the American Museum of Natural History. They have prepared over 800 entries, ranging from brief definitions of technical terms to in depth, lengthy essays on broad topics such as evolutionary theory, genetics and Palaeolithic archaeology. This range makes the Encyclopedia a suitable tool for scholars and readers in a variety of fields, including archaeology, palaeontology, primateology, and genetics.
Each entry offers an authoritative and objective explanation of its topic, written in clear, concise language. In discussions of contested and controversial topics, the contributors present a full range of opinion, with extensive cross-references.

Martin Nowak, one of the world's experts on evolution and game theory, working here with bestselling science writer Roger Highfield, turns an important aspect of evolutionary theory on its head to explain why cooperation, not competition, has always been the key to the evolution of complexity. In his first book written for a wide audience, this hugely influential scientist explains his cutting-edge research into the mysteries of cooperation, from the rise of multicellular life to Good Samaritans, and from cancer treatment to the success of large companies. With wit and clarity, and an eye to its huge implications, Nowak and Highfield make the case that cooperation, not competition, is the defining human trait. "SuperCooperators "will expand our understanding of evolution and provoke debate for years to come.

The diversity of social behavior among birds and primates is surpassed only by members of the Hymenopteran insects, including bees, ants, and the genus Polistes, or paper-wasps. This volume combines incisive reviews and new, unpublished data in studies of paper-wasps, a large and varied group whose life patterns are often studied by biologists interested in social evolution. While this research is significant to the natural history of paper-wasps, it also applies to topics of general interest such as the evolution of cooperation, social parasitism, kin recognition, and the division of labor.

We live in a world surrounded by remarkable cultural achievements of human kind. Almost every day we hear of new innovations in technology, in medicine and in the arts which remind us that humans are capable of remarkable creativity. But what is human creativity? The modern world provides a tiny fraction of cultural diversity and the evidence for human creativity, far more can be seen by looking back into prehistory. The book examines how our understanding of human creativity can be extended by exploring this phenomenon during human evolution and prehistory. The book offers unique perspectives on the nature of human creativity from archaeologists who are concerned with long term patterns of cultural change and have access to quite different types of human behaviour than that which exists today. It asks whether humans are the only creative species, or whether our extinct relatives such as Homo habilis and the Neanderthals also displayed creative thinking. It explores what we can learn about the nature of human creativity from cultural developments during prehistory, such as changes in the manner in which the dead were buried, monuments constructed, and the natural world exploited. In doing so, new light is thrown on these cultural developments and the behaviour of our prehistoric ancestors. By examining the nature of creativity during human evolution and prehistory these archaeologists, supported by contributions from psychology, computer science and social anthropology, show that human creativity is a far more diverse and complex phenomena than simply flashes of genius by isolated individuals. Indeed they show that unless perspectives from prehistory are taken into account, our understanding of human creativity will be limited and incomplete.

Late-1990s developments in the study of thermophiles have had considerable significance on theories of evolution. These micro-organisms are able to thrive at temperatures near or even above 100 degrees Celsius, and scientists have begun to study their biology in an attempt to provide clues about the beginnings of life on our planet.
Researchers from diverse background such as biology, genetics, biogeochemistry, oceanography, systematics and evolution come together in this comprehensive volume to address questions such as: Why did life originate? Was the Earth at high temperatures when life began, and if so, how high? What can we conclude about the origins of life from studying thermophilic organisms?

Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection presents the intricate ways in which sperm compete to fertilize eggs and how this has prompted reinterpretations of breeding behavior. This book provides a theoretical framework for the study of sperm competition, which is a central part of sexual selection. It also discusses the roles of females and the relationships between paternal care in sperm competition. The chapters focusing on taxonomic development are diverse and cover all the major animal groups, both vertebrate and invertebrate, and plants. The final chapter provides an overview discussing the relationship between sperm competition and sexual selection in terms of both function and mechanism and how these translate into species fitness. This book will be of prime interest to behaviorists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists, suggesting new avenues of research and new ways of approaching old problems.
Key Features
* The only up-to-date summary of a central and popular subject
* Well known editors and authors
* Provides a theoretical framework for the study of sperm competition
* Covers all major animal groups
* Includes a chapter on plants

Based on the 25th Anniversary Symposium of the Jean Piaget Society, this book represents cutting-edge work on the mechanisms of cognitive, social, and cultural development. The authors-anthropologists, biologists, historians of science, paleontologists, and psychologists-believe that a rebirth is in progress relating to the study of these mental developments. This volume seeks to illuminate this rebirth.

The varied findings and approaches reported reveal that contemporary comparative research on mental development is in a phase of differentiation and integration. Far from being global and fused, this comparative study is a flowering field of diverse disciplinary approaches, empirical phenomena, scholarly topics, and theoretical perspectives. It focuses on the comparative phylogeny, ontogeny, and history of mentation-most notably on the comparative onset and offset ages, velocity, extent, sequencing, organization of thought, symbol, and value development. The world's leading authorities on the subject discuss the implications of the study of evolution for our models of the ontogenetic origins, development, and history of mentation, as well as determine the constraints that evolution imposes on mental development.

Bringing the current interest in primate cognition to bear on studies of cognitive development in humans, this book will be of interest cognitive developmentalists, primatologists and comparitive psychologists.

Darwin's theory of natural selection was a monumental step in our understanding of evolution, explaining how useful adaptations are preserved over generations. However, Darwin's great idea didn't - and couldn't - tell us how those adaptations arise in the first place. On its own, can random mutation really be responsible for all the creative marvels in nature? Renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner presents the missing piece of Darwin's theory. Using cutting-edge experimental technologies, he has found that adaptations are driven by a set of laws which allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take. Meticulously researched, carefully argued, and full of fascinating examples from the animal kingdom, Arrival of the Fittest signals an end to the mystery of life's rich diversity.

This book shows how Darwinian biology supports an Aristotelian view of ethics as rooted in human nature. Defending a conception of "Darwinian natural right" based on the claim that the good is the desirable, the author argues that there are at least twenty natural desires that are universal to all human societies because they are based in human biology. The satisfaction of these natural desires constitutes a universal standard for judging social practice as either fulfilling or frustrating human nature, although prudence is required in judging what is best for particular circumstances.

The author studies the familial bonding of parents and children and the conjugal bonding of men and women as illustrating social behavior that conforms to Darwinian natural right. He also studies slavery and psychopathy as illustrating social behavior that contradicts Darwinian natural right. He argues as well that the natural moral sense does not require religious belief, although such belief can sometimes reinforce the dictates of nature.

This volume explores questions about conceptual change from both scientific and philosophical viewpoints by analyzing the recent history of evolutionary developmental biology. It features revised papers that originated from the workshop "Conceptual Change in Biological Science: Evolutionary Developmental Biology, 1981-2011" held at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin in July 2010. The Preface has been written by Ron Amundson. In these papers, philosophers and biologists compare and contrast key concepts in evolutionary developmental biology and their development since the original, seminal Dahlem conference on evolution and development held in Berlin in 1981. Many of the original scientific participants from the 1981 conference are also contributors to this new volume and, in conjunction with other expert biologists and philosophers specializing on these topics, provide an authoritative, comprehensive view on the subject. Taken together, the papers supply novel perspectives on how and why the conceptual landscape has shifted and stabilized in particular ways, yielding insights into the dynamic epistemic changes that have occurred over the past three decades. This volume will appeal to philosophers of biology studying conceptual change, evolutionary developmental biologists focused on comprehending the genesis of their field and evaluating its future directions, and historians of biology examining this period when the intersection of ev olution and development rose again to prominence in biological science.

"Instinct and Revelation" revolves around the hypothesis that mystical awareness in early hominids may have helped to spawn the evolution of the human brain and human consciousness. Using an integral perspective comparable with systems theory, the book carefully interweaves fact and theory from physical and cultural anthropology, psychobiology and the brain sciences, psychology, and to a lesser degree, Eastern philosophy. This book breaks from tradition by discussing, from a purely anthropological perspective, the origin of human consciousness within a philosophical framework that embraces precepts from human evolution, evolutionary psychobiology, biocultural anthropology and cultural symbolic anthropology. The book's central theme is that transcendental awareness of one of its precursors may have existed in proto-humans who lived over one million years ago. The author proposes that some form of transcendental consciousness proved to be a significant but neglected force that helped shape the biological evolution of the hominid brain.

Contents:
S. Baron-Cohen, Preface: Why Evolutionary Psychopathology? R. Nesse, G. Williams, Are Mental Disorders Diseases? M. McGuire, I. Marks, R. Nesse, A. Troisi, Evolutionary Biology: A Basic Science for Psychiatry? D. Wilson, Evolutionary Epidemiology: Darwinian Theory in the Service of Medicine and Psychiatry. I. Marks, R. Nesse, Fear and Fitness: An Evolutioary Analysis of Anxiety Disorders. R. Nesse, An Evolutionary Perspective on Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. R. James Blair, A Cognitive Developmental Approach to Morality: Investigating the Psychopath. M. Daly, M. Wilson, Evolutionary Social Psychology and Family Homicide. L. Mealey, The Sociobiology of Sociopathy: An Integrated Evolutionary Model. L.A. Dugatkin, The Evolution of the "Con-Artist". S. Baron-Cohen, How to Build a Baby that Can Read Minds: Cognitive Mechanisms in Mindreading. J, Price, L. Sloman, R. Gardner Jr., P. Gilbert, P. Rohde, The Social Competition Hypothesis of Depression,

In explaining his individuality thesis, Michael T. Ghiselin provides extended discussions of such philosophical topics as definition, the reality of various kinds of groups, and how we classify traits and processes. He develops and applies the implications for general biology and other sciences and makes the case that a better understanding of species and of classification in general puts biologists and paleontologists in a much better position to understand nature in general, and such processes as extinction in particular.

Darwinism is fast becoming an orthodoxy of modern thought, a framework within which a wide range of knowledge communities conduct their discourse. Ever since its formation, Darwinian theory has experienced a close, though not always comfortable, association with economics. Evolutionary economists now appear to show little concern for the consistency of knowledge in their embrace of Darwinism. Darwinism and Evolutionary Economics brings together contributions from eminent authors who, building on Darwin's own insights and on developments in evolutionary theory, offer challenging views on how economics can use evolutionary ideas effectively. This collection of critical essays provides a thorough examination of the application of Darwinian theory to economic thought, and will appeal to evolutionary economists and all those with an interest in Darwin, innovation and evolutionary science.

Soil invertebrates make up diverse communities living in soil pores and on the soil surface, digging burrows and tunnels, processing organic matter and interacting with microbes. Soil is also a habitat of growing concern as many human activities cause soil degradation. This book documents the evolutionary history of soil invertebrates and their multitude of adaptations. Soil invertebrates live in a twilight zone: some have gone down to seek stability, constancy and rest, others have gone up and faced environmental variation, heat, cold and activity. And it all happens in a few decimetres, millimetres sometimes. Check out the wonderful life below ground in this book.

Mitochondria and chloroplasts are eukaryotic organelles that evolved from bacterial ancestors and harbor their own genomes. The gene products of these genomes work in concert with those of the nuclear genome to ensure proper organelle metabolism and biogenesis.

This book explores the forces that have shaped the evolution of organelle genomes and the expression of the genes encoded by them. Some striking examples of trends in organelle evolution explored here are the reduction in genome size and gene coding content observed in most lineages, the complete loss of organelle DNA in certain lineages, and the unusual modes of gene expression that have emerged, such as the extensive and essential mRNA editing that occurs in plant mitochondria and chloroplasts. This book places particular emphasis on the current techniques used to study the evolution of organelle genomes and gene expression.

Are we in imminent danger of extinction? Yes, we probably are, argues John Leslie in his chilling account of the dangers facing the human race as we approach the second millenium.
The End of the World is a sobering assessment of the many disasters that scientists have predicted and speculated on as leading to apocalypse. In the first comprehensive survey, potential catastrophes - ranging from deadly diseases to high-energy physics experiments - are explored to help us understand the risks.
One of the greatest threats facing humankind, however, is the insurmountable fact that we are a relatively young species, a risk which is at the heart of the 'Doomsday Argument'. This argument, if correct, makes the dangers we face more serious than we could have ever imagined. This more than anything makes the arrogance and ignorance of politicians, and indeed philosophers, so disturbing as they continue to ignore the manifest dangers facing future generations.