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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Life sciences: general issues > Evolution
Newborn mammals can weigh as little as a dime or as much as a
motorcycle. Some receive milk for only a few days, whereas others
nurse for years. Humans typically have only one baby at a time
following nine months of pregnancy, but other mammals have twenty
or more young after only a few weeks in utero. What causes this
incredible reproductive diversity? In Reproduction in Mammals,
Virginia Hayssen and Teri Orr present readers with a fascinating
examination of the varied reproductive strategies of a broad
spectrum of mammals, from marsupials to whales. This unique book's
comprehensive coverage gathers stories from many taxa into a
single, cohesive perspective that centers on the reproductive lives
of females. The authors shed light on a number of intriguing
questions, including * do bigger moms have bigger babies?* do
primates have longer pregnancies than other groups?* does habitat
influence animals' reproductive patterns?* do carnivores typically
produce larger litters than prey species? The book opens with the
authors' definition of what constitutes a female perspective and an
examination of the evolution of reproduction in mammals. It then
outlines the typical individual mammalian female: her genetics,
anatomy, and physiology. Taking a nuanced approach, Hayssen and Orr
describe the female reproductive cycle and explore female mammals'
interactions with males and offspring. Readers will come away from
this thought-provoking book with an understanding not only of how
reproduction fits into the lives of female mammals but also of how
biology has affected the enormously diverse reproductive patterns
of the phenotypes we observe today.
Cognitive Evolution provides an in-depth exploration of the natural
history of cognition, from the beginning of life on Earth to
present-day humans. Drawing together evolutionary, comparative, and
neuroscience research, the book brings a unique cognitive
perspective to evolutionary psychology. The second edition features
the latest research and illustrations on emerging topics, making it
a true update of the field. After introducing evolution, Boles
adopts an information processing perspective - from inputs to
outputs, with all the mental processes in between to provide a
systematic overview of the evolution of cognition, including its
sensory, motoric, perceptual, and cognitive components. The
combination of evolutionary, comparative, and neuroscience
perspectives provides an insight on topics like vision, handedness,
tools and planning, spatial perception, pattern recognition,
memory, language, and consciousness. Cognitive Evolution is a
comprehensive, essential read for advanced undergraduate and
postgraduate students of cognitive and evolutionary psychology.
Researchers will find it a useful and insightful synthesis of the
field, yet even the curious public will find in it much that is
surprising and enlightening.
If theoretical physicists can seriously entertain canonical
"standard models" even for the big-bang generation of the entire
universe, why cannot life scientists reach a consensus on how life
has emerged and settled on this planet? Scientists are hindered by
conceptual gaps between bottom-up inferences (from early Earth
geological conditions) and top-down extrapolations (from modern
life forms to common ancestral states). This book challenges
several widely held assumptions and argues for alternative
approaches instead. Primal syntheses (literally or figuratively
speaking) are called for in at least five major areas. (1) The
first RNA-like molecules may have been selected by solar light as
being exceptionally photostable. (2) Photosynthetically active
minerals and reduced phosphorus compounds could have efficiently
coupled the persistent natural energy flows to the primordial
metabolism. (3) Stochastic, uncoded peptides may have kick-started
an ever-tightening co-evolution of proteins and nucleic acids. (4)
The living fossils from the primeval RNA World thrive within modern
cells. (5) From the inherently complex protocellular associations
preceding the consolidation of integral genomes, eukaryotic cell
organization may have evolved more naturally than simple
prokaryote-like life forms. - If this book can motivate dedicated
researchers to further explore the alternative mechanisms
presented, it will have served its purpose well.
Nine chapters on diverse topics that include: an analysis of
whether sociobiology has killed ethology or revitalized it; aims,
limitations, and the future of ethology and comparative ethology;
the tyranny of anthropocentrism; psychoimmunology; gender
differences in behavior; behavioral development.
Anyone interested in comparative biology or the history of
science will find this myth-busting work genuinely fascinating. It
draws attention to the seminal studies and important advances that
have shaped systematic and biogeographic thinking. It traces
concepts in homology and classification from the 19th century to
the present through the provision of a unique anthology of
scientific writings from Goethe, Agassiz, Owen, Naef, Zangerl and
Nelson, among others.
We have come a long way towards better understanding how new
species originate, i.e. speciation, which long remained Darwin's
"mystery of mysteries." Since speciation is the underlying
mechanism for radiations, it is the ultimate causation for the
biological diversity of life that surrounds us. Without a doubt,
Charles Darwin's contribution to our understanding of the origin of
biodiversity cannot be overestimated. This book is a contribution
to both the Darwin Year we celebrated in 2009 and to the Year of
Biodiversity and Conservation 2010. The studies and model cases
presented show the progress and dynamics of research based on
Darwinian theories and sheds light on its implications in the
context of current biodiversity crises. The great importance of
adaptive (and non-adaptive) radiations for biodiversity is widely
accepted, but our understanding of the processes and mechanisms
involved is still limited and generalizations need to be based on
the accumulation of more evidence from additional case studies. The
studies presented in this volume are those urgently needed and
focus on a variety of organisms and different aspects of
radiations. The scientific results presented therein are excellent
examples not only of evolution in action, but also of active
research on evolutionary processes and their most apparent outcome
-- biodiversity.
This book is a socio-philosophical journey across several aspects
of our society's focus on individual freedom, taking cues from some
of the most prominent thinkers of our time. The auhtor posits that
the human quest for freedom (mostly dominated by the Western
culture but by no means confined to the West) has reached its
ultimate paradox of making contemporary humans fundamentally unable
to act as ecosystems (thus cooperate and collaborate). They have
become egosystems, completely centred on the attainment of their
own individual satisfaction. The author sees this as the
culmination of a rightful quest for self-affirmation, which has
been a key driver of progress across human history and by no means
a negative one. But the paradox is that such a human-centred notion
of freedom and individual accomplishment results in a much reduced
ability to operate in sync with others, at the time when mankind
would need more cooperation, collaboration and selflessness to
address the key challenges it faces (from climate change to
inequalities). Through the examination of the broad and
interdisciplinary themes typical of social philosophy and the most
recent cultural studies, in direct confrontation with the thought
of authors such as Lipovetsky and Bauman, Lasch and Beck, Ehrenberg
and Han, this book examines shifts in cultural norms at the
possible end of a millenary civilization.
This book offers a comprehensive exploration of the major key
concepts common to economics and evolutionary biology. Written by a
group of philosophers of science, biologists and economists, it
proposes analyses of the meaning of twenty-five concepts from the
viewpoint respectively of economics and of evolutionary biology
-each followed by a short synthesis emphasizing major discrepancies
and commonalities. This analysis is surrounded by chapters
exploring the nature of the analogy that connects evolution and
economics, and chapters that summarize the major teachings of the
analyses of the keywords. Most scholars in biology and in economics
know that their science has something in common with the other one,
for instance the notions of competition and resources. Textbooks
regularly acknowledge that the two fields share some history -
Darwin borrowing from Malthus the insistence on scarcity of
resources, and then behavioral ecologists adapting and transforming
game theory into evolutionary game theory in the 1980s, while
Friedman famously alluded to a Darwinian process yielding the
extant firms. However, the real extent of the similarities, the
reasons why they are so close, and the limits and even the nature
of the analogy connecting economics and biological evolution,
remain inexplicit. This book proposes basis analyses that can
sustain such explication. It is intended for researchers, grad
students and master students in evolutionary and in economics, as
well as in philosophy of science.
Why are humans everywhere prone to believe in ghosts?
How might our tendency to imitate one another be contributing to the
climate catastrophe?
And does our deep evolutionary past impel us to vote for strongmen?
In 1987, Harvey Whitehouse went to live with an indigenous community
deep in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. His experiences there
convinced him that, far from being wildly different, humans are
fundamentally alike: their beliefs and behaviours rooted in a set of
evolutionary urges that can be found in any society, anywhere.
Here, Whitehouse roves across twelve millennia and five continents to
uncover how these evolved urges have both shaped and been reshaped by
human history. Along the way, he shows that this ancient inheritance
does not just hold the key to explaining the modern world – but perhaps
also to changing it.
Evolutionary Biology celebrates its Quarter-Century Anniversary!
'Evolutionary Biology occupies a unique and valuable place in the
evolutionary literature...The editors are to be congratulated on
their continuing ability to attract interesting articles.' --- The
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
The aim of this edited book is to provide health professionals,
across a wide variety of specialisms, with a targeted access to
evolutionary medicine. Throughout the book, the views of both
medical and evolutionary scientists on the latest relevant research
is presented with a focus on practical implications. The inclusion
of boxes explaining the theoretical background as well as both a
glossary for technical terms and a lay summary for non- specialists
enable medical researchers, public health professionals, policy
makers, physicians, students, scholars and the public alike to
quickly and easily access appropriate information. This edited
volume is thus relevant to anyone keen on finding out how
evolutionary medicine can improve the health and well-being of
people.
Bone is ubiquitous and versatile, and uniquely repairs itself
without scarring. However, we rarely see bone in its living
state-and even then, mostly in two-tone images that only hint at
its marvels. After it serves and protects vertebrate lives, bone
reveals itself in surprising ways, sometimes hundreds of millions
of years later. In Bones, orthopaedic surgeon Roy Meals explores
and extols this amazing material that both supports and records
vertebrate life. He demystifies the biological makeup of bones; how
they grow, break and heal; and how medical innovations-from the
first X-rays to advanced surgical techniques-enhance our lives.
With enthusiasm and humour, Meals also reveals the enduring
presence of bone outside the body-as fossils, ossuaries, tools,
musical instruments-and celebrates allusions to bone in history,
religion and idiom. Approachable and entertaining, Bones richly
illuminates our bodies' essential framework.
Developmental biology is seemingly well understood, with
development widely accepted as being a series of programmed changes
through which an egg turns into an adult organism, or a seed
matures into a plant. However, the picture is much more complex
than that: is it all genetically controlled or does environment
have an influence? Is the final adult stage the target of
development and everything else just a build-up to that point? Are
developmental strategies the same in plants as in animals? How do
we consider development in single-celled organisms? In this
concise, engaging volume, Alessandro Minelli, a leading
developmental biologist, addresses these key questions. Using
familiar examples and easy-to-follow arguments, he offers fresh
alternatives to a number of preconceptions and stereotypes,
awakening the reader to the disparity of developmental phenomena
across all main branches of the tree of life.
An extremely well-organized, conceptually clear, empirically
informed, and carefully argued volume...What makes this
contribution special is the invigorating infusion of a wealth of
principles and knowledge derived from evolutionary biology,
neurophysiology, and cognitive science...The chapters provide
abundant material for animated discussion.'' --- Evolution and
Human Behavior, September 1997 When engaging in laboratory and
field studies, researchers have an extensive set of implicit
assumptions that justifies their research. However, these
assumptions are rarely made explicit either to the researchers
themselves, to their colleagues, or to the public. In this
fascinating volume, the author gives insight into these underlying
beliefs that scientists have regarding moral and biological issues
involved in human life-such as decisions that influence
reproductive practices, the termination of life, and the pursuit of
biomedical research. He then uses this descriptive base to develop
an ethic based on rational liberalism. His arguments stem from the
thinking of biologists, moral philosophers, cognitive scientists,
and social and developmental psychologists.
The past decade has witnessed an explosion of our knowledge on the
structure, coding capacity and evolution of the genomes of the two
DNA-containing cell organelles in plants: chloroplasts (plastids)
and mitochondria. Comparative genomics analyses have provided new
insights into the origin of organelles by endosymbioses and
uncovered an enormous evolutionary dynamics of organellar genomes.
In addition, they have greatly helped to clarify phylogenetic
relationships, especially in algae and early land plants with
limited morphological and anatomical diversity. This book, written
by leading experts, summarizes our current knowledge about plastid
and mitochondrial genomes in all major groups of algae and land
plants. It also includes chapters on endosymbioses, plastid and
mitochondrial mutants, gene expression profiling and methods for
organelle transformation. The book is designed for students and
researchers in plant molecular biology, taxonomy, biotechnology and
evolutionary biology.
Marker-assisted plant breeding involves the application of
molecular marker techniques and statistical and bioinformatics
tools to achieve plant breeding objectives in a cost-effective and
time-efficient manner. This book is intended for beginners in the
field who have little or no prior exposure to molecular markers and
their applications, but who do have a basic knowledge of genetics
and plant breeding, and some exposure to molecular biology. An
attempt has been made to provide sufficient basic information in an
easy-to-follow format, and also to discuss current issues and
developments so as to offer comprehensive coverage of the subject
matter. The book will also be useful for breeders and research
workers, as it offers a broad range of up-to-the-year information,
including aspects like the development of different molecular
markers and their various applications. In the first chapter, the
field of marker-assisted plant breeding is introduced and placed in
the proper perspective in relation to plant breeding. The next
three chapters describe the various molecular marker systems, while
mapping populations and mapping procedures including
high-throughput genotyping are discussed in the subsequent five
chapters. Four chapters are devoted to various applications of
markers, e.g. marker-assisted selection, genomic selection,
diversity analysis, finger printing and positional cloning. In
closing, the last two chapters provide information on relevant
bioinformatics tools and the rapidly evolving field of phenomics.
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Optical Allusions
(Hardcover)
Jay Hosler; Illustrated by Jay Hosler
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This is the first book on "phylogenetic supertrees," a recent, but
controversial development for inferring evolutionary trees. Rather
than analyze the combined primary character data directly,
supertree construction proceeds by combining the tree topologies
derived from those data. This difference in strategy has allowed
for the exciting possibility of larger, more complete phylogenies
than are otherwise currently possible, with the potential to
revolutionize evolutionarily-based research. This book provides a
comprehensive look at supertrees, ranging from the methods used to
build supertrees to the significance of supertrees to bioinformatic
and biological research. Reviews of many the major supertree
methods are provided and four new techniques, including a Bayesian
implementation of supertrees, are described for the first time. The
far-reaching impact of supertrees on biological research is
highlighted both in general terms and through specific examples
from diverse clades such as flowering plants, even-toed ungulates,
and primates. The book also critically examines the many
outstanding challenges and problem areas for this relatively new
field, showing the way for supertree construction in the age of
genomics. Interdisciplinary contributions from the majority of the
leading authorities on supertree construction in all areas of the
bioinformatic community (biology, computer sciences, and
mathematics) will ensure that this book is a valuable reference
with wide appeal to anyone interested in phylogenetic inference.
The extended continental South American turtle record (Norian to
Lujanian) allows us to follow the evolution of this reptile clade
from its origins. Several significant stem turtle taxa such as:
Palaeochersis talampayensis and Condorchelys antiqua provide
information on the first steps of turtle evolution. Others such as:
Chubutemys copelloi or Patagoniaemys gasparinae provide clues to
the origin of the bizarre horned tortoises of the clade
Meiolaniidae. The panpleurodiran species such as Notoemys
laticentralis or Notoemys zapatocaensis shed light on the origin of
modern pleurodiran turtles. This book explores aquatic and
terrestrial cryptodiran turtles, South Gondwana pleurodiran
turtles, North Gondwana pleurodiran turtles; Meiolaniforms and
early differentiation of Mesozoic turtles.
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