This book explores the nature of cultural and culturally structured social and behavioral entities, their evolutionary interactions, and the central role purposive behaviors play in those interactions. It, first, makes the case for cultural and cultural structured systems being considered as true entities bounded in time and space, and not ephemera in a constant state of becoming another system. Second, it examines how these entities interact to produce evolutionary culture change. It then argues that the intent of purposive behaviors is reliably knowable in the aggregate, at least when dealing with expressions of behavioral tendencies in the animal kingdom, humans included. Finally, the book references well documented behavioral tendencies for examples of proximate causation in the evolution of settled village societies and, following that, socially complex societies. Through these efforts, the book synthesizes the various approaches to the evolution of culture and provides a complete and comprehensive picture of the process. It provides a corrective to the tendency to view cultural systems as entirely open ended and as capable of changing in any direction; and also to treating cultural evolution as solely a result of selective forces, that is, in terms of only ultimate causation. This book provides an engaging and critical counterview to established theories of cultural evolution and is of interest to scholars and students of different disciplines, from anthropology and archeology, to evolutionary biology and epigenetics.

The essays in this collection explore the implications that the growing challenge from "evolutionary" concepts of human nature have in various policyareas and show what must be done to ensure that policies conform to humanbehavior and its limits for change. As our conceptualizations of humanbehavior switch from one that says human behavior is a product of culture(through learning and socialization) to one that claims that behavior isthe outcome of both cultyre and genetics and biology, it is necessary for public policy to change as well. The contributors in this volume examine what happens when it is no longer possible to base policy solely on the basis ofculturally-constructed human behavior. Many argue that to ignore "nature" onbehalf of "nurture" will result in incomplete solutions to social, political, and economic problems.

This book has the modest aim of bringing together methodological, theo- retical, and empirical studies that bear on the phylogenetic placement of primates and their relatives, and continues a tradition started by Phylogeny of the Primates: A Multidisciplinary Approach (edited by W. P. Luckett and F. S. Szalay; Plenum Press, 1975) and The Comparative Biology and Evolutionary Rela- tionships of Tree Shrews (edited by W. P. Luckett, Plenum Press, 1980). Although there are several recent compendia of studies of primate relationships, most of these are exclusively concerned with the internal arrangement of clades within the order, not with the place of primates and their relatives on the eutherian cladogram. Evolutionary theory predicts that primates must be more closely related to some non primate mammals than to others, but a continuing problem has been to find reliable procedures for recovering historical relationships among taxa. Before the 1970s, higher-level relationships among primates and euthe- rian mammals that might be closely related to them were rarely treated in detail. Outstanding exceptions, like Le Gros Clark's Antecedents of Man, were just that-exceptions. (Clark himself essentially stopped with making a case for tree shrews; he did not, for example, explore whether bats and colugos were also related to primates. ) In the 1970s and 1980s, the rise of cladistic techniques and advances in molecular methods began to transform primate systematics.

A major thrust of scientific concern in recent years has been the problems of documenting and conserving biodiversity and the establishment of systems of sustainable development. We do not even know approximately how many species in different groups of living organisms share the planet with us! The major aim of this volume is to review the practical application of species concepts and appropriate technologies for as wide a diversity as possible of living organisms.

In the mid- to late-twentieth century, large scientific conflicts flared in two seemingly distinct fields of scientific inquiry. In bioenergetics, which examines how organisms obtain and utilize energy, the chemiosmotic hypothesis of Mitchell suggested a novel mechanism for energy conversion. In evolutionary biology, meanwhile, Wynne Edwards strongly articulated the view that organisms may act for the "good of the group." This work crystalized a long history of imprecise thinking about the evolution of cooperation. While both controversies have received ample attention, no one has ever suggested that one might inform the other, i.e., that energy metabolism in general and chemiosmosis in particular might be relevant to the evolution of cooperation. The central idea is nevertheless remarkably simple. Chemiosmosis rapidly converts energy, and once storage capacity is exceeded, an overabundance of product has various negative consequences. While to some extent chemiosmotic processes can be modulated, under certain circumstances it is also possible to simply disperse the products into the environment. This book argues that these two heretofore distinct scientific disciplines are connected, thereby suggesting that a ubiquitous process of energy conversion may underlie the evolution of cooperation and link major transitions in the history of life that have been regarded as mechanistically unrelated.

This book is aimed at students taking courses on evolution in universities and colleges. Its approach and its structure are very different from previously-published evolution texts. The core theme in this book is how evolution works by changing the course of embryonic and post-embryonic development. In other words, it is an evolution text that has been very much influenced by the new approach of evolutionary developmental biology, or 'evo-devo'.

Key themes include the following: developmental repatterning; adaptation and coadaptation; gene co-option; developmental plasticity; the origins of evolutionary novelties and body plans; and evolutionary changes in the complexity of organisms. As can be seen from this list, the book includes information across the levels of the gene, the organism, and the population. It also includes the issue of mapping developmental changes onto evolutionary trees. The examples used to illustrate particular points range widely, including animals, plants and fossils.

"I have really enjoyed reading this book. One of the strengths of the book is the almost conversational style. I found the style easy to read, but also feel that it will be invaluable in teaching. One of our tasks in university level teaching is to develop students' critical thinking skills. We need to support them in their intellectual development from a "just the facts" approach to being able to make critical judgements based on available evidence. The openness and honesty with which Arthur speaks to uncertainty in science is refreshing and will be a baseline for discussions with students."-Professor Patricia Moore, Exeter University

"This book, written as an undergraduate text, is a really most impressive book. Given the burgeoning interest in the role of developmental change in evolution in recent times, this will be a very timely publication. The book is well structured and, like the author's other books, very well written. He communicates with a clear, lucid style and has the ability to explain even the more difficult concepts in an accessible manner."---Professor Kenneth McNamara, University of Cambridge

The companion site can be found at www.wiley.com/go/arthur/evolution. Here you download all figures from the book, captions, tables, and table of contents.

This volume consists of papers written by evolutionary, molecular and organismal biologists, geneticists, ecologists, behavioural ecologists, morphologists, mathematicians, theoreticians and experimentalists, in honour of Professor Eviatar (Eibi) Nevo on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. The contributors are only a small subset of Eibi's many friends, collaborators and students (not that one can distinguish these categories among Eibi's colleagues). His widespread influence and activity, both in Israel and more generally, as a leading evolutionary biologist is indicated by his many co-authors on books and papers, and by his many students integrated in teaching and research. This volume presents some of the most recent dramatic results of molecular, genomic, and organismal evolutionary processes. It represents analyses, experiments, observations, reviews, discussions and forecasts of evolutionary theory comprising both novel methods and results, reanalyzed and reviewed data sets based on comparative, experimental, and theoretical studies utilizing model organisms across phylogeny, including bacteria, fungi, plants, animals and humans. It elucidates the revolution in molecular biology that ushered in our understanding of the evolutionary process over time and space. The topics discussed include major problems of evolutionary theory concerning origins, phylogeny, relative importance of evolutionary forces, structure and function, adaptation and speciation in space and time in changing and stressful environments. A major emerging generalization is the nonrandomness of genome structure highlighting the importance of natural selection as a major organizing evolutionary force not onlyat the phenotypic level, but most importantly at the interlinked genotypic molecular level. The integration between the molecular and organismal levels unifies life which is subjected to the mechanism of natural selection as a major orienting evolutionary force.

The Rise of Chance in Evolutionary Theory: A Pompous Parade of Arithmetic explores a pivotal conceptual moment in the history of evolutionary theory: the development of its extensive reliance on a wide array of concepts of chance. It tells the history of a methodological and conceptual development that reshaped our approach to natural selection over a century, ranging from Darwin's earliest notebooks in the 1830s to the early years of the Modern Synthesis in the 1930s. Far from being a "pompous parade of arithmetic," as one early critic argued, evolution transformed during this period to make these conceptual and technical tools indispensable. This book charts the role of chance in evolutionary theory from its beginnings to the earliest days of modern evolutionary theory, making it an ideal resource for evolutionary biologists, historians, philosophers, and researchers in science studies or biological statistics.

Muscle tissue powers every heartbeat, blink, jog, jump and goosebump. It is the force behind the most critical bodily functions, including digestion and childbirth, as well as extreme feats of athleticism. We can mould our muscles with exercise and observe the results. In this lively, lucid book, orthopedic surgeon Roy A. Meals takes us on a wide-ranging journey through anatomy, biology, history and health to unlock the mysteries of our muscles. He breaks down the three different types of muscle—smooth, skeletal and cardiac—and explores major advancements in medicine and fitness, including cutting-edge gene-editing research and the science behind popular muscle conditioning strategies. Along the way, he offers insight into the changing aesthetic and cultural conception of muscle, from Michelangelo’s David to present-day bodybuilders, and shares fascinating examples of strange muscular maladies and their treatment. Brimming with fun facts and infectious enthusiasm, Muscle sheds light on the astonishing, essential tissue that moves us through life.

This book addresses the differentiation control of skeletal muscle in different locations of the vertebrate body Particular attention is paid to novel regulatory molecules and signals as well as the heterogeneity of origin that have revealed a developmental overlap between skeletal and cardiac muscle. Different functional muscle groups are the product of the evolution of the vertebrate classes, making a phylogenetic comparison worthwhile for understanding the role of muscle stem cells and precursors in myogenesis. New insights into the hierarchy of transcription factors, particularly in the context of these different muscle groups have been gained from detailed investigations of the spatio-temporal and regulatory relationships derived from mouse and zebrafish genetics and avian microsurgery. Importantly, epigenetic mechanisms that have surfaced recently, in particular the role of MyomiRs, are also surveyed. With an eye to the human patient, encouraging results have been generated that identify parallels between embryonic myogenesis and regenerating myofibers due to common regulatory molecules. On the other hand, both processes differ considerably in quality and complexity of the processes employed. Interestingly, the heterogeneity in embryonic sources from which skeletal muscle groups in the vertebrate including the human body take origin is paralleled by differences in their susceptibility to particular muscle dystrophies as well as by the characteristics of the satellite cells involved in regeneration. The progress that has been made in the field of muscle stem cell biology, with special focus on the satellite cells, is outlined in this book by experts in the field. The authors review recent insights of the heterogeneous nature of these satellite cells regarding their gene signatures and regeneration potential. Furthermore, an improved understanding of muscle stem cells seems only possible when we study the impact of the cell environment on efficient stem cell replacement therapies for muscular dystrophies, putting embryological findings from different vertebrate classes and stem cell approaches into context.

Asexual reproduction is found in many taxonomic groups and considerable effort has been directed by biologists towards understanding its mechanisms, evolution and ecological significance. This research monograph, which is the culmination of several years of research by the author, offers a though-provoking contribution to this debate. It is primarily aimed at biologists undertaking research into the evolution, genetic control and ecological costs and benefits of different patterns of reproduction, although it should also be of interest to senior undergraduates.

In this book, a case study of a humanistic reading of an essential evolutionary theorist, George C. Williams (May 12, 1926-September 8, 2010), the author contends that certain classic works of evolutionary theory and history are the most important nature writing of recent times. What it means to be scientifically literate-is essential for humanistic scholars, who must ground themselves with literary reading of scientific texts. As the most influential American evolutionary theorist of the second half of the twentieth century, Williams masters critique, frames questions about adaptation and natural selection, and answers in a plain, aphoristic writing style. Williams aims for parsimony-to "recognize adaptation at the level necessitated by the facts and no higher"-through a minimalist writing style. This voice articulates a powerful process that operates at very low levels by blind and selfish chance at the expense of its designed products, using purely trial and error.

A growing body of evidence from the sciences suggests that our moral beliefs have an evolutionary basis. To explain how human morality evolved, some philosophers have called for the study of morality to be naturalized, i.e., to explain it in terms of natural causes by looking at its historical and biological origins. The present literature has focused on the link between evolution and moral realism: if our moral beliefs enhance fitness, does this mean they track moral truths? In spite of the growing empirical evidence, these discussions tend to remain high-level: the mere fact that morality has evolved is often deemed enough to decide questions in normative and meta-ethics. This volume starts from the assumption that the details about the evolution of morality do make a difference, and asks how. It presents original essays by authors from various disciplines, including philosophy, anthropology, developmental psychology, and primatology, who write in conversation with neuroscience, sociology, and cognitive psychology.

"The Teeth of Mammalian Vertebrates is an important reference for researchers in dentistry, comparative morphology, anthropology, and vertebrate palaeontology, and those with an interest in exploring and understanding diversity. The book provides a comprehensive and informed analysis of mammalian dentitions and highlights the importance of teeth as drivers and mirrors of evolution and diversity." - Journal of Anatomy The Teeth of Mammalian Vertebrates presents a comprehensive survey of mammalian dentitions that is based on material gathered from museums and research workers from around the world. The teeth are major factors in the success of mammals, and knowledge of tooth form and function is essential in mammalian biology. Illustrated with high-quality color photographs of skulls and dentitions, together with X-rays, CT images and histology, this book reveals the tremendous variety of tooth form and structure in mammals. Written by two internationally-recognized experts in dental anatomy, the book provides an up-to-date account of how teeth are adapted to acquiring and processing food. With its companion volume, this book provides a complete survey of the teeth of vertebrates. It is the ideal resource for students and researchers in zoology, biology, anthropology, archaeology and dentistry.

This book represents an evolutionary approach to defense mechanisms of all living organisms. The results achieved in developmental and comparative immunology are among the most interesting data in immunology. These results have great impact on our understanding fundamental problems of the pathology of the human immune system. At the same time, the field of evolutionary immunology provides not only inspiration for further investigation in biomedicine, but also a number of results applicable in clinical and commercial practice.

This book evaluates the advantages and limitations of studying the development of defense reactions. In addition to reviewing the major and crucial achievements of the past, the book offers a comprehensive state-of-the-art treatise focused primarily on the latest experiments described in the last few years.

While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants, none have offered a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place. Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Drunk shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication. From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies, blind cave fish, and problem-solving crows, Drunk is packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science, as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation into humanity's oldest indulgence-one that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then.

Origins: Genesis, Evolution and Biodiversity of Microbial Life in the Universe is the sixth unit of the book series Cellular Origins, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology (COLE) edited by Joseph Seckbach. In this book forty eminent scientists review their studies in the fields of Life from the beginning to the "Fact of Life." The history of Origin of Life and Astrobiology is well covered by these authors. Reviews cover the standard and alternative scenarios of the genesis of Life, while the chapters of "The First Cells" leading to the biodiversity and extremophiles of microbial Life. Among these extremophiles are the microbes living in the Life's limits, such as in high temperature, psychrophilic, UV radiation, and halophilic environments. The origin and history of Martian water is discussed followed by the possible biogeochemistry inside Titan. This new field of Astrobiology has been presented, from comets as a source of materials and Life on earth to the space for last Frontiers.

Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field, Second Edition provides a comprehensive manual on animal behavior lab activities. This new edition brings together basic research and methods, presenting applications and problem-solving techniques. It provides all the details to successfully run designed activities while also offering flexibility and ease in setup. The exercises in this volume address animal behavior at all levels, describing behavior, theory, application and communication. Each lab provides details on how to successfully run the activity while also offering flexibility to instructors. This is an important resource for students educators, researchers and practitioners who want to explore and study animal behavior. The field of animal behavior has changed dramatically in the past 15 - 20 years, including a greater use and availability of technology and statistical analysis. In addition, animal behavior has taken on a more applied role in the last decade, with a greater emphasis on conservation and applied behavior, hence the necessity for new resources on the topic.

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Biology, Four Volume Set is the definitive go-to reference in the field of evolutionary biology. It provides a fully comprehensive review of the field in an easy to search structure. Under the collective leadership of fifteen distinguished section editors, it is comprised of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing a full review of the current status of each topic. The articles are up-to-date and fully illustrated with in-text references that allow readers to easily access primary literature. While all entries are authoritative and valuable to those with advanced understanding of evolutionary biology, they are also intended to be accessible to both advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Broad topics include the history of evolutionary biology, population genetics, quantitative genetics; speciation, life history evolution, evolution of sex and mating systems, evolutionary biogeography, evolutionary developmental biology, molecular and genome evolution, coevolution, phylogenetic methods, microbial evolution, diversification of plants and fungi, diversification of animals, and applied evolution.

Travel back in time almost eight million years to explore the roots of the human family tree. Written and authenticated by a team of experts and with a foreword by Professor Alice Roberts, Evolution brings us face to face with our ancestors. Interweaving latest discoveries, maps, and incredible illustrations, it tells the story of our origins and helps us better understand our species, from tree-dwelling primates to modern humans. Renowned Dutch paleoartists the Kennis brothers bring our ancestors to life with their beautiful, accurate reconstructions that visually trace each step in our evolutionary history. Combined with clear prose, this comprehensive yet accessible book provides a rich history of each stage of human evolution, from human anatomy and behaviour to the environment we live in.