The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates: Dentitions for Form, Function, and Feeding, Second Edition is devoted to the teeth and dentitions of living fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. This book presents a comprehensive survey of the wide variety of tooth forms among non-mammalian vertebrates, based on descriptions of approximately 450 species belonging to about 170 families.This latest edition discusses the functional morphology of feeding, the attachment of teeth, and the relationship of tooth form to function, with each chapter accompanied by a comprehensive, up-to-date reference list. Following the descriptions of the teeth and dentitions in each class, four chapters review current topics with considerable research activity: tooth development; tooth replacement; and the structure, formation, and evolution of the dental hard tissues. The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates: Dentitions for Form, Function, and Feeding, Second Edition is authored by internationally recognized teachers and researchers in the field. This new edition reflects the resurgence of interest in the dentitions of non-mammalian vertebrates as experimental systems to help understand genetic changes in evolution of teeth and jaws.

Originally published in 1995, The Antievolution Pamphlets of William Bell Riley is the fourth volume in the series, Creationism in Twentieth Century America, reissued in 2021. The volume comprises of nine antievolution pamphlets written by William Bell Riley during the interwar years. The pamphlets detail Riley’s antievolutionist ideas and activities, and the book attempts to place the work in the larger contexts of Riley’s career, as well as discussing the pamphlets included. The collection will be of especial interest to natural historians, and theologians as well as academics of philosophy, and history.

The study of the genetic basis for evolution has flourished in this century, as well as our understanding of the evolvability and programmability of biological systems. Genetic algorithms meanwhile grew out of the realization that a computer program could use the biologically-inspired processes of mutation, recombination, and selection to solve hard optimization problems. Genetic and evolutionary programming provide further approaches to a wide variety of computational problems. A synthesis of these experiences reveals fundamental insights into both the computational nature of biological evolution and processes of importance to computer science. Topics include biological models of nucleic acid information processing and genome evolution; molecules, cells, and metabolic circuits that compute logical relationships; the origin and evolution of the genetic code; and the interface with genetic algorithms and genetic and evolutionary programming.

Leading researchers in the area of the origin and evolution of life in the universe contributed to Chemical Evolution: Physics of the Origin and Evolution of Life. This volume provides a review of this interdisciplinary field. In 35 chapters many aspects of the origin of life are discussed by 90 authors, with particular emphasis on the early paleontological record: physical, chemical, biological, and informational aspects of life's origin, instrumentation in exobiology and system exploration; the search for habitable planets and extraterrestrial intelligent radio signals. This book contains the proceedings of the Fourth Trieste Conference on Chemical Evolution that took place in September 1995, in which scientists from a wide geographical distribution joined in a Memorial to Cyril Ponnamperuma, who was a pioneer in the field of chemical evolution, the origin of life, and exobiology, and also initiated the Trieste Conferences on Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life. This fourth Conference was therefore dedicated to his memory. Audience: Graduate students and researchers in the many areas of basic, earth, and life sciences that contribute to the study of chemical evolution and the origin of life.

Is He Out There? is an interdisciplinary examination of the Christian reaction to Dawkinss The God Delusion. That reaction has offered a wide range of counter-arguments, among them: that Dawkinss demonstration of how God almost certainly doesnt exist addresses an out-dated conception of God; that science and religion are not conflictual as Dawkins contends and indeed may well be converging upon an understanding of how God acts in the universe; that Dawkinss denigration of the Bible depends on an overly literal reading; and that Dawkins assumes a narrative of progress in which human beings take the place of God in controlling the course of history. Is He Out There? responds to these arguments in the context of current scientific understanding, biblical criticism and philosophy. Paul Laffan demonstrates how the desire to meet the challenge posed by Dawkinss viewpoint has led to the perversion of scientific theories and accepted positions in other important fields of inquiry. It suggests that Christianity is wedded to a God who is the cause of the universe a classical conception of cause that is anachronistic; that denying the Bible was read for most of the Christian era as offering a literal account of divine creation is a significant misrepresentation of doctrinal history; and that a complete dismissal of progress requires the dismissal of scientific achievement. The author considers the extent to which attractive, secular values like tolerance and freedom of opinion are Christian in source and whether moral systems require God to underwrite them. The wide-ranging nature of Is He Out There? not only provides a review of the state of contemporary Christian apology but is a measured address of the arguments put forward in The God Delusion and indeed of the substantive commentary on Dawkinss thesis.

What set our ancestors off on a separate evolutionary trajectory was the ability to flex their reproductive and social strategies in response to changing environmental conditions. Exploring new cross-disciplinary research that links this capacity to critical changes in the organization of the primate brain, Social DNA presents a new synthesis of ideas on human social origins - challenging models that trace our beginnings to traits shaped by ancient hunting economies, or to genetic platforms shared with contemporary apes.

This is the sixth volume of a ten-volume series on The Natural History of the Crustacea. The volume synthesizes in nineteen chapters our current understanding of diverse topics in crustacean reproductive biology. In the first part of this book, the chapters address allocation strategies to reproduction, gamete production, brooding behavior, and other components of parental care in crustaceans. The second part of the volume centers on sexual systems in crustaceans. The third section of the volume covers crustacean mating systems and sexual selection. Reproductive Biology ends with three chapters covering diverse topics including reproductive rhythms, crustacean personality research, and record breaking crustaceans with respect to reproductive characters.

Evolution's Clinical Guidebook: Translating Ancient Genes into Precision Medicine demonstrates, through well-documented examples, how an understanding of the phylogenetic ancestry of humans allows us to make sense out of the flood of genetic data streaming from modern laboratories and how it can lead us to new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases. Topics cover evolution and human genome, meiosis and other recombinants events, embryology, speciation, phylogeny, rare and common diseases, and the evolution of aging. This book is a valuable source for bioinformaticians and those in the biomedical field who need knowledge, down to gene level, to fully comprehend currently available data.

This 2-volume set provides a state-of-the-art study of the fossil record and taxonomy of the main vertebrate groups from Greece. Greece stands between 3 continents and its vertebrate fossil record is of great importance for paleontological and evolutionary studies in Europe, Asia and Africa. Fossils from classic, world-famous localities (e.g., Pikermi, Samos) form an essential part of the collections of the most important museums in the world and have been studied by numerous scientists. Recent paleontological research led to the discovery and study of numerous new sites. The volumes contain a taxonomic review of all named and identified taxa, their taxonomic history and current status, as well as historical, phylogenetic and biogeographic information. Volume 2 contains a synopsis of the fossil record and taxonomy of important groups of mammals represented in the fossil record of Greece. The volume starts with specific chapters on laurasiatherians like insectivores and bats, moving on to the main part of the book that deals with three of the most important fossil groups in the country. The fossil record of even-toed animals is summarized with chapters on bovids, cervids, suoids, anthracotheres, hippos, giraffes, and tragulids. The fossil record of odd-toed animals is presented with special chapters on horses, tapirs, rhinos, and chalicotheres. The last part of this volume deals with meat-eating, carnivoran groups, like felids, viverrids, hyaenas, canids, bears, ailurids, mephitids and mustelids. The volume ends with a special chapter on insular endemic mammals from the various islands of Greece.

Researchers who study ancient human diets tend to focus on meat eating, since the practice of butchery is very apparent in the archaeological record. In this volume, Julie Lesnik brings a different food source into view, tracing evidence that humans and their hominin ancestors also consumed insects throughout the entire course of human evolution. Lesnik investigates the role of insects in the diets of hunter-gatherers and our nonhuman primate cousins in order to deduce what insect consumption looked like in the past. She approaches the question from the perspectives of primatology, sociocultural anthropology, reproductive physiology, and paleoanthropology. Lesnik posits that women would likely spend more time foraging for and eating insects than men, arguing that this pattern is important to note because women are too often ignored in reconstructions of ancient human behavior. Because of the abundance of insects and the low risk of acquiring them, insects were a reliable food source that mothers used to feed their families over the past five million years. Although they are consumed worldwide to this day, insects are not usually considered to be food in Western societies. Tying together ancient history with our modern lives, Lesnik points out that insects are a highly nutritious and very sustainable food. Lesnik believes that if we accept that edible insects are a part of the human legacy, we may have new conversations about what is good to eat-both in past diets and for the future of food.

This volume handles in various perspectives the concept of function and the nature of functional explanations, topics much discussed since two major and conflicting accounts have been raised by Larry Wright and Robert Cummins papers in the 1970s. Here, both Wright s etiological theory of functions and Cummins systemic conception of functions are refined and elaborated in the light of current scientific practice, with papers showing how the etiological theory faces several objections and may in reply be revisited, while its counterpart became ever more sophisticated, as researchers discovered fresh applications for it.

Relying on a firm knowledge of the original positions and debates, this volume presents cutting-edge research evincing the complexities that today pertain in function theory in various sciences. Alongside original papers from authors central to the controversy, work by emerging researchers taking novel perspectives will add to the potential avenues to be followed in the future. Not only does the book adopt no a priori assumptions about the scope of functional explanations, it also incorporates material from several very different scientific domains, e.g. neurosciences, ecology, or technology.

In general, functions are implemented in mechanisms; and functional explanations in biology have often an essential relation with natural selection. These two basic claims set the stage for this book s coverage of investigations concerning both functional explanations, and the metaphysics of functions. It casts new light on these claims, by testing them through their confrontation with scientific developments in biology, psychology, and recent developments concerning the metaphysics of realization. Rather than debating a single theory of functions, this book presents the richness of philosophical issues raised by functional discourse throughout the various sciences. "

This book looks at how an animal is organized to carry out a difficult task - that of feeding on plants. The complex adaptations necessary to enable animals to obtain nutrients successfully from a herbivorous diet are many. What structures are needed in the mouth, for example, or in the digestive system? How is behaviour adapted to allow an animal to survive and reproduce on a diet of plant material? For the first time, these problems are examined here purely from the perspective of the reptiles. Individual groups are looked at the structural, physiological and ecological adaptations of the herbivorous members are reviewed. The groups discussed include the modern reptiles, the lizards and the turtles and also extinct reptiles, the dinosaurs and the mammal-like reptiles. Common themes are teased out and arranged chronologically to help gain an understanding of the patterns of diversity change in the group. This book will be of great interest to researchers and students of zoology, palaeontology, evolution, ecology, functional anatomy and morphology.

Using an interdisciplinary approach, the authors provide an adaptionist interpretation of the basic features of recombination, its evolutionary significance as a key process in reproduction and its importance in genetic mapping. The book synthesizes much recent information in the fields of evloutionary genetics of recombination, the analysis of genetic markers and breeding applications. The authors analyse recombination through a consideration of computer models, large Drosophila populations and an empirical approach to current theories. Practically-orientated readers will be interested in the discussion of a wide spectrum of mapping methods and the new algorithms proposed for genetic mapping of quantitative loci.

This book puts multilevel selection theory into a much needed historical perspective. This is achieved by discussing multilevel selection in the first half of the twentieth century, the reasons for the energetic rejection of Wynne-Edwards' group selectionist stance in the 1960s, Elisabeth Lloyd's contribution to the units of selection debate, Price's hierarchical equation and its possible interpretations and, finally, species selection in macroevolutionary contexts. Another idea also seems to emerge from these studies; namely, that perhaps a more sure-footed position for multilevel selection theory would be acquired if we were to show a renewed interest in 'old group selection', i.e. in scenarios in which the differential reproduction of the groups themselves affects the frequencies of either individual-level or group-level traits. This book will be of interest to philosophers and historians of biology, as well as to theoretically inclined biologists who have an interest in multilevel selection theory.

The New York Times bestselling author of Darwin’s Doubt, Stephen Meyer, presents groundbreaking scientific evidence of the existence of God, based on breakthroughs in physics, cosmology, and biology.

Beginning in the late 19th century, many intellectuals began to insist that scientific knowledge conflicts with traditional theistic belief—that science and belief in God are “at war.” Philosopher of science Stephen Meyer challenges this view by examining three scientific discoveries with decidedly theistic implications. Building on the case for the intelligent design of life that he developed in Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt, Meyer demonstrates how discoveries in cosmology and physics coupled with those in biology help to establish the identity of the designing intelligence behind life and the universe.

Meyer argues that theism—with its affirmation of a transcendent, intelligent and active creator—best explains the evidence we have concerning biological and cosmological origins. Previously Meyer refrained from attempting to answer questions about “who” might have designed life. Now he provides an evidence-based answer to perhaps the ultimate mystery of the universe. In so doing, he reveals a stunning conclusion: the data support not just the existence of an intelligent designer of some kind—but the existence of a personal God.

This book discusses several recent theoretic advancements in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration in the field of evolution. While exploring novel views, the text maintains a close link with one of the most broadly held views on evolution, namely that of "Darwinian evolution." This work puts forth a new point of view which allows researchers to define in detail the concept of evolution. To create this conceptual definition, the text applies a stringent object-based focus. With this focus, the editor has been able to develop an object-based pattern of evolution at the smallest scale. Subsequently, this smallest scale pattern is used as an innovative basis for generalizations. These generalizations create links between biological Darwinism and generalized Darwinism. The object-based approach that was used to suggest innovations in the field of Darwinian evolution also allowed for contributions to other topics, such as major evolutionary transitions theory, the definition of life and the relationships between evolution, self-organization and thermodynamics. Together, the chapters of this book and the multidisciplinary reflections and comments of various specialists on these chapters offer an exciting palette of innovative ideas.

The book focuses on the evolutionary impact of horizontal gene transfer processes on pathogenicity, environmental adaptation and biological speciation. Newly acquired genetic material has been considered as a driving force in evolution for prokaryotic genomes for many years, with recent technical developments advancing this field further. However, the extent and implications of gene transfer between prokaryotes and eukaryotes still raise controversies. This multi-authored volume introduces various means by which DNA can be exchanged, covers gene transfer between prokaryotes and their viruses as well as between bacteria and eukaryotes, such as fungi, plants and animals, and addresses the role of horizontal gene transfer in human diseases. Aspects discussed also include the relevance for virulence and drug resistance development on one hand, and for the occurrence of naturally derived antibiotics and other secondary metabolites on the other hand. This book offers new insights to anyone interested in genome evolution and the exchange of DNA between the different domains of life, the genetic toolkit for adaptation and the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria.

Through the original writings and photography of renowned geologist Harold Rollin Wanless, this book paints a thorough and engaging picture of the White River Badlands' landscape, geology, biology, pioneer settlers, and how life was lived 100 years ago in a harsh, challenging, remote setting. In the summer of 1920, Harold Rollin Wanless, fresh from an undergraduate geology degree at Princeton, spent the first of three summers in the Badlands of South Dakota camping, hiking, and collecting fossil vertebrate skulls. Harold produced a fascinating and thorough diary and report, illustrated with over 100 image plates, in which he explains the geology, biology, and climate of this famous area. Wanless became deeply involved with and vividly records the life, hopes, trials and character of the new homesteading pioneers of the area, and the people and livelihoods he encountered are reflected in the diary as well. This is an engaging look at the history, environment, people and geological character of a unique portion of the American West. Combining a first-hand look at the White River Badlands and its people a century ago with the fossil history contained in its Cenozoic sediments gives a well-rounded historical presentation. This diary was found, compiled, and edited by Drs. Harold Rogers Wanless (the diarist's son and an accomplished geologist himself) and Emmett Evanoff. In the introductory and concluding chapters of this book, they provide a broader perspective of Harold Rollin Wanless's life and his significant achievements beyond the Badlands venture described here. In addition, this narrative - written "only" a century ago - provides a stark contrast with how we travel, communicate, conduct research and survive today, yet shows that human curiosity and kindnesses have not changed.

This book brings Soren Kierkegaard's nineteenth-century existentialist project into our contemporary age, applying his understanding of "freedom" and "despair" to science and science studies, queer, decolonial and critical race theory, and disability studies. The book draws out the materialist dimensions of belief, examining the existential dynamics of phenomena like placebos, epigenetics, pedagogy, and scientific inquiry itself. Each chapter dramatizes the ways in which abstractions like "race" or "genes" and even "belief" are sites of contested practices with pressing political significance. Focusing on the existential dangers posed by neo-liberal and finance capitalist systems, the book brings to life the resources for resistance found within science studies and critical approaches to race, secularity, and disability. Throughout the book, Kierkegaard becomes an ally with ecological and developmental evolutionary theorists, as well as with science studies, critical race, and crip theorists who foreground the relational and impassioned nature of existence.

Covering diverse species from garter snakes to Komodo dragons, this book delves into the evolutionary origins and fascinating details of the mysterious social lives of reptiles. Reptiles have been too often dismissed as dull animals with tiny brains and simple, "asocial" lives. In reality, reptiles engage in a remarkable diversity of complex social behavior. They can live in families; communicate with one another while still in the egg; and hunt, feed, migrate, court, mate, nest, and hatch in groups. In The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles, J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, and Gordon M. Burghardt-three of the world's leading experts on reptiles-bring together a wave of new research with a synthesis of classic studies to produce the only authoritative look at the social behaviors of the most provocative animals on the planet. The book covers turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodilians, and the enigmatic tuatara. Enhanced with dozens of images, it takes readers through a myriad of social interactions, tendencies, and intimacies ranging from fierce territorial battles to delicate paternal care and from promiscuous pairings to monogamous partnerships. This unique text * explains why reptiles have been neglected as subjects of social behavior studies; * provides numerous examples across all major reptilian groups that overturn the false paradigm of "solitary" reptiles; * explores the sensory, genetic, physiological, life history, and other factors underlying social behavior in reptiles; * presents the case that evolutionary "experiments" found among reptiles offer unparalleled opportunities for understanding how and why social behavior evolves in animals; and * identifies new and developing areas of research helping to reshape our view of reptiles. Revealing the secrets of reptilian social relationships through original quantitative research, field studies, laboratory experiments, and careful analysis of the literature, The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles elevates these fascinating animals to key players in the science of behavioral ecology.

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was a leading critic of human behavioral genetics, human sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, and the modern evolutionary synthesis. "Why Gould Was Wrong" explains why Gould's claims were horribly wrong.

Gregory Bateson's contribution to 20th century thinking has appealed to scholars from a wide range of fields dealing in one way or another with aspects of communication and epistemology. A number of his insights were taken up and developed further in anthropology, psychology, evolutionary biology and communication theory. But the large, trans-disciplinary synthesis that, in his own mind, was his major contribution to science received little attention from the mainstream scientific communities. This book represents a major attempt to revise this deficiency. Scholars from ecology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, anthropology and philosophy discuss how Bateson's thinking might lead to a fruitful reframing of central problems in modern science. Most important perhaps, Bateson's bioanthropology is shown to play a key role in developing the set of ideas explored in the new field of biosemiotics. The idea that organismic life is indeed basically semiotic or communicative lies at the heart of the biosemiotic approach to the study of life. The only book of its kind, this volume provides a key resource for the quickly-growing substratum of scholars in the biosciences, philosophy and medicine who are seeking an elegant new approach to exploring highly complex systems.

The 1925 trial of John Scopes in tiny Dayton, Tennessee, remains a defining moment in American history. This "trial of the century"--a "media event" before the term was coined--addressed issues that still affect our society today, such as school curriculum control, the ongoing tensions between science and faith in public schools and the ramifications of teaching evolution and human origins. This book is the first encyclopedic treatment of the Scopes Trial. The text draws on media reports, family interviews and Scopes' personal correspondence, providing new information and perspectives. The book has previously unseen photos and information about Scopes and his relatives, as well as insights about the trial's instigators, participants, and issues, all organized in a concise and easily accessible format.