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Author: Solomon P. Wasser Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 9401148309 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 503
Book Description
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 only at 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.
Author: Solomon P. Wasser Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 9401148309 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 503
Book Description
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 only at 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.
Author: Solomon P. Wasser Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 9401704430 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 483
Book Description
This volume presents provocative research in four broad areas: Evolution of Life and Evolutionary Theory, including papers on the origin of life, stress and evolution; Genome Evolution, including papers on adaptive genome regulation, and comparative mammalian genomes; Phylogeography and Phylogeny, including papers on mushroom phylogeny, macroevolution, and the origin of higher taxa; Human Evolution and Ecology, including papers on man's place in nature, and the origin of human hairlessness.
Author: Niles Eldredge Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 022642619X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 394
Book Description
The natural world is infinitely complex and hierarchically structured, with smaller units forming the components of progressively larger systems: molecules make up cells, cells comprise tissues and organs that are, in turn, parts of individual organisms, which are united into populations and integrated into yet more encompassing ecosystems. In the face of such awe-inspiring complexity, there is a need for a comprehensive, non-reductionist evolutionary theory. Having emerged at the crossroads of paleobiology, genetics, and developmental biology, the hierarchical approach to evolution provides a unifying perspective on the natural world and offers an operational framework for scientists seeking to understand the way complex biological systems work and evolve. Coedited by one of the founders of hierarchy theory and featuring a diverse and renowned group of contributors, this volume provides an integrated, comprehensive, cutting-edge introduction to the hierarchy theory of evolution. From sweeping historical reviews to philosophical pieces, theoretical essays, and strictly empirical chapters, it reveals hierarchy theory as a vibrant field of scientific enterprise that holds promise for unification across the life sciences and offers new venues of empirical and theoretical research. Stretching from molecules to the biosphere, hierarchy theory aims to provide an all-encompassing understanding of evolution and—with this first collection devoted entirely to the concept—will help make transparent the fundamental patterns that propel living systems.
Author: Ernst Mayr Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 9780674272262 Category : Biology Languages : en Pages : 524
Book Description
Biology was forged into a single, coherent science only within living memory. In this volume the thinkers responsible for the "modern synthesis" of evolutionary biology and genetics come together to analyze that remarkable event. In a new Preface, Ernst Mayr calls attention to the fact that scientists in different biological disciplines varied considerably in their degree of acceptance of Darwin's theories. Mayr shows us that these differences were played out in four separate periods: 1859 to 1899, 1900 to 1915, 1916 to 1936, and 1937 to 1947. He thus enables us to understand fully why the synthesis was necessary and why Darwin's original theory--that evolutionary change is due to the combination of variation and selection--is as solid at the end of the twentieth century as it was in 1859.
Author: Thomas Heams Publisher: Springer ISBN: 9401790140 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 898
Book Description
The Darwinian theory of evolution is itself evolving and this book presents the details of the core of modern Darwinism and its latest developmental directions. The authors present current scientific work addressing theoretical problems and challenges in four sections, beginning with the concepts of evolution theory, its processes of variation, heredity, selection, adaptation and function, and its patterns of character, species, descent and life. The second part of this book scrutinizes Darwinism in the philosophy of science and its usefulness in understanding ecosystems, whilst the third section deals with its application in disciplines beyond the biological sciences, including evolutionary psychology and evolutionary economics, Darwinian morality and phylolinguistics. The final section addresses anti-Darwinism, the creationist view and issues around teaching evolution in secondary schools. The reader learns how current experimental biology is opening important perspectives on the sources of variation, and thus of the very power of natural selection. This work examines numerous examples of the extension of the principle of natural selection and provides the opportunity to critically reflect on a rich theory, on the methodological rigour that presides in its extensions and exportations, and on the necessity to measure its advantages and also its limits. Scholars interested in modern Darwinism and scientific research, its concepts, research programs and controversies will find this book an excellent read, and those considering how Darwinism might evolve, how it can apply to the human sciences and other disciplines beyond its origins will find it particularly valuable. Originally produced in French (Les Mondes Darwiniens), the scope and usefulness of the book have led to the production of this English text, to reach a wider audience. This book is a milestone in the impressive penetration by Francophone scholars into the world of Darwinian science, its historiography and philosophy over the last two decades. Alex Rosenberg, R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy, Duke University Until now this useful and comprehensive handbook has only been available to francophones. Thanks to this invaluable new translation, this collection of insightful and original essays can reach the global audience it deserves. Tim Lewens, University of Cambridge
Author: Alan R. Templeton Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0470047216 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 720
Book Description
The advances made possible by the development of molecular techniques have in recent years revolutionized quantitative genetics and its relevance for population genetics. Population Genetics and Microevolutionary Theory takes a modern approach to population genetics, incorporating modern molecular biology, species-level evolutionary biology, and a thorough acknowledgment of quantitative genetics as the theoretical basis for population genetics. Logically organized into three main sections on population structure and history, genotype-phenotype interactions, and selection/adaptation Extensive use of real examples to illustrate concepts Written in a clear and accessible manner and devoid of complex mathematical equations Includes the author's introduction to background material as well as a conclusion for a handy overview of the field and its modern applications Each chapter ends with a set of review questions and answers Offers helpful general references and Internet links
Author: Danielle Sulikowski Publisher: Frontiers Media SA ISBN: 2889199207 Category : Evolutionary psychology Languages : en Pages : 64
Book Description
The computational theory of mind, which views the brain as an information processor that operates on cognitive representations, is central to modern cognitive psychology and is the dominant perspective from which brain function is conceptualized and studied. Evolutionary Psychology (EP) is the application of evolutionary theory to understanding human behaviour and cognition. Unlike other core Psychology topic areas (such as Personality, Learning or Developmental Psychology), however, EP is not defined by the subset of psychological phenomena it seeks to describe and understand. It is instead defined by a specific meta-theoretical perspective, from which it seeks to (potentially) explain all psychological phenomena. The central question posed by this volume is whether this over-arching nature provides an opportunity for evolutionary approaches to offer an alternative meta-theoretical perspective to the information processing / representational view of brain function and behavior.
Author: Davydd Greenwood Publisher: Cornell University Press ISBN: 1501719947 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 232
Book Description
The theory of evolution has clearly altered our views of the biological world, but in the study of human beings, evolutionary and preevolutionary views continue to coexist in a state of perpetual tension. The Taming of Evolution addresses the questions of how and why this is so. Davydd Greenwood offers a sustained critique of the nature/nurture debate, revealing the complexity of the relationship between science and ideology. He maintains that popular contemporary theories, most notably E. O. Wilson’s human sociobiology and Marvin Harris’s cultural materialism, represent pre-Darwinian notions overlaid by elaborate evolutionary terminology. Greenwood first details the humoral-environmental and Great Chain of Being theories that dominated Western thinking before Darwin. He systematically compares these ideas with those later influenced by Darwin’s theories, illuminating the surprising continuities between them. Greenwood suggests that it would be neither difficult nor socially dangerous to develop a genuinely evolutionary understanding of human beings, so long as we realized that we could not derive political and moral standards from the study of biological processes.
Author: Glenn Geher, PhD Publisher: Springer Publishing Company ISBN: 0826107192 Category : Psychology Languages : en Pages : 234
Book Description
ìAt long last, a readable, accessible, user friendly introduction to evolutionary psychology written by a rising star in the field. This book, filled with a broad array of fascinating topics, is bound to further whet the appetite of a growing number of students who have been inspired by this provocative, yet eminently testable approach to human behavior.î Gordon G. Gallup Jr., PhD University at Albany "A frolicking, down-to-earth, and informative introduction to the ever evolving and controversial field of evolutionary psychology." Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD Author, Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined ìGlenn Geher has created a text that is both comprehensive in coverage and scope and very accessible. It should be a welcome addition to the field that serves to further individuals' understanding of Evolutionary Psychology.î T. Joel Wade, PhD Professor and Chair of Psychology, Bucknell University This is a concise and student-friendly survey of the burgeoning field of evolutionary psychology (EP) and the controversies that surround it. Evolutionary psychology is an approach to studying human behavior that is rooted in modern evolutionary theory. Firmly grounded in the theoretical and research literature of EP, the book addresses the core theories, approaches, applications, and current findings that comprise this discipline. It is unique in its interdisciplinary focus, which encompasses EPís impact on both psychological and non-psychological disciplines. Written by an eminent evolutionary psychologist who is President of the Northeastern Evolutionary Psychology Society, the text examines psychological processes that lead to human survival and those that may lead to reproductive benefitsósometimes even at a cost to survival. It cites a rich body of literature that provides insights into the role of sexual selection in shaping the human mind. The text presents current research on such important domains of EP as childhood, courtship, intrasexual competition, sex, pair-bonding, parenting, familial relations, non-familial relations, aggression, and altruism. Considering the potential of EP to mitigate some of our greatest social problems, the text examines the ways in which EP can be applied to society and religion. It also offers a thoughtful, balanced approach to such controversies in EP as the issues of genetic determinism, racism, and sexism. Key Features: Provides a broad survey one of the most recent, widely researched, and controversial fields to emerge in psychology over the past 20 years Written by an eminent evolutionary psychologist who is President of the Northeastern Evolutionary Psychology Society Presents EP concepts in an accessible, student-friendly way Offers a unique interdisciplinary focus that addresses the impact of EP on both psychological and non-psychological disciplines Emphasizes controversies within the field of evolutionary psychology and includes critiques of EP from people outside this discipline
Author: Solomon P. Wasser
Author: Solomon P. Wasser
Author: Solomon P. Wasser
Author: Niles Eldredge
Author: Ernst Mayr
Author: D. M. Walsh
Author: Thomas Heams
Author: Alan R. Templeton
Author: Danielle Sulikowski
Author: Davydd Greenwood
Author: Glenn Geher, PhD