Evolutionary Trends

Evolutionary Trends PDF Author: Ken McNamara
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780816512348
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
The study of the history of life encompasses the origins of species to their demise: evolution and extinction. Based on studies of the fossil record, this book examines the directionality of evolution--so called evolutionary trends--a fundamental aspect of life history that has received comparatively little attention in recent times. In addition to describing evolutionary trends, from the intraspecific level to macroevolutionary changes in a range of invertebrate and vertebrate organisms, this book sets out to explain just why organisms have evolved in the direction that they have.

Evolutionary Trends

Evolutionary Trends PDF Author: Ken McNamara
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780816512348
Category : Evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
The study of the history of life encompasses the origins of species to their demise: evolution and extinction. Based on studies of the fossil record, this book examines the directionality of evolution--so called evolutionary trends--a fundamental aspect of life history that has received comparatively little attention in recent times. In addition to describing evolutionary trends, from the intraspecific level to macroevolutionary changes in a range of invertebrate and vertebrate organisms, this book sets out to explain just why organisms have evolved in the direction that they have.

Evolutionary Trends in Flowering Plants

Evolutionary Trends in Flowering Plants PDF Author: Armen Leonovich Takhtadzhi͡an
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231073288
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Takhtajan, one of the foremost authorities on flowering plant evolution, has brought together from the literature and his own studies interpretations of the origin and evolution of various vegetative and reproductive parts of flowering plants. Starting with growth habit, he continues through leaf and stem structure, including the origin of vessels, sieve tubes, and rays, to flowers. After tracing the possible origin of the flower, he discusses in detail the sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels, accounting for their variations in number of parts, fusion, position, and structure. The evolution and origin of the micro- and megagametophytes and the development of triple fusion are considered. The book ends with the developmental sequence of the fruit and seed types. Each chapter has its own extensive bibliography. Takhtajan has produced a book that will be essential in the library of any college where plant evolution is considered.-C. T. Mason Jr., University of Arizona--Choice Reviews.

Variation and Evolution in Plants and Microorganisms

Variation and Evolution in Plants and Microorganisms PDF Author: National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309172268
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
"The present book is intended as a progress report on [the] synthetic approach to evolution as it applies to the plant kingdom." With this simple statement, G. Ledyard Stebbins formulated the objectives of Variation and Evolution in Plants, published in 1950, setting forth for plants what became known as the "synthetic theory of evolution" or "the modern synthesis." The pervading conceit of the book was the molding of Darwin's evolution by natural selection within the framework of rapidly advancing genetic knowledge. At the time, Variation and Evolution in Plants significantly extended the scope of the science of plants. Plants, with their unique genetic, physiological, and evolutionary features, had all but been left completely out of the synthesis until that point. Fifty years later, the National Academy of Sciences convened a colloquium to update the advances made by Stebbins. This collection of 17 papers marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Stebbins' classic. Organized into five sections, the book covers: early evolution and the origin of cells, virus and bacterial models, protoctist models, population variation, and trends and patterns in plant evolution.

Evolution Driven by Organismal Behavior

Evolution Driven by Organismal Behavior PDF Author: Rui Diogo
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319475819
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This book proposes a new way to think about evolution. The author carefully brings together evidence from diverse fields of science. In the process, he bridges the gaps between many different--and usually seen as conflicting--ideas to present one integrative theory named ONCE, which stands for Organic Nonoptimal Constrained Evolution. The author argues that evolution is mainly driven by the behavioral choices and persistence of organisms themselves, in a process in which Darwinian natural selection is mainly a secondary--but still crucial--evolutionary player. Within ONCE, evolution is therefore generally made of mistakes and mismatches and trial-and-error situations, and is not a process where organisms engage in an incessant, suffocating struggle in which they can't thrive if they are not optimally adapted to their habitats and the external environment. Therefore, this unifying view incorporates a more comprehensive view of the diversity and complexity of life by stressing that organisms are not merely passive evolutionary players under the rule of external factors. This insightful and well-reasoned argument is based on numerous fascinating case studies from a wide range of organisms, including bacteria, plants, insects and diverse examples from the evolution of our own species. The book has an appeal to researchers, students, teachers, and those with an interest in the history and philosophy of science, as well as to the broader public, as it brings life back into biology by emphasizing that organisms, including humans, are the key active players in evolution and thus in the future of life on this wonderful planet.

Morphological Evolution, Adaptations, Homoplasies, Constraints, and Evolutionary Trends

Morphological Evolution, Adaptations, Homoplasies, Constraints, and Evolutionary Trends PDF Author: Rui Diogo
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 510

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Book Description
The major aim of this work is, to help clarify the interrelationships of catfishes, with major implications on the study of the general evolution of these fishes. A great part of this work, therefore, deals with a cladistic analysis of catfish higher-level phylogeny based on extensive morphological data, in which are included some terminal taxa not included in previous analyses, but principally a large number of characters traditionally excluded from those analyses, with particular attention being given to catfish morphology. This analysis gives particular importance to complex, integrated structures. It will be interest to students, ichthyologists and biologists working in evolution, taxonomy and phylogeny.

Evolutionary Patterns

Evolutionary Patterns PDF Author: Alan H. Cheetham
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226389316
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
With all the recent advances in molecular and evolutionary biology, one could almost wonder why we need the fossil record. Molecular sequence data can resolve taxonomic relationships, experiments with fruit flies demonstrate evolution and development in real time, and field studies of Galapagos finches have provided the strongest evidence for natural selection ever measured in the wild. What, then, can fossils teach us that living organisms cannot? Evolutionary Patterns demonstrates the rich variety of clues to evolution that can be gleaned from the fossil record. Chief among these are the major trends and anomalies in species development revealed only by "deep time," such as periodic mass extinctions and species that remain unchanged in form for millions of years. Contributors explore modes of development, the tempo of speciation and extinction, and macroevolutionary patterns and trends. The result is an important contribution to paleobiology and evolutionary biology, and a spirited defense of the fossil record as a crucial tool for understanding evolution and development. The contributors are Ann F. Budd, Efstathia Bura, Leo W. Buss, Mike Foote, Jörn Geister, Stephen Jay Gould, Eckart Hâkansson, Jean-Georges Harmelin, Lee-Ann C. Hayek, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Kenneth G. Johnson, Nancy Knowlton, Scott Lidgard, Frank K. McKinney, Daniel W. McShea, Ross H. Nehm, Beth Okamura, John M. Pandolfi, Paul D. Taylor, and Erik Thomsen.

The Theory of Evolution

The Theory of Evolution PDF Author: Samuel M. Scheiner
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022667133X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
Darwin’s nineteenth-century writings laid the foundations for modern studies of evolution, and theoretical developments in the mid-twentieth century fostered the Modern Synthesis. Since that time, a great deal of new biological knowledge has been generated, including details of the genetic code, lateral gene transfer, and developmental constraints. Our improved understanding of these and many other phenomena have been working their way into evolutionary theory, changing it and improving its correspondence with evolution in nature. And while the study of evolution is thriving both as a basic science to understand the world and in its applications in agriculture, medicine, and public health, the broad scope of evolution—operating across genes, whole organisms, clades, and ecosystems—presents a significant challenge for researchers seeking to integrate abundant new data and content into a general theory of evolution. This book gives us that framework and synthesis for the twenty-first century. The Theory of Evolution presents a series of chapters by experts seeking this integration by addressing the current state of affairs across numerous fields within evolutionary biology, ranging from biogeography to multilevel selection, speciation, and macroevolutionary theory. By presenting current syntheses of evolution’s theoretical foundations and their growth in light of new datasets and analyses, this collection will enhance future research and understanding.

Trends in Ornithology Research

Trends in Ornithology Research PDF Author: Pedro K. Ulrich
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781608764549
Category : Ornithology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Birds are a commonly acknowledged indicator of biodiversity. This book presents an indigenous perspective on the effects of traditional activities on birds. Moreover, birds are among the main components for plant reproduction in tropical ecosystems, hummingbirds being the most important vertebrate pollinators in the Neotropics. This book puts together different approaches and perspectives to study bird-flower interaction networks, reinforcing the idea of communities displaying high connectedness. In addition, data on the number of occupied territories and breeding frequency (active nests) of nine species of vole-eating birds of prey in Finland are examined, using generalised linear models. It was expected that the effects of global warming on various vole-eating birds of prey at high latitudes were both positive and negative, in particular due to mild winters. Thus, because temperature affects the distribution limits of many organisms, global warming may provoke an advance of distribution ranges polewards. The authors also discuss whether European birds have advanced their distribution ranges mainly northwards in response to climatic warming. Furthermore, fossil footprints provide important evidence regarding the morphology, behaviour, distribution, and ecology of ancient animals. For the first time, the entire avian track record is reviewed, including its specialised ichnotaxonomy, from the Mesozoic through the Holocene. How the evidence impacts the understanding of avian evolution and ecology is discussed as well.

Skeletal Biomineralization

Skeletal Biomineralization PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Biological Approaches and Evolutionary Trends in Plants

Biological Approaches and Evolutionary Trends in Plants PDF Author: Shoichi Kawano
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0323150748
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
Biological Approaches and Evolutionary Trends in Plants is a collection of papers presented at the Fourth International Symposium of Plant Biosystematics held on July 10-14, 1989 in Kyoto, Japan. Contributors, some are world's leading plant biologists, discuss the findings in evolutionary biology and issues in plant biosystematics in light of the evidence and ideas brought forward at various levels of biological organization, from molecule to cell, individual, population, species, and community levels. This volume is organized into four sections encompassing 22 chapters and begins with an overview of discoveries concerning parapatric differentiation of weed populations, including adaptive evolution in herbicide resistant biotypes and complex evolutionary patterns in weed-crop complexes of various groups. The next section explores molecular approaches in plant biosystematics, focusing on amino acid sequencing of proteins; restriction-site variations of cpDNA, mitDNA, rDNA, etc.; and chromosome-banding patterns revealed by differential staining. The discussion shifts to a wave of research in plant population biology and evolutionary ecology since the 1970s and its impact on biology and biosystematics. The book considers various aspects of reproductive biology and evolutionary changes in significant reproductive parameters and attempts to demographically quantify these parameters. The final chapter is devoted to the use of functional phylogenetic systematics for predictive ecology. This book will be of interest to plant biologists and scientists and researchers in fields such as biochemistry, botany, microbiology, ecology, and evolutionary biology.