The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology

The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology PDF Author: Erik Svensson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199595372
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
The 'Adaptive Landscape' has been a central concept in population genetics and evolutionary biology since this powerful metaphor was first formulated in 1932. This volume brings together historians of science, philosophers, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists, to discuss the state of the art from several different perspectives.

The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology

The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology PDF Author: Erik Svensson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199595372
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Get Book Here

Book Description
The 'Adaptive Landscape' has been a central concept in population genetics and evolutionary biology since this powerful metaphor was first formulated in 1932. This volume brings together historians of science, philosophers, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists, to discuss the state of the art from several different perspectives.

The Geometry of Evolution

The Geometry of Evolution PDF Author: George R. McGhee
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139459953
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
The metaphor of the adaptive landscape - that evolution via the process of natural selection can be visualized as a journey across adaptive hills and valleys, mountains and ravines - permeates both evolutionary biology and the philosophy of science. The focus of this 2006 book is to demonstrate to the reader that the adaptive landscape concept can be put into actual analytical practice through the usage of theoretical morphospaces - geometric spaces of both existent and non-existent biological form - and to demonstrate the power of the adaptive landscape concept in understanding the process of evolution. The adaptive landscape concept further allows us to take a spatial approach to the concepts of natural selection, evolutionary constraint and evolutionary development. For that reason, this book relies heavily on spatial graphics to convey the concepts developed within these pages, and less so on formal mathematics.

Agents and Goals in Evolution

Agents and Goals in Evolution PDF Author: Samir Okasha
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198815085
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
Samir Okasha offers a critical study of agential thinking in biology, where evolved organisms are seen as agents pursuing a goal. He examines the justification for transposing concepts from rational humans to the biological world, and considers whether agential thinking is mere anthropomorphism or plays a more intellectual role in the science.

The Adaptive Seascape

The Adaptive Seascape PDF Author: David J. Merrell
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 9780816623488
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
Based on observational and experimental data, in natural populations of plants and animals studied in the field and in the laboratory, this perspective unravels the hidden and often poorly founded assumptions underlying some of the more troublesome controversies in evolutionary biology today

Pillars of Evolution

Pillars of Evolution PDF Author: Douglas W. Morris
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198568797
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
This book provides a perspective on adaptive evolution.

Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology

Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309465184
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
Scientific advances over the past several decades have accelerated the ability to engineer existing organisms and to potentially create novel ones not found in nature. Synthetic biology, which collectively refers to concepts, approaches, and tools that enable the modification or creation of biological organisms, is being pursued overwhelmingly for beneficial purposes ranging from reducing the burden of disease to improving agricultural yields to remediating pollution. Although the contributions synthetic biology can make in these and other areas hold great promise, it is also possible to imagine malicious uses that could threaten U.S. citizens and military personnel. Making informed decisions about how to address such concerns requires a realistic assessment of the capabilities that could be misused. Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology explores and envisions potential misuses of synthetic biology. This report develops a framework to guide an assessment of the security concerns related to advances in synthetic biology, assesses the levels of concern warranted for such advances, and identifies options that could help mitigate those concerns.

Genetics of Adaptation

Genetics of Adaptation PDF Author: Rodney Mauricio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402038364
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
An enduring controversy in evolutionary biology is the genetic basis of adaptation. Darwin emphasized "many slight differences" as the ultimate source of variation to be acted upon by natural selection. In the early 1900’s, this view was opposed by "Mendelian geneticists", who emphasized the importance of "macromutations" in evolution. The Modern Synthesis resolved this controversy, concluding that mutations in genes of very small effect were responsible for adaptive evolution. A decade ago, Allen Orr and Jerry Coyne reexamined the evidence for this neo-Darwinian view and found that both the theoretical and empirical basis for it were weak. Orr and Coyne encouraged evolutionary biologists to reexamine this neglected question: what is the genetic basis of adaptive evolution? In this volume, a new generation of biologists have taken up this challenge. Using advances in both molecular genetic and statistical techniques, evolutionary geneticists have made considerable progress in this emerging field. In this volume, a diversity of examples from plant and animal studies provides valuable information for those interested in the genetics and evolution of complex traits.

Epistasis and the Evolutionary Process

Epistasis and the Evolutionary Process PDF Author: Jason B. Wolf
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195128062
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
Over the last two decades, research into epistasis has seen explosive growth and has moved the focus of research in evolutionary genetics from a traditional additive approach. We now know the effects of genes are rarely independent, and to reach a fuller understanding of the process of evolution we need to look at gene interactions as well as gene-environment interactions. This book is an overview of non-additive evolutionary genetics, integrating all work to date on all levels of evolutionary investigation of the importance of epistasis in the evolutionary process in general. It includes a historical perspective on this emerging field, in-depth discussion of terminology, discussions of the effects of epistasis at several different levels of biological organization and combinations of theoretical and experimental approaches to analysis.

Evolutionary Principles

Evolutionary Principles PDF Author: Peter Calow
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1468415182
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
The last few years have seen a number of new books on evolutionary biology. However most of these are either large or specialized. This is an attempt to produce a thin, general version for undergraduate use. Thinness, of course, demands selectivity, and the aim has been to concentrate on the principles of the subject rather than on the details-principles, that is, of both theory and practice. Thinness also sometimes means that a certain level of knowledge is assumed in the readership, but I hope that this is not the case here, and my intention has certainly been to produce something that is as intelligible to the uninitiated as it is to the well-informed. As for the bibliography, I refer, where possible, to reviews rather than primary sources, so a citation should not be taken to imply any sort of precedence. In developing the theme, I have adopted a loosely historical approach, not only because I believe that this makes for more interesting reading but also because the subject, like the subject it addresses, has evolved under the critical eye of a selective process. Problems have been perceived, hypotheses have been formulated to explain them, facts have been amassed to test the hypotheses, more problems have been perceived, more hypotheses formu lated, and so on.

Evolutionary Systems Biology

Evolutionary Systems Biology PDF Author: Orkun S. Soyer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461435676
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 459

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Book Description
The book aims to introduce the reader to the emerging field of Evolutionary Systems Biology, which approaches classical systems biology questions within an evolutionary framework. An evolutionary approach might allow understanding the significance of observed diversity, uncover “evolutionary design principles” and extend predictions made in model organisms to others. In addition, evolutionary systems biology can generate new insights into the adaptive landscape by combining molecular systems biology models and evolutionary simulations. This insight can enable the development of more detailed mechanistic evolutionary hypotheses.