Evolution : a very short introduction / Brian and Deborah Charlesworth.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Charlesworth, Brian, author.

Charlesworth, Deborah, author.

Series:

Very short introductions ; 100.

Very short introductions ; 100

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution (Biology)--Popular works.

Evolution (Biology).

Genre:

Popular works.

Physical Description:

xx, 146 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm.

Edition:

Revised impression.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2017.

Summary:

"Less than 450 years ago, all European scholars believed that the Earth was at the centre of a Universe that was at most a few million miles in extent, and that the planets, sun, and stars all rotated around this centre. Less than 250 years ago, they believed that the Universe was created essentially in its present state about 6000 years ago. Even less than 150 years ago, the view that living species were the result of special creation by God was still dominant. The recognition by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace of the mechanism of evolution by natural selection has completely transformed our understanding of the living world, including our own origins. In this Very Short Introduction Brian and Deborah Charlesworth provide a clear and concise summary of the process of evolution by natural selection, and how natural selection gives rise to adaptations and eventually, over many generations, to new species. They introduce the central concepts of the field of evolutionary biology, as they have developed since Darwin and Wallace on the subject, over 140 years ago, and discuss some of the remaining questions regarding processes. They highlight the wide range of evidence for evolution, and the importance of an evolutionary understanding for instance in combating the rapid evolution of resistance by bacteria to antibiotics and of HIV to antiviral drugs. This reissue includes some key updates to the main text and a completely updated Further Reading section"--Publisher's website, December 18, 2017. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/evolution-a-very-short-introduction-9780198804369?cc=us&lang=en&#

Contents:

Introduction

The processes of evolution

The evidence for evolution: similarities and differences between organisms

The evidence for evolution: patterns in time and space

Adaptation and natural selection

The formation and divergence of species

Some difficult problems.

Notes:

First edition published: 2003.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780198804369

0198804369

OCLC:

1000295661

Publisher Number:

99974969870