In the light of evolution (Avise) / John C. Avise, Francisco J. Ayala, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Avise, John C., editor.

Ayala, Francisco J., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution (Biology)--Congresses.

Evolution (Biology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (378 pages) : illustrations

Other Title:

In the light of evolution

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, 2007.

Summary:

"In December 2006, the National Academy of Sciences sponsored a colloquium (featured as part of the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia series) on "Adaptation and Complex Design" to synthesize recent empirical findings and conceptual approaches towards understanding the evolutionary origins and maintenance of complex adaptations. Darwin's elucidation of natural selection as a creative natural force was a monumental achievement in the history of science, but a century and a half later some religious believers still contend that biotic complexity registers conscious supernatural design. In this book, modern scientific perspectives are presented on the evolutionary origin and maintenance of complex phenotypes including various behaviors, anatomies, and physiologies. After an introduction by the editors and an opening historical and conceptual essay by Francisco Ayala, this book includes 14 papers presented by distinguished evolutionists at the colloquium. The papers are organized into sections covering epistemological approaches to the study of biocomplexity, a hierarchy of topics on biological complexity ranging from ontogeny to symbiosis, and case studies explaining how complex phenotypes are being dissected in terms of genetics and development."-- Publisher's description.

Contents:

Part I. Introduction essay. Darwin's greatest discovery : design without designer / Francisco J. Ayala

Part II. Epistemological approaches to biocomplexity assessment. Functional information and the emergence of biocomplexity / Robert M. Hazen, Patrick L. Griffin, James M. Carothers and Jack W. Szostak

The theory of facilitated variation / John Gerhart and Marc Kirschner

Between 'design' and 'bricolage' : genetic networks, levels of selection, and adaptive evolution / Adam S. Wilkins

The frailty of adaptive hypotheses for the origins of organismal complexity / Michael Lynch

Part III. From individual ontogeny to symbiosis : a hierarchy of complexity. Emerging principles of regulatory evolution / Benjamin Prud'homme, Nicolas Gompel and Sean B. Carroll

Evolution of individuality during the transition from unicellular to multicellular life / Richard E. Michod

Insect societies as divided organisms : the complexities of purpose and cross-purpose / Joan E. Strassmann and David C. Queller

Symbiosis as an adaptive process and source of phenotypic complexity / Nancy A. Moran

Part IV. Case studies : dissecting complex phenotypes. Adaptive evolution of color vision as seen through the eyes of butterflies / Francesca D. Frentiu, Gary D. Bernard, Cristina I. Cuevas, Marilou P. Sison-Mangus, Kathleen L. Prudic and Adriana D. Briscoe

Plant domestication, a unique opportunity to identify the genetic basis of adaptation / Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Peter L. Morrell and Brandon S. Gaut

An experimental test of evolutionary trade-offs during temperature adaptation / Albert F. Bennett and Richard E. Lenski

Two routes to functional adaptation : Tibetan and Andean high-altitude natives / Cynthia M. Beall

On the origin and evolutionary diversification of beetle horns / Douglas J. Emlen, Laura Corely Lavine and Ben Ewen-Campen

Part 5. Concluding essay. Biological design in science classrooms / Eugene C. Scott and Nicholas J. Matzke.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.