In search of the causes of evolution : from field observations to mechanisms / edited by Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Grant, Peter R., 1936- editor.

Grant, B. Rosemary, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution (Biology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (414 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, [2010]

Summary:

Evolutionary biology has witnessed breathtaking advances in recent years. Some of its most exciting insights have come from the crossover of disciplines as varied as paleontology, molecular biology, ecology, and genetics. This book brings together many of today's pioneers in evolutionary biology to describe the latest advances and explain why a cross-disciplinary and integrated approach to research questions is so essential. Contributors discuss the origins of biological diversity, mechanisms of evolutionary change at the molecular and developmental levels, morphology and behavior, and the ecology of adaptive radiations and speciation. They highlight the mutual dependence of organisms and their environments, and reveal the different strategies today's researchers are using in the field and laboratory to explore this interdependence. Peter and Rosemary Grant--renowned for their influential work on Darwin's finches in the Galápagos--provide concise introductions to each section and identify the key questions future research needs to address. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Myra Awodey, Christopher N. Balakrishnan, Rowan D. H. Barrett, May R. Berenbaum, Paul M. Brakefield, Philip J. Currie, Scott V. Edwards, Douglas J. Emlen, Joshua B. Gross, Hopi E. Hoekstra, Richard Hudson, David Jablonski, David T. Johnston, Mathieu Joron, David Kingsley, Andrew H. Knoll, Mimi A. R. Koehl, June Y. Lee, Jonathan B. Losos, Isabel Santos Magalhaes, Albert B. Phillimore, Trevor Price, Dolph Schluter, Ole Seehausen, Clifford J. Tabin, John N. Thompson, and David B. Wake.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Contributors

Preface

Introduction to Section I

The Origins of Biological Diversity

Chapter One. The Big Picture: A Tripartite View of Life and Environments through Time

Chapter Two. Macroevolutionary Trends in Time and Space

Chapter Three. Dinosaurs Live!

Chapter Four. Phylogeography and Phylogenetics in the Nuclear Age

Introduction to Section II

Mechanisms, Molecules, and Evo-Devo

Chapter Five. The Flexibility of Butterfly Wing Color Patterns and Evolution in Morphospace

Chapter Six. Genetics, Geology, and Miracles

Chapter Seven. Evolutionary Genetics of Pigmentation Loss in the Blind Mexican Cavefish

Chapter Eight. A Developmental View of Exaggerated Growth and Conditional Expression in the Weapons of Sexual Selection

Introduction to Section III

Morphology and Behavior

Chapter Nine. How Does Morphology Affect Performance in Variable Environments?

Chapter Ten. In Search of the Elusive Behavior Gene

Chapter Eleven. There Must Be Finches—Charles Darwin, Prickly Pears, and Pollination Biology

Chapter Twelve. The Adaptive Radiation of Coevolving Prodoxid Moths and Their Host Plants: Greya Moths and Yucca Moths

Introduction to Section IV

Ecological Diversity

Chapter Thirteen. Ecological and Geographical Influences on the Allopatric Phase of Island Speciation

Chapter Fourteen. Geographical Mode and Evolutionary Mechanism of Ecological Speciation in Cichlid Fish

Chapter Fifteen. A Tale of Two Radiations: Similarities and Differences in the Evolutionary Diversification of Darwin’s Finches and Greater Antillean

Chapter Sixteen. Clarifying the Mechanisms of Evolution in Sticklebacks Using Field Studies of Natural Selection on Genes

Chapter Seventeen. The Book and the Future: Perspective and Prospective

Chapter Eighteen. A Festival for Rosemary and Peter Grant

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781400837090

140083709X

OCLC:

1255228250