Evolution / Evolutionary biology Books

Book SynopsisThe two-volume Zoonomia (1794–6) attempts to 'reduce the facts belonging to animal life into classes, orders, genera, and species; and by comparing them with each other, to unravel the theory of diseases' and marks a new stage in the development of the science of medicine.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Of motion; 2. Explanations and definitions; 3. The motions of the retina demonstrated by experiments; 4. Laws of animal causation; 5. Of the four faculties of motions of the sensorium; 6. Of the four classes of fibrous motions; 7. Of irritative motions; 8. Of sensitive motions; 9. Of voluntary motions; 10. Of associate motions; 11. Additional observations on the sensorial powers; 12. Of stimulus, sensorial exertion, and fibrous contraction; 13. Of vegetable animation; 14. Of the production of ideas; 15. Of the classes of ideas; 16. Of instinct; 17. The catenation of animal motions; 18. Of sleep; 19. Of reverie; 20. Of vertigo; 21. Of drunkenness; 22. Of propensity to motion; 23. Of the circulatory system; 24. Of the secretion of saliva, and of tears; 25. Of the stomach and intestines; 26. Of the capillary glands, and of the membranes; 27. Of hæmorrhages; 28. The paralysis of the lacteals; 29. The retrograde motion of the absorbent vessels; 30. The paralysis of the liver; 31. Of temperaments; 32. Diseases of irritation; 33. Of sensation; 34. Of volition; 35. Of association; 36. The periods of diseases; 37. Of digestion, secretion, nutrition; 38. Of the oxygenation of the blood in the lungs and placenta; 39. Of generation; 40. Of ocular spectra.

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Book SynopsisAlfred Russel Wallace (1823?1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer and biologist, best remembered as the co-discoverer, with Darwin, of natural selection. His extensive fieldwork and advocacy of the theory of evolution led to him being considered one of the nineteenth century''s foremost biologists. He was later moved by a variety of personal experiences to examine the concept of spirituality, but his exploration into the potential for compatibility between spiritualism and natural selection alienated him from the scientific community. He was also a social activist, highly critical of unjust social and economic systems in nineteenth-century Britain, and one of the first prominent scientists to express concern over the environmental impact of human activity. This autobiography was first published in 1905. Volume 2 deals with his many eminent acquaintances, including Darwin and Huxley, his lecture tour in America, and his involvement with spiritualism and with social activism.Table of Contents25. My friends and acquaintances – Darwin; 26. My friends and acquaintances – Spencer, Huxley, Mivart, etc.; 27. My friends and acquaintances – Sir James Brooke, Professor Rolleston, Mr. Aug. Mongredien, Sir Richard Owen, Dr. Richard Spruce; 28. My friends and acquaintances – Dr. Purland, Mr. Samuel Butler, Professor Haughton; 29. Sketch of my life and work, 1871-1886; 30. An American lecture tour – Boston to Washington; 31. Lecturing tour in America – Washington to San Francisco; 32. Lecturing tour in America – California to Quebec; 33. Literary work, etc., 1887-1905; 34. Land nationalization to socialism, and the friends they brought me; 35. Mesmerism to Spiritualism – correspondence with scientific and literary men; 36. Two biological inquirers: an episode in the history of Spiritualism; 37. Spiritualistic experiences in England and America; 38. The anti-vaccination crusade; 39. A chapter on money matters – earnings and losses – speculations and law-suits; 40. My character – new ideas – predictions fulfilled; Addendum; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book sets out an original perspective on the argument for one of the most important theories in the history of science: Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. The book will appeal to students, scholars and scientists interested in Darwin's On the Origin of Species.Trade Review'Darwin's comparison between natural and artificial selection is not 'just a metaphor.' It exemplifies a figure of argumentation that goes back to ancient Greek mathematics: proportional analogy. The implications of this fact, spelled out by the distinguished co-authors of Darwin's Argument by Analogy, are sure to change Darwin studies, both historical and philosophical, for good.' David J. Depew, University of Iowa'… an event in Darwin scholarship …' David Depew, Metascience'This original, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book examines one of the most debated arguments in the history of biology … the book is an exemplary work of history and philosophy of science.' S. Andrew Inkpen, Metascience'… best explains Darwin's overall argument strategy in the Origin, but they also contend that it provides insight into 'the broader historiographical, philosophical, and socio-economic themes and issues' associated with Darwin and his research.' Andrea Sullivan-Clarke, MetascienceTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Analogy in classical Greece; 2. Analogy in the background to the Origin; 3. Darwin's analogical theorising before the Origin; 4. The 'one long argument' of the Origin; 5. An analysis of Darwin's argument by analogy; 6. Darwin's use of metaphor in the Origin; 7. Rebuttals of the revisionists; 8. Wider issues concerning Darwinian science.

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Book SynopsisEvolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms is an exploration of laboratory and field research on the many ways that evolution has influenced learning and memory processes, such as associative learning, social learning, and spatial, working, and episodic memory systems. This volume features research by both outstanding early-career scientists as well as familiar luminaries in the field. Learning and memory in a broad range of animals are explored, including numerous species of invertebrates (insects, worms, sea hares), as well as fish, amphibians, birds, rodents, bears, and human and nonhuman primates. Contributors discuss how the behavioral, cognitive, and neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory have been influenced by evolutionary pressures. They also draw connections between learning and memory and the specific selective factors that shaped their evolution. Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms should be a valuable resource for those working in the areas of experimentTable of ContentsIntroduction to evolution of learning and memory mechanisms Mark A. Krause, Karen L. Hollis, and Mauricio R. Papini; Part I. Evolution of Learning Processes: 1. Thrive on Simplicity: An Ethological recount of learning and memory in the nematode caenorhabditis elegans Alex Yu and Catharine Rankin; 2. Adaptive evolution of learning and memory in a model lineage William G. Wright; 3. Learning in insects: Possibilities and perspectives Alexis L. Kriete and Karen L. Hollis; 4. Experimental evolution and prepared learning Aimee Dunlap and Andreia Dexheimer; 5. Evolutionary processes shaping learning ability in insects Maartje Liefting; 6. Brain and spatial cognition in amphibians: Stem adaptations in the evolution of tetrapod cognition Rubén Muzio and Vern Bingman; 7. Pavlovian conditioning, survival and reproductive success Mark A. Krause and Michael Domjan; 8. Evolution and learning of trap avoidance by invasive birds: Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence Andrea Griffin and Marie Diquelou; 9. Relational memory functions of the hippocampal pallium in teleost fish Antonia Gómez, Francisco M. Ocaña, Tamara del Águila, Fernando Rodríguez and Cosme Salas; 10. Mechanisms underlying absolute and relative reward value in vertebrates Mauricio R. Papini; 11. Suboptimal choice: A psycho-evolutionary perspective Patrick Anselme; 12. A behavior systems approach: What it is and how to use it Francisco Silva and Kathleen Silva; 13. Dissociable learning processes: A comparative perspective Barbara A. Church, Brooke N. Jackson and J. David Smith; 14. Social learning strategies Rachel Kendal; 15. How learning affects evolution Kevin Laland, Thomas Oudman and Wataru Toyokawa; Part II. Evolution of Memory Processes: 16. The evolution of memory as an immediate perceptual identification mechanism Michael Fanselow; 17. Episodic memory in animals Jonathon Crystal; 18. A hierarchical framework for quantifying complex cognition Alexandra Schnell and Nicola Clayton; 19. Evolution of memory systems Johan Lind, Magnus Enquist and Stefano Ghirlanda; 20. What laboratory and field approaches bring to bear for understanding the evolution of ursid cognition Jennifer Vonk; 21. Distinguishing mechanisms of behavioral inhibition and self-control Michael Beran and Audrey E. Parrish; 22. Metamemory and control of memory in primates Robert Hampton; 23. Adaptive memory: The mnemonic value of fitness-relevant processing James Nairne and Michelle E. Coverdale; 24. Remembering cheaters: The influence of social relevance on source memory Meike Kroneisen; 25. Evolution of memory circuits under epigenetic regulation Ji-Song Guan; 26. Constraints on learning and memory: A resolution Aaron Blaisdell and Ben Seitz; Index.

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Book SynopsisRecent arguments concerning the nature of causation in evolutionary theory, now often known as the debate between the ''causalist'' and ''statisticalist'' positions, have involved answers to a variety of independent questions definitions of key evolutionary concepts like natural selection, fitness, and genetic drift; causation in multi-level systems; or the nature of evolutionary explanations, among others. This Element offers a way to disentangle one set of these questions surrounding the causal structure of natural selection. Doing so allows us to clearly reconstruct the approach that some of these major competing interpretations of evolutionary theory have to this causal structure, highlighting particular features of philosophical interest within each. Further, those features concern problems not exclusive to the philosophy of biology. Connections between them and, in two case studies, contemporary metaphysics and philosophy of physics demonstrate the potential value of broader collaboration in the understanding of evolution.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The Contemporary Debate over Causation in Natural Selection; 2. Diagramming Evolving Systems; 3. New Perspectives on Causalism; 4. Moving the Debate Forward: Two Proposals; 5. Conclusion; References.

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Book SynopsisThe great apes - gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans - are our closest relatives, with whom we share most of our DNA. This title takes readers on a journey from isolated jungles to misty mountain forests, exploring the lives of the great apes, revealing differences between and within species.Trade Review"A fantastic book that's also a really emotional ride. Anyone who cares about animals will benefit hugely from reading it." -Shaun Ellis, star of Animal Planet's Living With the Wolfman and author of The Man Who Lives With Wolves -- Shaun Ellis, star of Animal Planet's LIVING WITH THE WOLFMAN and author of THE MAN WHO LIVES WITH WOLVES. Praise for AMONG THE CANNIBALS: "Simply fascinating... Raffaele's book is worth devouring." -- Associated Press "Swashbuckling... A dark thrill ride to the extremes of behavior ... reaches beyond adventure anthropology and achieves a tone of urgent humanity." -- Kirkus Reviews "[A] modern, non-fiction version of Conan Doyle's The Lost World: a time-warp glimpse into man's most primordial nightmare; exciting, fantastic, horrific-and a very well-written travel narrative." -- Peter Nichols, author of A VOYAGE FOR MADMEN

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Book Synopsis"Theway Brockman interlaces essays about research on the frontiers of science withones on artistic vision, education, psychology and economics is sure to buzzany brain."

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“The Social Leap is a rollicking tour through humanity’s evolutionary past, and William von Hippel is the consummate tour guide. With equal parts wisdom, humor, authority, and charm, von Hippel shows how our past explains the present and why our well-being rests on an understanding of how our minds evolved.” — Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink and Irresistible “Forget gold toilets and private jets. The key to happiness may just lie in a cheeseburger—or a sandbox. Full of insight into human character, von Hippel’s book provides a stimulating program for measuring success without material yardsticks.” — Kirkus Reviews “The Social Leap is one of the best books I have read in years. Its examination of the evolutionary roots of modern human behavior is both profound and revelatory. Seamlessly weaving captivating stories, rich science, and beautiful prose, von Hippel offers an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of our ancestors and, thereby, into our selves.” — Sonja Lyubomirsky, New York Times bestselling author of The How of Happiness “The Social Leap is a rollicking tour through humanity’s evolutionary past, and William von Hippel is the consummate tour guide. With equal parts wisdom, humor, authority, and charm, von Hippel shows how our past explains the present and why our well-being rests on an understanding of how our minds evolved.” — Roy Baumeister, New York Times bestselling author of Willpower “This book is for everybody. Everybody, that is, who has a shred of curiosity about how we came to become human. von Hippel’s panoramic view prompts us to ask ourselves: what do we wish to do with the miracle that we are now here?” — Mahzarin R. Banaji, Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Department of Psychology, Harvard University

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Book SynopsisNATIONAL BESTSELLERThis second volume of Sapiens: A Graphic History, the full-color graphic adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari?s #1 New York Times bestseller, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution?when humans fell into a trap we?ve yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns.What if humanity?s major woes?war, plague, famine and inequality?originated 12,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens converted from nomads to settlers, in pursuit of the fantasy of productivity and efficiency? What if by seeking to control plants and animals, humans ended up being controlled by kings, priests, and Kafkaesque bureaucracy? Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History?The Pillars of Civilization explores a crucial chapter in human development: the Agricultural Revolution. This is the story of how wheat took over the world; how an unlikely marriage between a god and a bureaucrat created the first empires; and how war, plague, famine, and inequality became an intractable feature of the human condition.But it?s not all doom and gloom with this book?s cast of entertaining characters and colorful humorous scenes. Yuval, Zoe, Prof. Saraswati, Cindy and Bill (now farmers), Detective Lopez, and Dr. Fiction, all introduced in Volume 1, once again travel the length and breadth of human history, this time investigating the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had on our species. The cunning Mephisto shows them how to ensnare humans, King Hammurabi lays down the law, and Confucius explains harmonious society. The origins of modern farming are introduced through Elizabethan tragedy; the changing fortunes of domesticated plants and animals are tracked in the columns of the Daily Business News; the story of urbanization is portrayed as a travel brochure, offering discount journeys to ancient Babylon and China; and the history of inequality unfolds in a superhero detective story; with guest appearances by historical and cultural personalities throughout such as Thomas Jefferson, Scarlett O''Hara, Margaret Thatcher, and John Lennon.Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2 is a radical, witty and colorful retelling of the story of humankind for adults and young adults, and can be read on its own or in sequence with Volume I.

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Book Synopsis“A bizarre collection of evolution tales . . . the weirder, the better.” —Entertainment WeeklyA fascinating exploration of the awe-inspiring, unsettling ingenuity of evolution from Wired writer Matt Simon, author of Plight of the Living Dead (coming soon from Penguin Books)On a barren seafloor, the pearlfish swims into the safety of a sea cucumber’s anus. To find a meal, the female bolas spider releases pheromones that mimic a female moth, luring male moths into her sticky lasso web. The Glyptapanteles wasp injects a caterpillar with her young, which feed on the victim, erupt out of it, then mind-control the poor (and somehow still living) schmuck into protecting them from predators.These are among the curious critters of The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar, a jaunt through evolution’s most unbelievable, most ingenious solutions to the problems of everydaTrade ReviewWinner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award“A veritable parade of eccentric animal profiles that make you laugh so hard you won’t even realize you’re learning a thing or two about niche distribution and adaptive camouflage.”—Wired (“Required Science Reading from 2016”)“A bizarre collection of evolution tales . . . the weirder, the better.”—Entertainment Weekly“A quick, fun read that’s . . . heavy on snark. . . . The book is packed full of fascinating facts that will both impress and creep out.”—Science News“An entertaining look at evolution’s frightening billion-year arms race. . . . Simon’s wit, combined with the geniune eccentricity of his subjects, make this a fun and accessible book.”—Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisFor biologists, 2009 was an epochal year: the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of a book now known simply as The Origin of Species. This book investigates flowers from Darwin's home in England, through the southern hemisphere, and on to North America and China.

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Book SynopsisEmphasizing the changes worked by circulation and copying, interpretation and debate, this book uses the case to explore how pictures succeed and fail, gain acceptance and spark controversy. It reveals how embryonic development was made a process that we can see, compare, and discuss, and how copying - usually dismissed as unoriginal.Trade Review"Sumptuous... Hopwood's excellent, thought-provoking book makes us ponder how these erroneous illustrations acquired their iconic status, and, above all, it shines a spotlight on the power of drawings to influence our thinking." - New Scientist; "Rarely have images proved so incendiary as the embryo drawings of nineteenth-century experimental zoologist Ernst Haeckel. In this lavishly illustrated volume, Hopwood traces the chequered history of the sketches, which showed similarities between embryos of higher and lower vertebrates, including humans, at particular points in their development. Haeckel intended the images as support for Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory, but under attack revealed that they were schematics. Hopwood meticulously charts how, despite the controversy, the drawings took on a life of their own." - Nature; "This book is fun to read, chock-full of exhaustive detail made palatable by entertaining turns of phrase, word pictures, and puns... I found myself fully engaged and repeatedly chuckling over Hopwood's wordsmithery. Then, on practically every page, I was forced to loiter and savor the beauty of the historical plates and images. Through it all, I learned so much. Haeckel's Embryos is a wonderful book." - American Biology Teacher; "Detailed, well documented, and rich with illustrations. It is likely to be of most value to those with interests in developmental biology, embryology, the history of attacks on evolution, or the history of scientific publication." - Library Journal; "Hopwood raises important questions (particularly pertinent to the modern era of viral memes) about the teaching of empirical science and the bringing of complex scientific ideas to the public, the 'boundary of popular literature and specialist work,' the relationship between the observer as accurate reporter and as artist, and the line beyond which schematization for didactic or rhetorical effect becomes deliberately misleading." - Publishers Weekly; "Through eighteen chapters of beautifully illustrated text, Hopwood lays out the unfolding landscape of scientific, social, and political factors that led Haeckel to create his images for public consumption, as well as the rounds of debates that have dogged these images since their first appearance in print... Hopwood does a good job of giving his reader a glimpse into the manufacture of Haeckel's images, and in so doing, gives a fresh perspective on the controversy surrounding Haeckel's famous embryos." - Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences; "Ernst Haeckel, the best known German Darwinist of his day, was also the most controversial. For nearly a century and a half his widely circulated series of animal and human embryos, illustrating common descent, have prompted charges of forgery and fraud from scientific, religious, and political critics. Antievolutionists, especially advocates of intelligent design, have been among his most outspoken detractors. One can only hope that Hopwood's scrupulously researched and evenhandedly argued book will finally lay these longstanding controversies to rest." - Ronald L. Numbers, author of Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion

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Book SynopsisThis overview of developments in the field articulates a new perspective of the whole group of approximately 15,000 species of butterfles as a comprehensive model system for all the sciences concerned with biodiversity.

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Book SynopsisTracing the history of biological attempts to determine whether selection could lead to the evolution of fitter groups, this title focuses on the British naturalist V C Wynne-Edwards, who proposed that animals could regulate their own population levels and thereby avoid overexploitation of their food and other resources.Trade Review"Group selection has a turbulent history, and this book, about a theory that was prematurely rejected and subsequently accepted, covers an important episode in the history of science that is more timely than ever before. Now that evolution as a multilevel process is becoming widely accepted, a proper history is badly needed; Evolutionary Restraints provides that." - David Sloan Wilson, author of Darwin's Cathedral"

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Book SynopsisA rigorous integration of phylogenetic hypotheses into studies of adaptation, adaptive radiation, and coevolution in evolutionary biology.

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Book SynopsisThe earth's climate changes abruptly every few thousand years, with breathtaking speed, cooling the climate worldwide. For most mammals this has a devastating effect on population. This volume argues that the cycle has instigated the increase in brain size and complexity of human beings.Trade Review"William Calvin uses an adventure across today's Earth to draw laser-sharp insights about our human past, and possibly its future. In A Brain for All Seasons, Calvin shows how gyrating weather patterns may have forged our ancestors' evolutionary path. And since Earth's climate may resume those catastrophic swings at any time, evolution may not be finished with us yet." - David Brin, author of The Transparent Society

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Book SynopsisDarwin's theory of evolution transformed the life sciences and made profound claims about human origins and the human condition, topics often viewed as the prerogative of religion. As a result, evolution has provoked a wide variety of religious responses, ranging from angry rejection to enthusiastic acceptance. While Christian responses to evolution have been studied extensively, little scholarly attention has been paid to Jewish reactions. Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinism is the first extended meditation on the Jewish engagement with this crucial and controversial theory. The contributors to Jewish Tradition and the Challenge of Darwinismfrom several academic disciplines and two branches of the rabbinatepresent case studies showing how Jewish discussions of evolution have been shaped by the intersections of faith, science, philosophy, and ideology in specific historical contexts. Furthermore, they examine how evolutionary theory has been deployed when characterizing Jew

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Book SynopsisWe've been told, again and again, that life is unfair. But what if we're wrong simply to resign ourselves to this situation? Drawing on the evidence from our evolutionary history and the emergent science of human nature, this title shows that we have an innate sense of fairness.Trade Review"This important and topical volume is firmly grounded on abundant empirical and theoretical research that underlines the social evolution and cooperative nature of humans. The current economic crisis should prompt us to look for new solutions, and this book outlines an attractive and viable alternative to the flawed economic systems that dominated the twentieth century." -Geoffrey M. Hodgson, author of The Evolution of Institutional Economics"

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Book SynopsisIn essays that survey the burgeoning field of tropical herpetology, former students and associates pay tribute to Jay Savage's four decades of mentoring. The result is a book unlike any other available in tropical herpetology.

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Book SynopsisThe history of biology is populated by numerous model species or organisms. But few vertebrate groups have aided evolutionary and ecological research more than the live-bearing fishes of the family Poeciliidae. This title offers an overview of the scientific potential and understanding of these live-bearing fishes.

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Book SynopsisNature has published news about the history of life ever since its first issue in 1869. This work brings together 19 review articles written for Nature over the past decade. Topics include major extinction events, homeotic genes and body plans and the origin and evolution of the primates.

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Book SynopsisNo fight over what gets taught in American classrooms is more heated than the battle over humanity's origins. For more than a century we have argued about evolutionary theory and creationism (and its successor theory, intelligent design), yet we seem no closer to a resolution than we were in Darwin's day. In this thoughtful examination of how we teach origins, historian Adam Laats and philosopher Harvey Siegel offer crucial new ways to think not just about the evolution debate but how science and religion can make peace in the classroom. Laats and Siegel agree with most scientists: creationism is flawed, as science. But, they argue, students who believe it nevertheless need to be accommodated in public school science classes. Scientific or not, creationism maintains an important role in American history and culture as a point of religious dissent, a sustained form of protest that has weathered a century of broadand often dramaticsocial changes. At the same time, evolutionary theory

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Book SynopsisThis text demonstrates the rich variety of clues to evolution that can be gleaned from the fossil record. Contributors explore modes of development, the tempo of speciation and extinction, and macroevolutionary patterns and trends.

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Book SynopsisAllometry, the study of the growth rate of an organism's parts in relation to the whole, has produced various results in research on animals. This text applies allometry to studies of the evolution, morphology, physiology and reproduction of plants.Table of Contents1 Growth and Metabolism Introduction Growth and Development/Multicellularity and Modular Construction Size and Shape Scaling Principles/Dimensional Analysis The 2/3-Power Law The 3/4-Power Law Growth and Time Photosynthesis and Two Physical Laws Organs versus Organisms Summary 2 Aquatic Plants Introduction Absorption Coefficients of Water and Plant Cells The Package Effect and the Scaling of Cell Geometry and Shape The Transport Equations and Dimensionless Groupings of Variables Fluid Flow and Mass and Heat Transport: Phytoplankton Self-Propulsion: The Volvocales The Mechanics of Ciliary Motion Hydrodynamic Forces and the Mechanics of Attached Aquatic Plants Summary 3 Terrestrial Plants Introduction Heat and Mass Transfer and Boundary Layer Resistances Stomatal Resistances The Mechanical Scaling of Foliage Leaves Mechanical Design: General Considerations The Mechanical Scaling of Tree Height The Mechanical Scaling of Other Terrestrial Plants The Scaling of Self-Thinning Summary 4 Reproduction Introduction The Scaling of Reproductive Biomass Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds Branches and Reproductive Structures The Scaling of Long-Distance Dispersal Size and Gender Expression Summary 5 Evolution Introduction Heterochrony Heterauxesis and Allomorphosis On Being Small or Large The Scaling of the Plant Life Cycle The Evolution of Plant Life Histories Summary

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Book SynopsisUpon its publication, "The Origin of Species" was critically embraced in Europe and North America. But how did Darwin's theories fare in other regions of the world? This title offers the history and interpretation of the reception of Darwinism in Argentina, illuminating the ways culture shapes scientific enterprise.Trade Review"A tour de force. This is by far the most sophisticated book-length account of the reception of Darwinism in one country." - Thomas F. Glick, Boston University"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Although, as a biogeographer, I have taken an interest in Wallace for many years, I learned a great many new things about him and his times by reading these chapters, both in terms of details and of broad issues. He was quite a remarkable individual, and certainly deserves far more attention than he has received in recent decades. This book should do much to rectify that lack of attention. It will quickly come to represent a major milestone in what we know about Wallace and his contributions."--Lawrence R. Heaney, Negaunee Curator of Mammals, Field Museum of Natural History "Given the disparate nature of its subject's intellectual pursuits, this collection of scholarship on Wallace is inevitably eclectic. Usefully synthetic, it provides the hugely significant service of bringing together many disparate strands of Wallaceana in a single location. Wallace has a special need for this kind of treatment because of the breadth of his interests. If you're interested in Darwin, you need only check out the history of biology literature; if, however, you're interested in Wallace, you are compelled to hunt up references in far-flung areas--in the history of biology, history of medicine, history of economics, and in political history. An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion brings all this together in one place."--Andrew Berry, Harvard University, editor of "Infinite Tropics: An Alfred Russel Wallace Anthology" "An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion is a truly comprehensive examination of the ruminations and writings of one of the most remarkable men of the Victorian era, the co-discoverer of the theory of natural selection with Charles Darwin. This book is so thorough in its analysis of a protean mind that it is difficult to imagine that it will or can be surpassed. Anyone interested in the history of science, and in particular evolutionary theory and the foundations of biogeography, will find this collection of essays enlightening and thought-provoking. Even at his least convincing, his embrace of Spiritualism and anti-vaccinationism, Wallace the revolutionary is evident. The authors rightly argue that his concerns for social justice, the degradation of the planet, and humans' place in the universe make him relevant today, even if some of his ideas, based on the best data available to him at the time, may be outdated."--Ross A. Slotten, author of "The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace"

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Book SynopsisJust as Darwin's ideas continue to propel the modern study of adaptation, so too Richard Owen's contributions fuel the interest in homology, organic form, and evolutionary developmental biology. This title offers his theory of the archetype and his views on species origins.Trade Review"I look at Owen's Archetypes as more than ideal, as a real representation as far as the most consummate skill and loftiest generalization can represent the parent form of the Vertebrata." - Charles Darwin, marginalia in his copy of On the Nature of Limbs"

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Book SynopsisTangled Trees presents various methodological and theoretical approaches, ranging from the parsimony approach to 'jungles' and Bayesian statistical models. This volume will be of interest to researchers in a wide variety of fields from parasitology to evolutionary biology.

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Book SynopsisThis volume aims to illuminate long-standing questions about cause-and-effect relations between an animal's behaviour and its environment. The contributors examine how various animals identify and use environmental resources and deal with ecological constraints.Table of ContentsContents 1 How to Think about Behavior: An Introduction, Leslie A. Real Part I. Psychological and Cognitive Foundations 2 A Synthetic Approach to the Study of Animal Intelligence, Alan C. Kamil 3 Learning and Foraging: Individuals, Groups, and Populations, John R. Krebs and Alastair J. Inman 4 Spatial Cognition and Navigation in Insects, Fred C. Dyer 5 Information Processing and the Evolutionary Ecology of Cognitive Architecture, Leslie A. Real 6 Optimizing Learning and Its Effect on Evolutionary Change in Behavior, Daniel R. Papaj Part II. Communication 7 Errors, Exaggeration, and Deception in Animal Communication, R. Haven Wiley 8 Mechanisms Underlying Sexual Selection, Michael J. Ryan Part III. Neural, Developmental, and Genetic Processes 9 Critical Events in the Development of Bird Song: What Can Neurobiology Contribute to the Study of the Evolution of Behavior?, Arthur P. Arnold 10 The Nature and Nurture of Neo-phenotypes: A Case History, Meredith J. West, Andrew P. King, and Todd M. Freeberg 11 Constraints on Phenotypic Evolution, Stevan J. Arnold 12 Behavioral Constraints on the Evolutionary Expansion of Insect Diet: A Case History from Checkerspot Butterflies, Michael C. Singer 13 Individual Behavior and Higher-Order Species Interactions, Earl E. Werner Part IV. Hormonal Processes 14 Hormones and Life Histories: An Integrative Approach, Ellen D. Ketterson and Val Nolan Jr. 15 Immunology and the Evolution of Behavior, Marlene Zuk Part V. The Social Context of Behavior 16 The Evolution of Social Cognition in Primates, Robert M. Seyfarth and Dorothy L. Cheney 17 Lanchester' Theory of Combat, Self-Organization, and the Evolution of Army Ants and Cellular Societies, Nigel R. Franks and Lucas W. Partridge 18 How Social Insect Colonies Respond to Variable Environments, Deborah M. Gordon 19 Chaos and Behavior: The Perspective of Nonlinear Dynamics, Blaine J. Cole

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Book SynopsisThis volume aims to illuminate long-standing questions about cause-and-effect relations between an animal's behaviour and its environment. The contributors examine how various animals identify and use environmental resources and deal with ecological constraints.Table of ContentsPart 1 Psychological and cognitive foundations: a synthetic approach to the study of animal intelligence, Alan C. Kamil; learning and foraging - individuals, groups and populations, John R. Krebs and Alastair J. Inman; spatial cognition and navigation in insects, Fred C. Dyer; information processing and the evolutionary ecology of cognitive architecture, Leslie A. Real; optimizing learning and its effect on evolutionary change in behaviour, Daniel R. Papaj. Part 2 Communication. (Part contents).

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Book SynopsisBy studying evolution across geological time, paleontologists gain a perspective that sometimes complements and sometimes conflicts with views based solely on studies of extant species. The contributors to Causes of Evolution consider whether factors exerting major influences on evolution are biotic or abiotic, intrinsic or extrinsic. Causes of Evolution presents a broad sampling of paleontological research programs encompassing vertebrates, invertebrates, and vascular plants; empirical work and theoretical models; organisms ranging in age from Cambrian to Recent; and temporal scales from ecological time to hundreds of millions of years. The diverse array of research styles and opinions presented will acquaint scientists in related fields with the strengths and weaknesses of paleontology as an approach to evolutionary studies and will give evolutionary biologists of every stripe new bases for evaluating the scope and bias of their own work.

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in Germany in 1950, and now translated into English for the first time, this book has both historical importance and contemporary relevance as Schindewolf's ideas, considered revolutionary in his day, directly address many current debates within evolutionary biology.

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Book SynopsisIn this text, the author outlines his geographic mosaic theory of coevolution. Through this theory, he creates connections between the study of specialization and coevolution in local communities and the study of patterns seen in comparisons of the phylogenies of interacting species.Table of ContentsPart I. The Entangled Bank1 Specialization within Darwin's Entangled Bank 2 From the Entangled Bank to the Evolutionary Synthesis 3 Specialization and Coevolution since the Evolutionary Synthesis Part II. The Evolution of Specialization 4 Phylogeny of Specialization 5 Evolutionary Genetics of Specialization 6 Ontogeny of Specialization Part III. Natural Selection and the Geographic Structure of Specialization 7 Why Parasitism is Special 8 Choosing among Multiple Victims 9 Coping with Multiple Enemies: The Geography of Defense 10 Extreme Specialization in Mutualists 11 Further Limitations on Specialization in Mutualisms Part IV. Specialization and Coevolution 12 Genetics of Coevolution 13 The Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution 14 Diversifying Coevolution 15 Asymmetries in Specialization and Coevolution 16 Pushing the Limits of Coevolution

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Book SynopsisA blueprint for a better future that offers a unified theory of human behavior, culture, and society.Playing on the phrase “a theory of everything” from physics, Michael Muthukrishna’s ambitious, original, and deeply hopeful book A Theory of Everyone draws on the most recent research from across the sciences, humanities, and the emerging field of cultural evolution to paint a panoramic picture of who we are and what exactly makes human beings different from all other forms of life on the planet. Muthukrishna argues that it is our unique ability to create culture, a shared body of knowledge, skills, and experience passed on from generation to generation, that has enabled our current dominance. But it is only by understanding and applying the laws of life—the need for energy, innovation, cooperation, and evolution—that we can solve the practical and existential challenges we face as a species. A Theory of Everyone

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Book SynopsisWhy our human brains are awesome, and how we left our cousins, the great apes, behind: a tale of neurons and calories, and cooking.Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cousins, the great apes, behind. So the human brain is special, right? Wrong, according to Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Humans have developed cognitive abilities that outstrip those of all other animals, but not because we are evolutionary outliers. The human brain was not singled out to become amazing in its own exclusive way, and it never stopped being a primate brain. If we are not an exception to the rules of evolution, then what is the source of the human advantage?Herculano-Houzel shows that it is not the size of our brain that matters but the fact that we have more n

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Book SynopsisOn his popular science blog, Pharyngula, PZ Myers has entertained millions of readers with his infectious love of evolutionary science and his equally infectious disdain for creationism, biblical literalism, intelligent design theory, and other products of godly illogic. This funny and fearless book collects and expands on some of his most popular writings, giving the religious fanaticism of our times the gleeful disrespect it deserves by skewering the apocalyptic fantasies, magical thinking, hypocrisies, and pseudoscientific theories advanced by religious fundamentalists of all stripes. Forceful and articulate, scathing and funny, The Happy Atheist is a reaffirmation of the revelatory power of humor and the truth-revealing powers of science and reason.

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Book Synopsis“An exceptional book” (Helen Fisher) by a leading evolutionary psychologist and sex researcher that lays out a new theory of sexual conflict, exposing the roots of the dangerous dynamics that underpin men’s predatory behavior — and what can be done to address it.Sexual conflict permeates ancient religions, from injunctions about thy neighbor's wife to the permissible rape of infidels. It is etched in written laws that dictate who can and cannot have sex with whom. Its manifestations shape our sexual morality, evoking approving accolades or contemptuous condemnation. It produces sexual double standards that flourish even in the most sexually egalitarian cultures on earth. And although every person alive struggles with sexual conflict, most of us see only the tip of the iceberg: dating deception, a politician's unsavory sexual grab, the slow crumbling of a once-happy marriage, a romantic breakup that turns nasty.

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