Evolution / Evolutionary biology Books

Book SynopsisFor humankind, the most irreducible idea is the concept of life itself. In order to understand that life is essentially an infinite process, transmitted from generation to generation, this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey that unravels one of our greatest mysteries. It begins with the premise that life is a fact—that it is everywhere; that it takes infinite forms; and, most importantly, that it is intrinsically self-perpetuating. Rather than exploring how the first living forms emerged in our universe, the book begins with our first primordial ancestor cell and tells the story of life—how it began, when that first cell diversified into many other cell types and organisms, and how it has continued until the present day. On this journey, the author covers the fundaments of biology such as cell division, diversity, regeneration, repair and death. The rather fictional epilogue even goes one step further and discusses ways how to literally escape the problem of limited recourse and distribution on our planet by looking at life outside the solar system. This book is designed to explain complex ideas in biology simply, but not simplistically, with a special emphasis on plain and accessible language as well as a wealth of hand-drawn illustrations. Thus, it is suitable not only for students seeking for an introduction into biological concepts and terminology, but for everyone with an interest in the fundamentals of life at the crossroad of evolutionary and cell biology. Table of ContentsChapter 1. The Origin of Eukaryotic Cells and Multicellular OrganismsFirst signs of life on Earth were most probably in form of unicellular organisms that rapidly diverged into different types while adapting to all conceivable environments. From those, the first eukaryotic cells appeared giving rise to the origin of multicellular organisms that after an unimaginable series of changes and adaptations ended in what we know today as fungi, plants and animals. This chapter explains how this long and complex process most probably happened in the last billions of years since the origin of life. Chapter 2. Multicellular Organisms Propagation The essential principle of life perpetuation through uninterrupted life cycles of individual organisms is described in detail. During this process, life flows by acquiring many forms such as the gametes formed by individuals, gamete fusion (egg fertilization), embryogenesis, growth and development, adulthood, sexual maturation and again, another cycle of life is initiated. Nevertheless, the key factor for this process to operate is based in the basic principle that individuals have a finite life span while life is propagated indefinitely. Chapter 3. Grow Fast and Well or Die Right after fertilization, most organism’s early growth and development in general needs to happen very quickly. Why? Because most organisms are autonomous life forms from the very beginning of their existence. In this chapter the main strategies for multicellular organisms to produce enough offspring that would contribute to the next generation and therefore to become fertile and procreate will be described. Most remarkable, despite of the evident diversity that exists among animal species (insects, mollusks, crustaceans, birds, reptile and mammals) the fundamental principles that apply during the reproductive process are very similar. Chapter 4. Why Do Animals Grow, Age and then Die? As simple as it sounds, the main purpose of the multicellular organism—that is, the body of an animal—is to ensure that life will continue by ensuring transfer into the next generation. Nonetheless, from the biological point of view, life is long enough for most organisms to have a chance to grow, mature, learn, have experiences, and mate with the right reproductive partner. If this last thing occurs, the organisms can produce descendants to enhance chances of perpetuation. Once this is finish, each organism has accomplished their main purpose and therefore their remaining time will depend on how fast age, become dysfunctional and die. Chapter 5. How Do Tissues Regenerate After an Injury? Tissues and organs naturally regenerate through the processes called tissue and organ homeostatic regeneration or physiological regeneration. We also know that different tissues undergo homeostatic regeneration at different speeds, and can be classified as having faster, medium, or slower regeneration rates. Now, the question is what happens to tissues’ capacity for regeneration after tissue injury (trauma). This type of post-traumatic regeneration is called pathological regeneration and it will depend of each tissue of how it regenerates or not by forming a scar tissue. Chapter 6. Epilogue: The Future of Humankind Could Depend on Unicellular Life It is very clear for most of us that life in our planet is becoming more and more restricted in terms of having enough resources to support everyone subsistence. This without question could cause in the near future a massive crisis for survival. But before this would happen we could have one or two more chances to survive. Our first option is to solve our population growth dynamics and the second is to prepare ourselves for a long trip to other words, outside our solar system. Both scenarios are considered to evaluate how we can contribute to the never-ending story of life.

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Book SynopsisThis book is designed as an easy night's read and introduction to fossil soils and the relatively new disciplines of Paleopedology and Astropedology. It includes line art and color illustrations to visualize the topic for the informed layperson or interested colleagues. It provides comprehensive information on paleosols, which are soils of the past providing a variety of clues to the evolution of life and climate on Earth and deals with topics such as the evolution of grassland ecosystems, mass extinction of the Late Permian and origin of life, all viewed from the perspective of the fossil record of soils. This turns out to be a refreshing new perspective of wide interest.Trade Review“Soil Grown Tall, reviewed here, is a shorter summary intended for a wider audience. … Retallack’s book is well stuffed with insights and ideas, some quite startling. … The book shines with a sense of the beauty of landscape, which has served Retallack well. The book is full of well-chosen reminiscences, which lend life to the narrative. … The book is clearly written, well illustrated, and well produced.” (Egbert Giles Leigh, Evolution, Education & Outreach, Vol. 15 (1), 2022)Table of ContentsChapter 1. Rainbow rocks Chapter 2. Soil as a many splendored thing Chapter 3. Civilization built from soil Chapter 4. Humanity from global change Chapter 5. Grass that changed the world Chapter 6. Death from the sky Chapter 7. An occasion for flowers Chapter 8. Dinosaurs and dirt Chapter 9. World's greatest mid-life crisis Chapter 10. Roots of trees Chapter 11. Mighty millipedes Chapter 12. Lichens and till Chapter 13. When the rust set in Chapter 14. Soils in space Chapter 15. Living soil Chapter 16. The Proserpina Principle Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisBefore Darwin's Origin of Species.- Darwin and the Origin of Species.- Hybridization from the Earliest Times Till Darwin.- Galton's Theory of Heredity.- The Theories of Heredity of Nägeli, Weismann, and de Vries.- Mendel's Theory of Heredity.- Introduction to the Biometry-Saltationism Debate.- Biometry-Saltationism Controversies During the Pre-Mendelian Period.- Biometry-Saltationism Controversies in the Immediate Post-Mendelian Period.- Round 6: Attempted ReconcilIation Between Mendel's and Ancestral Laws: The Birth of the (Hardy-Weinberg) Equilibrium Law (Yule 1902, Castle 1903, Pearson 1904, Hardy 1908, Weinberg 1908).- Round 7: The Darbishire Affair (1902-1905).- Round 8: The Johannsen Breakthrough - Pure-Line Theory (1903), Gene and Genotype-Phenotype Distinction (1909).- Stages Leading to The Modern Synthesis.- Modern Synthesis (1): The Contributions of Fisher.- Modern Synthesis (2): The Contributions of Wright.- Modern Synthesis (3): The Contributions of Haldane.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1: Introduction: Hierarchical Evolutionary-Developmental Theory (H-Evo-Devo Theory).- Part 1: The History of the H-Evo-Devo Theory.- Chapter 2: The Role of Typology and Constraints in the Formation of the Natural System.- Chapter 3: Hierarchical Evolutionary Synthesis.- Part 2: Hierarchies and Evolution.- Chapter 4: Challenging Traditional Hierarchies of Evolution.- Chapter 5: The Structure of the H-Evo-Devo Theory.- Part 3: The Units of Evolution: Philosophical Criteria.- Chapter 6: Criteria for Recognizing Units of Evolution.- Chapter 7: Units of Evolution (I): Subspecies and Species.- Chapter 8: Units of Evolution (II): Higher taxa and Homologues.- Part 4: Challenging Evolutionary Statements.- Chapter 9: Patterns and Rates: Challenging Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium.- Chapter 10: Divergence and Levels: Challenging Allopatric Speciation and the Extrapolationist Premise.- Part 5: The Levels of Evolution: Biological Processes.- Chapter 11: Levels of Evolution (I): Microevolution and Macroevolution.- Chapter 12: Levels of Evolution (II): Megaevolution and Modular-Evolution.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1: Art or Scribbles.- Chapter 2: Art is too important to be left to those who are interested in art.- Chapter 3: Art, rock art or not art.- Chapter 4: Art and communication.- Chapter 5: Graphic elements in communication.- Chapter 6: Meaning, expectations, agents and scenes.- Chapter 7: Painting by numbers. Seven Types of Ambiguity in Art.- Chapter 8: But is it Art—let me count the ways.- Chapter 9: Art and archeohistory of Sahul (the continent of greater Australia and New Guinea).- Chapter 10: a thousand words.

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Book SynopsisThis edition contains 27 articles, written by scholars and filmmakers who are generally acknowledged as the international authorities in the field, and a new preface by the editor. The book covers ethnographic filming and its relations to the cinema and television; applications of filming to anthropological research, the uses of still photography, archives, and videotape; subdisciplinary applications in ethnography, archeology, bio-anthropology, museology and ethnohistory; and overcoming the funding problems of film production.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTIONVisual Anthropology in a Discipline of Words Margaret Mead ETHNOGRAPHIC FILMING AND THE CINEMAThe History of Ethnographic Film Emilie de Brigard Feature Films as Cultural Documents John H. Weakland McCarty’s Law and How to Break it Mark Mc Carty SOME RECENT APPROACHES TO ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMThe Camera and Man Jean Rouch Observational Cinema Colin Young Beyond Observational Cinema David MacDougall Idea and Event in Urban Film John Marshall and Emile de BrigardResearch Filming of Naturally Occuring Phenomena: Basic Strategies E. Richard Sorenson and Allison Jablonko VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE PASTEthnographic Film and History Jean Dominique Lajoux Reconstructing Cultures on Film Asen BalikciThe Role of Film in Archeology Stuart StrueverEthnographic Photography in Anthropological Research Joanna Cohan SchererOur Totemic Ancestors and Crazed Masters Jean Rouch SOME SPECIALIZED USES OF FILM AND VIDEOTAPEPhotography and Visual Anthropology John Collier Jr.Videotape: New Techniques of Observation and Analysis in Anthropology Joseph H. SchaefferFilming Body Behavior J. H. ProstAudiovisual Tools for the Analysis of Culture Style Alan LomaxFilm in Ethnographic Research Timothy Asch and Patsy Asch THE PRESENTATION OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL INFORMATIONEthnographies on the Airwaves: The Presentation of Anthropology on American, British, Belgian and Japanese Television Faye GinsburgThe First Videotheque Yasuhiro OmoriFunding Ethnographic Film and Video Productions in America Sabine Jell-Bahlsen Ethnographic Filmmaking for Japanese Television Yasuko IchiokaMatters of Fact Roger Sandall THE FUTURE OF VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYThe Tribal Terror of Self-Awareness Edmund CarpenterVisual Record, Human Knowledge, and the Future E. Richard SorensonConclusion: Ethnographic Filming and Anthropological Theory Paul Hockings

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Book SynopsisSex prägt wesentlich unser Bild einer lebendigen Natur. Entstanden vor Milliarden Jahren, spielt die Sexualität die Rolle eines Zufallsgenerators, welcher in jeder Generation Erbgut neu zusammenwürfelt. Sie gleicht einem Rüttler, der für die Durchlässigkeit des Siebes der natürlichen Selektion sorgt. Sex tritt bei jeder Art in einer besonderen, durch ihre evolutionäre Geschichte und Lebensweise geprägten Form in Erscheinung. All diesen Formen ist gemeinsam, dass nur das Zusammenwirken zweier Partner erfolgreich sein kann. Dennoch kann aus dieser Kooperation Ungleichheit und heftige Konkurrenz entstehen. Dieses Buch erklärt darüber hinaus, wieso Sexualität bei mehrzelligen Lebewesen oft mit Metamorphose, Brutfürsorge oder Brutpflege verbunden wird, worin der Unterschied zwischen Arten, Rassen und genetischer Vielfalt besteht, dass Geschlechterrollen und -stereotypen austauschbar sind und worauf es bei der Partnerwahl wirklich ankommt.Table of ContentsVorwort.- Sex - theoretisch gesehen.- Fremde Gene - Chancen und Risiko.- Bakterieller Sex - vielfältig doch selten.- Sanfter Zwang zur Zweisamkeit.- Das Individuum schlägt zurück.- Fürsorge.- Sex und das Werden des Menschen.- Wie Sex die Hemmungen der Konkurrenz umgeht.- Glossar.

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Book Synopsis- Sexismus.- Sexuelle Identität.- Wer mit wem?- Warum unterscheiden sich die Geschlechter?- Gibt es einen Unterschied, und wenn ja, warum?- Geschlechtliche Diversität.- Vom Mutterleib bis ins Grab.- Eine Spezies.- Verhalten.- Kultur + Geschlecht = Genderungleichheit?- Erklärungsansätze und Ausblick.- Biology meets Culture.

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Book SynopsisGregory Bateson’s contribution to 20th century thinking has appealed to scholars from a wide range of fields dealing in one way or another with aspects of communication and epistemology. A number of his insights were taken up and developed further in anthropology, psychology, evolutionary biology and communication theory. But the large, trans-disciplinary synthesis that, in his own mind, was his major contribution to science received little attention from the mainstream scientific communities. This book represents a major attempt to revise this deficiency. Scholars from ecology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, anthropology and philosophy discuss how Bateson's thinking might lead to a fruitful reframing of central problems in modern science. Most important perhaps, Bateson's bioanthropology is shown to play a key role in developing the set of ideas explored in the new field of biosemiotics. The idea that organismic life is indeed basically semiotic or communicative lies at the heart of the biosemiotic approach to the study of life. The only book of its kind, this volume provides a key resource for the quickly-growing substratum of scholars in the biosciences, philosophy and medicine who are seeking an elegant new approach to exploring highly complex systems.Trade ReviewFrom the reviews: "In this book are collected 14 essays on a range of topics related to, applying, or extending Bateson’s work and legacy. … Open minded biologists and semioticians, as well as students of Peirce, will be interested … in this book. … I recommend it highly." (Phillip Guddemi, Cybnetics and Human Knowing, Vol. 15 (3-4), 2008) "Biosemiotics studies the ‘sign character’ of processes ‘inside or between living systems,’ from a single cell, to organisms, to ecological systems … . The introduction and the 14 chapters of this book are well written and generally understandable by a nonexpert in biosemiotics or Bateson’s work." (H. I. Kilov, ACM Computing Reviews, April, 2009)Table of ContentsAcknowledgement.- List of contributors.- Introduction; J. Hoffmeyer.- 1. Angels fear revisited. Gregory Bateson’s cybernetic theory of mind applied to religion-science debates. Introduction. Bateson's redefinition of mind. Bateson as a scientist. Kinds of messages. Bateson and religion. Logical types in mental process. Discussion. References; M.C. Bateson.- 2. From thing to relation. On Bateson's bioanthropology. A deep symmetry. Creatura and pleroma. Relative being. A minded nature. Notes. References; J. Hoffmeyer.- 3. What connects the map to the territory? Bateson’s large synthesis. What goes from territory to map? An unresolved ambiguity. How to resolve the ambiguity. Abstraction. The epistemic cut. Ding an sich. The hands and the mind. How does it work? Conclusion. References; T. Cashman.- 4. The pattern which connects pleroma to creatura: the autocell bridge from physics to life. Introduction. The problem with protocells. The thermodynamic universe. Thermodynamics plus shape: iased molecular interactions. From thermodynamics to morphodynamics. Autocatalysis: a morphodynamic chain reaction. Molecular self-assembly. Autocell functions. The birth of evolvable teleodynamics. Discussion. Individuality. Value, purpose, end directedness and for-ness. Adaptation, function, and aboutness. Conclusions. References; T. Deacon, J. Sherman.- 5. Bateson’s method: double description. What is it? How does it work? What do we learn?. Introduction. Double desciption. Abduction. Logical types. The pattern which connects. Conclusions. Acknowledgements. References; J. Hui et al.- 6. Gregory Bateson's relevance to current molecular biology. Was Gregory Bateson a biologist? Reductionism in biology. From genome sequence to higher hierarchical levels. An integrative concept of 'biological information'.The problem of delimiting a semiotic network. From the binding of single molecules to complex 'locks-and-keys'. Where is regulation? Global and hierarchical regulation. Conclusions. References; L. Bruni.- 7. Process ecology: creatura at large in an open universe. Occidental pathway? Barriers to the sacred. The aleatoric nature. A cybernetic world. A transactional ecology. An ecological metaphysic. Fading issues. Conclusion: new and renewed dialogs. References; R.E. Ulanowicz.- 8. Connections in action – bridging implicit and explicit domains. Introduction. Connectedness in action - the CIA-hypothesis. The interpretation of PMv actication. The question of manipulability. Effects on conceptual task solving. Discussion. Acknowledgement. References; T.S.S. Shilhab, C. Gerlach.- 9. Bateson: biology with meaning. Information and the genome. The changing story of the gene. Biology, meaning, and language. Nature and culture. Meaning, beauty, and archetypes. References; B. Goodwin.- 10. Gregory Bateson's 'uncovery' of ecological aesthetics . Introduction. The U.N. millenial ecosystem assessment report. Aesthetics and the MA report. Aesthetics and Gregory Bateson. A new interface? The National Park Issue. Some theoretical issues about aesthetics. Scanning the interface. Conclusion. Notes. References; P. Harries-Jones.- 11. Collapsing the wave function of meaning: the epistemological matrix of talk-in-interaction. Introduction: no more words. Language as Newtonian 'Natural Law'. Boiling clean the data set of languaged interaction. A cybernetic modeling of language as an 'ecology of signs'. Fundaments of system order: the contingent responsivity of turn-taking. Transiently emergent order: transition relevance points. Stepping into the immediate next: adjacency pair interaction. Place as meaning: the stigmergy and structure of sequence

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