Evolution / Evolutionary biology Books

Book SynopsisAlone in the known universe the Earth glows bright with life, a unique cosmic oasis of biodiversity which is now under threat from our own actions. The Earth is a unique as a living planet, a cosmic oasis drifting in the vastness of barren space. It is strikingly and obviously different from our nearest heavenly neighbours, the Moon, Venus and Mars, in its thin skin of biology, extending from the surface for a few kilometres into the crust, and for a few tens of kilometres into the air. But how did this remarkable abundance and diversity of life arise? How has life survived over the enormous time frame of Earth''s history? And does it continue to flourish now, especially with the growing pressure for space from humans?The Cosmic Oasis examines life on Earth, from our earliest interactions with animals and plants to our absolute domination of biology. It follows our developing understanding of life''s origins, its remarkable complexity, and its interactions with the air, oceans and landTrade ReviewThis book tells an interesting story about our understanding of the natural world. A straightforward discussion of interesting facts about nature, liberally punctuated with historical background and comment, it is easy and enjoyable to read. * Choice *easy and enjoyable to read * M. S. Zavada, CHOICE Reviews *captivating and informative * Jonathan Cowie, The Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation *Table of Contents1: Earthrise 2: A spadeful of Earth 3: The planet in a garden 4: The lost worlds of the giants 5: A bonfire like no other 6: The bite in your hamburger 7: Mirror to the world 8: No country for wild apes Index

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Book SynopsisA Primer of Population Genetics and Genomics has been completely revised and updated to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to the basic concepts of population genetics and genomics. Recent textbooks have tended to focus on such specialized topics as the coalescent, molecular evolution, human population genetics, or genomics. This primer bucks that trend by encouraging a broader familiarity with, and understanding of, population genetics and genomics as a whole. The overview ranges from mating systems through the causes of evolution, molecular population genetics, and the genomics of complex traits. Interwoven are discussions of ancient DNA, gene drive, landscape genetics, identifying risk factors for complex diseases, the genomics of adaptation and speciation, and other active areas of current research. The principles are illuminated by numerous examples from a wide variety of animals, plants, microbes, and human populations. The approach also emphasizes learning by doing, which in this case means solving numerical or conceptual problems. The rationale behind this is that the use of concepts in problem-solving lead to deeper understanding and longer knowledge retention. This accessible, introductory textbook is aimed principally at students of various levels and abilities (from senior undergraduate to postgraduate) as well as practising scientists in the fields of population genetics, ecology, evolutionary biology, computational biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, physics, and mathematics.Table of ContentsPreface 1: Genetic Polymorphisms 2: Organization of Genetic Variation 3: Inbreeding and Population Structure 4: Mutation, Gene Conversion, and Migration 5: Natural Selection in Large Populations 6: Random Genetic Drift in Small Populations 7: Molecular Population Genetics 8: Population Genetics of Complex Traits 9: Complex Traits in Natural Populations

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Book SynopsisThe Anthropocene defines the here-and-now time period on Earth of indelible (and possibly irreversible) human disturbance to the natural world, from habitat destruction and mass extinction to global climate change. To ameliorate and repair the damage that threatens the world''s dwindling resources and our very existence, humanity is enacting massive interventions to fuse modern technologies with long established natural processes. Advances in genetic engineering have put us on the cusp of directly shaping the DNA of every living organism (including ourselves), as well as determining the evolution of completely novel species. The author invites the reader to explore how humans have manipulated the ancient forces of evolution and the future possibilities of genetic engineering for conservation and rewilding, de-extinction, and even the creation of viable populations of entirely new species. To entertain such possibilities of synthetic biology, he forces us to wrestle with the threats and ethical conundrums that surround the unintended consequences, as well as the values that humanity places on authenticity in nature. In so doing, this accessible and thought-provoking book explores the potential future of life on planet Earth.Trade ReviewCutter presents us with a wonderfully stimulating book, elegantly weaving in personal narratives, natural history examples, and inspiring thought experiments. * Mohamed Noor, Professor of Biology and Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Duke University *This book is a must-read for anyone curious about the potential of genetic technologies to control the very fate of nature, itself. And if you happen to be someone who wants to build a dragon from scratch, then it's a good book for you, too! * Daniel Riskin, Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto Mississauga, TV Host, and Producer *An excellent primer for anyone hoping to understand how today's biotechnologies - and the way we choose to use them - have the power to change all of life on Earth. * Beth Shapiro, Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz. Author of How to Clone a Mammoth and Life As We Made It *A highly enjoyable and thought-provoking book about the ways in which timeless biological processes and ever more powerful human tinkering are, together, shaping the evolutionary future. * Rob Dunn, Professor, North Carolina State University *Very well written, this book contributes to the understanding of genetic editing and the significant changes that may result from it. Essential. All readership levels. * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface Part 1: The Hearts of Nature 1: Nature in the raw, and cooked 2: Selection, naturally and otherwise 3: Ancient forces 4: Evolution's racetracks 5: Evolutionary accelerants and speed bumps 6: Carjacking genetics 7: Genetic welding 8: On the origin of species 9: Do-it-yourself speciation 10: Ongoing evolutionary outcomes Part 2: Evolutionary Futures 11: How to evolve a dragon 12: Evolutionary engineering in the flesh 13: Nature, rewilded 14: When nature comes to call 15: Inspection by the department of health, safety, and ethics 16: When we become dragons 17: A midnight coterie of transcendent fauna

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Book SynopsisLiberating Science: The Early Universe, Evolution and the Public Voice of Science is a presentation of science for the general reader, with an emphasis on correcting widely held misconceptions, and a call to liberate science from ''private ownership'' in cultural terms.Quantum fields and the physics of the early universe are described in non-technical language, showing what science can and cannot say about origins. Darwinian evolution is then discussed, giving due weight both to variation and to the constraints which shape the possible outcomes.The text provides a liberating view of what science is telling us about the natural world and offers the next generation a balanced and liberating view of their own moral stature.Table of Contents1: A candid friend 2: What is a quantum field? 3: Quantum fluctuation? 4: The vacuum as a dynamical system 5: The very early Universe 6: Nothing comes of nothing 7: Rubble and randomness 8: What science can and cannot do 9: Science, science fiction and the multiverse 10: Could it simply be? 11: Religious imagery 12: Sinking the selfish gene 13: The magician's box 14: Stepping out 15: Angels with dirty faces 16: Science and sensibility 17: Great is the power of steady misrepresentation 18: Fruit pie 19: Contemporary thought and evolution 20: Brightland 21: Getting past Brightland

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Book SynopsisExamines the theory and methods of quantitative genetics and presents case studies that illustrate the many ways in which the methods can be applied. The author brings together current theoretical and empirical studies to show how quantitative genetics can illuminate diverse topics.Table of ContentsContents Preface Introduction 1 Outlining the Issues, Christine R. B. Boake Quantitative Genetic Theory in Relation to Behavioral Evolution 2 Multivariate Inheritance and Evolution: A Review of Concepts, Stevan J. Arnold 3 Optimality Modeling and Quantitative Genetics: A Comparison of the Two Approaches, Derek A. Roff 4 Quantitative Genetics and the Role of the Environment Provided by Relatives in Behavioral Evolution, James M. Cheverud and Allen J. Moore 5 Quantitative Genetic Models of the Evolution of Mating Behavior, I. Lorraine Heisler 6 Genetic and Nongenetic Approaches to Questions about Sexual Selection, Linda Partridge Applications of Quantitative Genetics to Studies of Behavioral Evolution in Natural Populations 7 Genetic Analyses of Animal Migration, Hugh Dingle 8 Size-Dependent Behavioral Variation and Its Genetic Control within and among Populations, Joseph Travis 9 Genetic Analysis of Territoriality in _Drosophila melanogaster_, Ary A. Hoffman 10 Genetic Analysis of Cannibalism Behavior in _Tribolium_ Flour Beetles, Lori Stevens 11 The Heritability of Mate-Attractive Traits: A Case Study on Field Crickets, Ann V. Hedrick 12 Quantitative Genetics of Locomotor Behavior and Physiology in a Garter Snake, Theodore Garland, Jr. 13 Evolutionary Inferences from Genetic Analyses of Cold Adaptation in Laboratory and Wild Populations of the House Mouse, Carol Becker Lynch Conclusions 14 Evaluation of Applications of the Theory and Methods of Quantitative Genetics to Behavioral Evolution, Christine R. B. Boake

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Book SynopsisThis volume draws on extensive, multidisciplinary research in its attempt to develop new views of the geological formation of the isthmus linking North and South America, and of the major environmental changes that reshaped the Neotropics to create its present-day marine and terrestrial ecosystems.Table of ContentsPreface 1: Evolution and Environment: Introduction and Overview Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Ann F. Budd. 2: The Geologic Evolution of the Central American Isthmus Anthony G. Coates, Jorge A. Obando. 3: Graphic Correlation of Marine Deposits from the Central American Isthmus: Implications for Late Neogene Paleoceanography Harry J. Dowsett, Mathew A. Cotton. 4: Biotic and Oceanographic Response to the Pliocene Closing of the Central American Isthmus Thomas M. Cronin, Harry J. Dowsett. 5: The Oxygen Isotopic Record of Seasonality in Neogene Bivalves from the Central American Isthmus Jane L. Teranes, Dana H. Geary, Brian E. Bemis. 6: Environmental Changes in Caribbean Shallow Waters Relative to the Closing Tropical American Seaway Laurel S. Collins 7: Plio-Pleistocene Turnover and Extinctions in the Caribbean Reef-Coral Fauna Ann F. Budd, Kenneth G. Johnson, Thomas A. Stemann. 8: Speciation, Extinction, and the Decline of Arborescent Growth in Neogene and Quaternary Cheilostome Bryozoa of Tropical America Alan H. Cheetham, Jeremy B. C. Jackson. 9: Paciphilia Revisited: Transisthmian Evolution of the Strombina Group (Gastropoda: Columbellidae) Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Peter Jung, Helena Fortunato. 10: Diversity of Pliocene-Recent Mollusks in the Western Atlantic: Extinction, Origination, and Environmental Change Warren D. Allmon, Gary Rosenberg, Roger W. Portell, Kevin Schindler. 11: Molecular Comparisons of Transisthmian Species Pairs: Rates and Patterns of Evolution Timothy Collins 12: Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Neotropical Mammal Fauna S. David Webb, Alceu Rancy. 13: Quaternary Environmental History and Forest Diversity in the Neotropics Paul A. Colinvaux List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisThis is Nature editor Henry Gee’s magnum opus, a major account of the development of vertebrates.Trade Review"An excellent addition, complementing Gee's earlier book Before the Backbone, which provided a historical perspective on ideas surrounding vertebrate origins. Gee addresses an important topic for biologists and zoologists about vertebrates' place in the 'grand scheme.' We are familiar with vertebrates, or think that we are. However, Gee shows beautifully, as a group we are just as strange in many ways as other groups appear to us. Across the Bridge takes on a very esoteric subject and is genuinely witty and charming. The book really is magnificent."--Neil J. Gostling, University of Southampton "An excellent addition, complimenting Gee's earlier book Before the Backbone, which provided an historical perspective on ideas surrounding vertebrate origins. Gee addresses an important topic for biologists and zoologists about vertebrates' place in the 'grand scheme.' We are familiar with vertebrates, or think that we are. However, Gee shows beautifully, as a group we are just as strange in many ways as other groups appear to us. Across the Bridge takes on a very esoteric subject and is genuinely witty and charming. The book really is magnificent."--Neil J. Gostling, University of Southampton

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Book SynopsisIn the early 1890s, the theory of evolution gained an unexpected ally: the Edison phonograph. This title charts scientific controversies over the evolution of language from Darwin's day onwards, resurrecting the forgotten debts of psychology, anthropology, and other behavioral sciences to the Victorian debate about animal roots of human language.Trade Review"The Simian Tongue ranges deftly from philosophical discussions of the nature of language to technical and business questions relating to the development of sophisticated recording equipment, and from scientific papers to the often more sensational treatments of science provided by the press. It is original in its purview, impeccable in its scholarship, and written with unusual energy, grace, and lucidity." - Richard W. Burkhardt, Jr., author of Patterns of Behavior: Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen, and the Founding of Ethology"

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Book SynopsisThis book sheds fascinating light on the most remarkable aspects of Darwin's life.Table of ContentsIntroduction * The Abyss of Time * The Abundance of Nature * Charles Darwin: Born a Naturalist * Edinburgh University * Cambridge University * The Voyage of the Beagle * Eastern South America * Don Carlos 'So Much of a Gaucho' * Fossil Discoveries * Tierra del Fuego and the Shock of the Savage * Western South America * The Galapagos: The True Story * Across the Pacific and Around the World * To Marry or Not to Marry? * Journal of Researches * Zoology of the Beagle * Geology of the Beagle * At Home with the Darwins * Barnacles * Putting the Puzzle Together * On the Origin of Species * The Reception of Darwin's Theory of Evolution * Orchids * Variation * The Powers of Plants * The Descent of Man and The Expression of the Emotions * The Sage of Down and the Study of Worms * Darwin's Death and Legacy * Sources * Index * Further Reading.

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Book SynopsisThe unexpected diversity, beauty, and strangeness of life in ancient lakes?some millions of years old?and the remarkable insights the lakes are yielding about the causes of biodiversity.Most lakes are less than 10,000 years old and short-lived, but there is a much smaller number of ancient lakes, tectonic in origin and often millions of years old, that are scattered across every continent but Antarctica: Baikal, Tanganyika, Victoria, Titicaca, and Biwa, to name a few. Often these lakes are filled with a diversity of fish, crustaceans, snails, and other creatures found nowhere else in the world. In Our Ancient Lakes, Jeffrey McKinnon introduces the remarkable living diversity of these aquatic bodies to the general reader and explains the surprising, often controversial, findings that the study of their faunas is yielding about the formation and persistence of species.The first single-authored volume to synthesize studies of ancient lakes, Our Ancient Lakes provides an overview of the lakes and their distinctive geological origins; accounts of the evolutionary processes that have generated the incredible diversity found in the lakes and produced some of the fastest speciation rates known for vertebrates; the surprisingly important role of interspecies mating in the most rapid diversifications; the uniquely complete records of the creatures that inhabited the lakes, which are being extracted from deep lake sediments; the prospects for the lakes as we tumble into the Anthropocene; and much more.Shining a light on a class of biodiversity hot spot that is equivalent to coral reefs in the ocean or tropical rainforests on land, Our Ancient Lakes chronicles in a refreshingly personal and accessible way the often singular wonders of these venerable water bodies.The MIT Press gratefully acknowledges Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

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Book SynopsisI: Development and Evolution.- 1. Cephalopod Development and Evolution: Biological Insight into Ontogenesis as a Guide to Paleomorphology.- 2. Hatching of Nautilus macromphalus in the Toba Aquarium, Japan.- 3. Comparative Analysis of Some Morphometric Characters in Two Sepiolids: Sepietta neglecta (Naef, 1916) and Sepietta oweniana (Orbigny, 1840).- 4. Embryonic Development of Primitive Ammonoids and the Monophyly of the Ammonoidea.- 5. A Late Carboniferous Spirulid Coleoid from the Southern Mid-Continent (USA): Shell Wall infrastructure and Evolutionary Implications.- 6. Plasticity of Developmental Timing as the Underlying Cause of High Speciation Rates in Ammonoids: An Example from the Cenomanian Western Interior Seaway of North America.- 7. Pathologic Gigantism in Middle Carboniferous Cephalopods, Southern Midcontinent, United States.- 8. Aalenian Tmetoceras (Ammonoidea) from Iberia: Taxonomy, Habitats, and Evolution.- 9. Evolution of the Family Sibiritidae and Detailed BiostratigraTable of ContentsDevelopment and Evolution. Cephalopod Development and Evolution: Biological Insight into Ontogenesis as a Guide to Paelomorphology; S.V. Boletzky. Hatching of Nautilus macromphalus in the Toba Aquarium, Japan; K. Uchiyama, K. Tanabe. Comparative Analysis of Some Morphometric Characters in Two Sepiolids: Sepietta neglecta (Naef, 1916) and Sepietta oweniana (Orbigny, 1840); E. Lefkaditou, P. Kaspiris. Form, Construction, and Function. Ultrastructural Studies on the Epidermis of Adult Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797); S. Lenz. Comparative Immunohistochemical and Immunocytochemical Investigations on the Location of Haemocyanin Synthesis in Dibranchiate and Tetrabranchiate Cephalopods (Sepia and Nautilus); P. Ruth, et al. Ultrastructural Studies of the Suckers of Newly Hatched Eledone moschata and Octopus vulgaris (Mollusca; Cephalopoda); H. Schmidtberg. Taphonomy, Palaeoecology, Palaeobiogeography, Biostratigraphy, and Basin Analysis. Rollmarks of Soft Parts and a Possible Crop Content of Late Cretaceous Ammonites from the Slovenian Kars; H. Summesberger, et al. Possible Cephalopod Reproductive Mass Mortality Reflected by Middle Carboniferous Assemblages, Arkansas, Southern United States; W.L. Manger, et al. 26 additional articles. Index.

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Book SynopsisPresents reviews of topics selected from the range of research in avian biology. This title includes topics that cover the spectrum from the molecular level of organization to population biology and community ecology.Table of Contents1 Avian Coloniality: Progress and Problems.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Historical Background.- 3. Phylogenetic Analyses.- 4. Limitation of Breeding Sites.- 5. The Costs and Benefits of Coloniality.- 5.1. Ectoparasite and Disease Transmission.- 5.2. Misdirected Parental Care.- 5.3. Predation-Related Effects.- 6. Social Foraging and Coloniality.- 6.1. The Information Center Hypothesis.- 6.2. The Recruitment Center Hypothesis.- 6.3. Spatial Concentration and Local Enhancement.- 6.4. Competition and Depletion of Food.- 7. Reproductive Success and Habitat Selection.- 7.1. Mean Reproductive Success in Relation to Colony Size.- 7.2. Using Reproductive Success to Select Breeding Sites.- 8. Sexual Selection and Coloniality.- 9. Variation in Colony Size.- 9.1. Ideal-Free Distributions and Local Resources.- 9.2. Phenotypic and Genetic Differences among Individuals.- 9.3. (In)stability of Colony Size.- 10. Prospectus.- References.- 2 Begging in Nestling Birds.- 1. Parent–Offspring Conflict.- 2. The Importance of Signaling.- 2.1. Begging as a Signal.- 2.2. The Models.- 2.3. The Cost of Begging.- 3. Begging Signals.- 3.1. Defining Begging.- 3.2. Is Begging Influenced by Nestling Condition?.- 3.3. Which Cues Do Parents Use?.- 4. Begging as Competition among Nestmates.- 4.1. Sibling Competition.- 4.2. Brood Hierarchies.- 4.3. Brood Parasites.- 5. The Importance of Offspring Sex.- 6. The Role of Biparental Care.- 7. An Alternative Perspective.- 7.1. Begging as Foraging.- 7.2. Do Nestlings Learn?.- 8. Conclusions.- References.- 3 Ecological Aspects of Neophobia and Neophilia in Birds.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1. The Implication of Novelty Responses and Exploration: A Brief Overview.- 1.2. Definitions.- 1.3. Costs and Benefits of Neophilia and Neophobia.- 1.4. Costs and Benefits within Two-factor Models of Exploration and Neophobia.- 2. How Neophobia and Neophilia Are Studied.- 2.1. Assessing Neophobia and Neophilia.- 2.2. Teasing Apart Neophobia, Hunger, and Neophilia..- 2.3. The Nature of Novel Stimuli.- 2.4. Among-Object Variation in Novelty Responses.- 2.5. Innate Bias in Novelty Responses.- 3. What Determines the Intensity of Neophobia and Neophilia in Adult Birds.- 3.1. The Process of Familiarization.- 3.2. The Dynamics of Exploration and Neophobia.- 3.3. Social Facilitation and Novelty Responses.- 3.4. Consistent Individual Variation in Neophobia.- 3.5. Genetic Basis for Intraspecific Variation.- 3.6. Neurobiological Basis for Novelty Responses.- 3.7. Neophobia and Gender.- 3.8. Novelty Responses and the Socioecological Niche.- 3.9. Facultative Changes in Novelty Responsiveness.- 3.10. Seasonal Changes in Costs and Benefits of Novelty Responses.- 4. Exploration in Juvenile Birds.- 4.1. Overview.- 4.2. What Do Juvenile Birds Explore?.- 4.3. Object Manipulation in Young Birds: Familiarization or Practice.- 4.4. The Effect of Diverse and Depauperate Early Environment on Adult Neophobia.- 5. Comparative Studies of Neophobia and Exploration.- 5.1. Taxonomic Comparisons.- 5.2. The Neophobia Threshold Hypothesis.- 5.3. Neophobia and Neophilia in Island Populations.- 6. Conclusions and Future Directions.- References.- 4 Avian Quantitative Genetics.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Components of Phenotypic Variation.- 3. Tools of the Trade.- 3.1. Parent–Offspring Regression.- 3.2. Full-Sib Analyses.- 3.3. Half-Sib Analyses.- 3.4. Realized Heritability.- 3.5. Genetic Correlations.- 3.6. Measurement Error and Repeatability.- 4. Empirical Data.- 4.1. Heritabilities.- 4.2. Genetic Correlations.- 4.3. Empirical Estimates: Conclusion.- 5. Maternal Effects.- 5.1. Adaptive Maternal Effects.- 6. Extra-Pair Paternity.- 6.1. Extra-Pair Paternity Detected by Heritability.- 6.2. Consequences of Extra-Pair Paternity for Avian Quantitative Genetics.- 6.3. Uses of Extra-Pair Paternity for Quantitative Genetic Analysis.- 7. Quantitative Genetics of Fitness.- 8. Genotype-Environment Interactions.- 9. Genetic Basis of Population Differentiation.- 10. Applications of Quantitative Genetics to Avian Evolution.- 11. Further Prospects.- 11.1. Animal Models in Avian Quantitative Genetics.- 11.2. Integration of Molecular and Quantitative Genetics.- 12. Conclusions.- References.- 5 Male Parental Care and Paternity.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Theoretical Models.- 2.1. Assumptions of Models.- 2.2. General Predictions from Models.- 2.3. Does it Pay to Reduce Male Parental Care When Paternity is Low?.- 2.4. Male Parental Care and the Shape of Cost and Benefit Curves.- 2.5. Female Compensation and Evolutionarily Stable Strategy Models.- 2.6. ESS Models.- 2.7. Dynamic Models.- 2.8. Conclusions from Models.- 3. Field Studies: Testing Predictions and Assumptions.- 3.1. How Does Paternity Vary?.- 3.2. Can Males Assess Paternity?.- 3.3. What Are the Costs and Benefits of Reducing Care?.- 3.4. Confounding Factors in Field Studies.- 3.5. Conclusions from Field Studies.- 4. Interspecific Analyses.- 5. Conclusions and Future Directions.- References.- 6 Physiological Ecology and Behavior of Desert Birds.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1. Comparative Methods.- 1.2. Deserts of the World.- 1.3. Avian Evolution.- 1.4. Paleodeserts.- 2. Energy.- 2.1. Basal Metabolic Rate.- 2.2. Field Metabolic Rate.- 3. Water.- 3.1. Water Deprivation.- 3.2. Metabolic Water.- 3.3. Renal Structure and Function.- 3.4. Evaporative Water Loss.- 3.5. Field Water Flux.- 4. Thermoregulation.- 4.1. Responses to High Ta.- 4.2. Macroclimate.- 4.3. Microclimate.- 4.4. Mobility.- 5. Optimization Processes.- 6. Summary.- References.- 7 Reproductive Energy Expenditure, Intraspecific Variation and Fitness in Birds.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1. Intraspecific (Interindividual) Variation.- 1.2. Doubly-Labeled Water and Other Methods for Measuring Energy Expenditure.- 1 3 Aims, Objectives, and Limits.- 2. Is Reproduction Energetically Costly, and at What Stage Is It Most Costly?.- 3. Intraspecific Variation in Daily Energy Expenditure: Biological Variation or Measurement Error?.- 3.1. Measurement Error.- 3.2. Handling or Treatment Effects.- 3.3. Individual Variation in DEE from Field Studies Relative to Measurement Error.- 4. Repeatability of Daily Energy Expenditure Measurements.- 5. Individual, Environmental, and Activity-Related Correlates of DEE.- 5.1. Individual Attributes.- 5.2. Environmental Factors.- 5.3. Activity-Related Variation.- 5.4. Summary.- 6. Metabolic Rate and Body Mass: Intraspecific versus Interspecific Scaling.- 6.1. Intraspecific Variation in Body Composition and Metabolic Rate.- 7. Relationships between DEE and Measures of Reproductive Effort or Fitness.- 7.1. Timing of Laying, Egg Size, and Clutch Size.- 7.2. Offspring Growth and Quality.- 7.3. Brood Size and Provisioning Rate.- 7.4. Costs of Reproduction: Survival and Future Fecundity.- 7.5. Summary.- 8. Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Research.- References.

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Book SynopsisThis volume brings together a series of papers that address the topic of reconstructing behavior in the primate fossil record. Consequently, inferences of behavior in extinct species have become better grounded in comparative studies of living species and are becoming increas­ ingly rigorous.Trade Review`The chapters are of high quality and well focused. Recommended.' Choice, 40:4 (2002) `One of the major challenges in primate paleontology is reconstructing the animals behaviour from its fossil remains. Unlike human archeology, where there are plenty of clues from material culture, paleontologists have much less information to work from. This book looks at the current state of the art [...] with chapters covering a broad range of techniques that can be applied and reviewing the predictions that can be made. It is firmly aimed at researchers in the field although its content might be interesting to final year undergraduates.' Primate Eye, Primate Society of Great Britain, 81 (October 2003)Table of Contents1. Preface; J.M. Plavcan, et al. 2. Adaptation and behavior in the primate fossil record; C.F. Ross, et al. 3. Functional morphology and in vivo bone strain patterns in the craniofacial region of primates: beware of biomechanical stories about fossil bones; W.L. Hylander, K.R. Johnson. 4. On the interface between ontogeny and function; M.J. Ravosa, C.J. Vinyard. 5. Dental ontogeny and life-history strategies: the case of the giant extinct indroids of Madagascar; L.R. Godfrey, et al. 6. A comparative approach to reconstructing the socioecology of extinct primates; C.L. Nunn, C.P. van Schaik. 7. The use of paleocommunity and taphonomic studies in reconstructing primate behavior; K.E. Reed. 8. Reconstructing diets of fossil primates; P. Ungar. 9. Reconstructing social behavior from dimorphism in the fossil record; J.M. Plavcan. 10. The adaptations of Branisella boliviana, the earliest South American monkey; R.F. Kay, et al. 11. Ecomorphology and behavior of giant extinct lemurs from Madagascar; W.L. Jungers, et al. 12. Conclusions: reconstructing behavior in the fossil record; J.M. Plavcan, et al.

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Book SynopsisThere is now a considerable literature on chemical ecology, which had its beginnings in the study of insect pheromones. This beginning was possible only by combining the disciplines and techniques of biology and chemistry. For a biologist, it is difficult to understand the time frames of analytical and synthetic chemistry. A compound may take days to characterize and be available in minutes from a bottle on the shelf, or it may take years to characterize and synthesize. Chemists have a similar frustration: after an intense programme of work, the insect in question may not emerge for many months. study are, however, The rewards of integrated interdisciplinary considerable, because they allow us to understand many facets of insect behaviour and consequently to control that behaviour for our own ends. In this book, we have set out to explain the results of research from chemical andTable of ContentsPreface. Part One: Pheromones and Behavior; P.E. Howse. 1. Insect Semiochemicals and Communication. 2. The Role of Pheromones in Insect Behavior and Ecology. 3. Factors Controlling Responses of Insects to Pheromones. 4. Bioassay Methods. Part Two: Chemical Aspects of Pheromones; I.D.R. Stevens. 5. Chemical Structures and Diversity of Pheromones. 6. Isolation and Structure Determination. 7. Synthesis of Pheromones. 8. Structure and Species Specificity. Part Three: Practical Applications of Pheromones and Other Semiochemicals; O.T. Jones. 9. Pest Monitoring. 10. Mass Trapping. 11. Lure and Kill. 12. Mating Disruption. 13. Other Uses of Semiochemicals. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis important book provides a practical guide to the principles and practice of developing an integrated pest management (IPM) programme.Trade Review`This is an interesting and unusual book. Few books available deal so extensively with the organisational issues of IPM programs.' Parasitology Today `The main readership for this book will be people who are engaged in crop protection but anyone who is interested in greener forms of crop production, and the difficulties associated with this, will find something of interest here.' British Journal of Entomology and Natural History `... provides a practival guide to the principles and practice of developing an IPM programme.' SPORE `David Dent should be congratulated for his book. It will be an important addition to the book collections of researchers, universities and professionals involved in the area of crop protection.' Bulletin of Entomological ResearchTable of ContentsList of Contributors. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Principles of integrated pest management. 3. Control measures. 4. Defining the problem. 5. Programme planning and management. 6. Techniques in systems analysis. 7. Experimental paradigms. 8. Implementation of an IPM system. 9. Integrated pest management in olives; M.P. Walton. 10. Integrated pest management in wheat; S.D. Wratten, N.C. Elliott, J.A. Farrell. 11. Integrated pest management in cotton; A.P. Gutierrez. 12. Integrated pest management in protected crops; J.C. van Lenteren. Index.

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Book SynopsisFrom Stone Age networks to Digital Age networking, this book explores the ancient origins of our social lives today.Trade Review'An important, provocative essay on human evolution, argued with great eloquence and skill' - Current Archaeology'A triumph of collaboration, as well as a gripping detective story' - New Statesman'A dramatic demolition of the “stones and bones” approach to archaeology' - New Scientist'Retains the Thames & Hudson tradition of thinking clearly, and writing well … You will not read a more important book this year' - Minerva'An important piece of work … anyone with an interest in early human and pre-human society should add to their reading list' - Popular Science Books blog'Compelling' - The Lady'‘An important piece of work … anyone with an interest in early human and pre-human society should add to their reading list' - Popular Science Books blogTable of ContentsPreface • 1. Psychology Meets Archaeology • 2. What It Means to Be Social • 3. Ancient Social Lives • 4. Ancestors With Small Brains • 5. Building the Human Niche: Three Crucial Skills • 6. Ancestors with Large Brains • 7. Living in Big Societies

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Book SynopsisDescribes the evolutionary biology of herbivorous insects, including their relationships with host plants and natural enemies. This book focuses on the dynamic relationships between insects and plants from the standpoint of evolutionary change at different levels of biological organization - individuals, populations, species, and clades.Trade Review"This book will be an important resource for insect ecologists for many years." Choice "A wonderful addition to the field ... Everyone will find something of interest... Provides a wealth of information and approaches to digest." Evolution: Intl Journal Of Organic EvolutionTable of ContentsPreface 1. Chemical Mediation of Host-Plant Specialization--the Papilionid Paradigm 2. Evolution of Preference and Performance Relationships 3. Evolutionary Ecology of Polyphagy 4. Phenotypic Plasticity in Plant-Herbivore Interactions 5. Selection and Genetic Architecture of Plant Resistance 6. Genetic Introgression and Parapatric Speciation in a Hybrid Zone 7. Host Shifts, the Evolution of Communication, and Speciation in the Enchenopa binotata Species Complex of Treehoppers 8. Host Fruit-Odor Discrimination and Sympatric Host-Race Formation in Rhagoletis pomonella 9. Comparative Analyses and the Study of Ecological Speciation in Herbivorous Insects 10. Sympatric Speciation in Herbivorous Insects: Norm or Exception? 11. Insights from Remote Islands on Insect-Plant Interactions 12. Selection by Pollinators and Herbivores on Attraction and Defense 13. Adaptive Radiation: Phylogenetic Constraints and their Ecological Consequences 14. Sequential Radiation through Host-Race Formation: Insect Herbivore Diversity Leads to Diversity in Natural Enemies 15. Host-Plant Range and Speciation: The Oscillation Hypothesis 16. Coevolution, Cryptic Speciation, and the Persistence of Plant-Insect Interactions 17. Cophylogeny of Figs, Pollinators, Gallers and Parasitoids 18. The Phylogenetic Dimension of Insect-Plant Assemblages: A Review of Recent Evidence 19. Evolution of Insect Resistance to Transgenic Plants 20. Exotic Plants in an Altered Enemy Landscape: Effects on Enemy Resistance 21. Life-History Evolution in Native and Introduced Populations 22. Rapid Natural and Anthropogenic Diet Evolution: Three Examples From Checkerspot Butterflies 23. Conservation of Coevolved Insect Herbivores and Plants

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Book SynopsisIt has been realised for some time how game theory can model natural selection. Evolutionary game theory replaces the concept of rational players with the population dynamics of behavioural programmes and can be used to understand the strategic and genetic foundations of the endless chronicle of invasions and extinctions which punctuate evolution.Trade Review'… as a mathematical text on an important set of topics in theoretical biology, the book is superb. It is well organised and beautifully written. In choosing from the rich menu of mathematical topics broadly relevant to ecology, behaviour, evolution, and even theoretical immunology, it shows good taste.' The Times Higher Education Supplement'… [has] something for anyone interested in game models in organismal biology.' Marc Mangel, Nature'The book is a must for any mathematician economist, or biologist working in Evolutionary Game Theory.' C. Alos-Ferrer, International Mathematical News'This book can highly be recommended to mathematicians interested in applications in social sciences, biology, and population genetics.' Ethology'… an excellent publication that helps to bridge one of the gaps between biologists and mathematicians.' David Boukai, Folia GeobotanicaTable of ContentsIntroduction for game theorists; Introduction for biologists; Part I. Dynamical Systems And Lotka-Volterra Equations: 1. The logistic equation; 2. Lotka-Volterra for predator-prey systems; 3. Lotka-Volterra for two competitors; 4. Ecological equations for two species; 5. Lotka-Volterra for more than two populations; Part II. Game Dynamics And Replicator Equations: 6. Evolutionarily stable strategies; 7. Replicator equations; 8. Other game dynamics; 9. Adaptive dynamics; 10. Asymmetric conflicts; 11. More on bimatrix games; Part III. More On Lotka-Volterra And Replicator Dynamics: 12. Hypercircles and permanence; 13. Criteria for permanence; 14. Replicator networks; 15. Stability in n-species communities; 16. Some low-dimensional ecological systems; 17. Heteroclinic cycles and C-matrices; Part IV. Population Genetics: 18. Discrete dynamical systems in population genetics; 19. Continuous selection dynamics; 20. Mutation and recombination; 21. Fertility selection; 22. Game dynamics for Mendelian populations; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis is a comprehensive 2005 student textbook on dinosaurs that non-specialists will also find fascinating. It is the only comprehensive text that takes an explicitly phylogenetic approach to dinosaurs. The geological context of dinosaurs is also stressed, and dinosaurs are presented in the context of plate tectonic and climatic settings.Trade ReviewFrom reviews of the previous edition: 'The book amply fulfils its objective of providing an authoritative, stimulating and lively introduction to dinosaurs. There are not many textbooks to which the epithets 'lively' and 'entertaining' apply, and that are friendly enough for a general reader … I can also warmly recommend it to interested general readers as the best available and thoroughly accessible account of dinosaurs and how they fit in with current scientific thinking - with the bonus that it presents the facts in an exciting manner, while dispelling the hype.' Angela Milner, New ScientistFrom reviews of the previous edition: '… reflects the rigour of modern palaeontological research, and it will transmit the idea of method and testing to students, especially in terms of cladistic analysis of relationships, studies of macroevolution and of functional morphology. The book also conveys enthusiasm and excitement, two further principles of science that new generations of palaeontologists display in abundance … The presentation of the book is superb. The writing style is lively, and there are many amusing anecdotes and sidelines on popular attitudes to dinosaurs … There are even 14 colour plates, which is astounding in a textbook at this price.' Michael J. Benton, Trends in Ecology and Evolution'… superb … It's engagingly written, authoritative, up-to-date, well illustrated, and bursting with enthusiasm. … The book is written as a university level text, but could easily be used to develop modular material for teaching at any level. I hope it will be. Highly recommended.' Biologist'… it serves as an excellent primer on and about dinosaurs. … For the uninitiated this should prove to be a thoroughly good read …' Geological Magazine'There is much in The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs to appeal to the non-specialist and dinosaur enthusiast as well as to the student market. The book covers exactly what it says on the jacket, including important sections on systematics using cladistic methodology that shows how dinosaurs relate to each other and to other animals. It offers more in-depth coverage of dinosaurs than broader vertebrate palaeontology textbooks … very good value.' The Times Higher Education Supplement'… a fascinating and interesting book. Very well illustrated, it is of an easy understanding. Concise and clear …' Geobios'One of the real strong features of The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs are its line drawings by John Sibbick, one of the foremost dinosaur illustrators who excels here as a textbook illustrator as well. … a great achievement by the authors and a substantial improvement over the first edition. It must have been a real challenge to write an update of this rapidly moving field, but the book very well manages to convey the excitement of the ongoing research on dinosaurs.' Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary ResearchTable of ContentsPreface to the second edition; Part I. Setting the Stage: 1. Introduction; 2. Back to the past: the Mesozoic era; 3. Discovering order in the natural world; 4. Interrelationships of vertebrates; 5. The origin of Dinosauria; Part II. Ornithischia: Armored, Horned, and Duck-Billed Dinosaurs: 6. Stegosauria: hot plates; 7. Ankylosauria: mas and gas; 8. Pachycephalosauria: ramroads of the Cretaceous; 9. Ceratopsia: horns and all the frills; 10. Ornithopoda: the tuskers, antelopes, and 'mighty ducks' of the Mesozoic; Part III. Saurischia: Predators and Giants: 11. Sauropodomorpha: the big, the bizarre, and the majestic; 12. Theropoda I: nature red in tooth and claw; 13. Theropoda II: the origin of birds; 14. Theropoda III: the early evolution of birds; Part IV. Endothermy, Environments, and Extinction: 15. Dinosaur thermoregulation: some like it hot; 16. Patterns in dinosaur evolution; 17. Reconstructing extinctions: the art of science; 18. The Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction: the frill is gone; Glossary; Subject index; Generic index; Author index.

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Book SynopsisDuring 1867 Darwin intensified lines of research that were to result in two important publications, Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex and Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Darwin circulated a questionnaire on human expression, asking his established contacts to pass it on to their acquaintances, with the result that he began to receive letters from an even more diverse and far-flung network of correspondents than had previously been the case. Convinced that human descent was strongly influenced by sexual selection, he also started to ask his correspondents about sexual differences in animals and birds. At the same time, he was working on the proof-sheets of another major work, Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, while negotiating almost weekly with French, German, and Russian translators. For information on the Charles Darwin Correspondence Project, see http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Departments/Darwin.Trade Review'The most recent volumes of Darwin's correspondence shed new light on the complex question of the origin's reception and Darwin's responses to his critics … they allow us to see Darwin in his proper historical context … The story … is a more subtle complex and ultimately much more interesting one than those invented by the myth-makers … The letters also tell us so much about Victorian attitudes and society, and serve as a useful reminder that neither Darwin's story nor that of the Origin finishes in 1859, demonstrating why the eventual publication of all Darwin's correspondence is going to be so useful.' The Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsList of illustrations; List of letters; Introduction; Acknowledgments; List of provenances; Note on editorial policy; Darwin/Wedgwood genealogy; Abbreviations and symbols; THE CORRESPONDENCE; Appendixes: I. Translations, II. Chronology, III. Diplomas, IV. Darwin's queries about expression; Manuscript alterations and comments; Biographical register and index to correspondents; Bibliography; Notes on manuscript sources; Index.

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Book SynopsisThough we have other distinguishing characteristics (bipedalism, relative hairlessness, etc.), the brain and the behavior it produces are what truly set us apart from the other apes and primates. How this three-pound organ composed of water, fat, and protein turned a mammal species into the dominant animal on earth is the story Allen tells.Trade ReviewAn extremely valuable addition to a topic which has attracted such attention and passionate debate. As both an anthropologist and a neuroanatomist, when Allen writes about the human brain he knows what he is writing about. -- Antonio Damasio, author of Descartes' Error, Looking for Spinoza, and The Feeling of What HappensLet me be short and sweet: this is a terrific book. There wasn't a chapter I didn't enjoy reading, or from which I did not learn something new. John Allen provides a fine, wide, and comprehensive sweep of all of the areas that concern a more thorough understanding of human brain evolution. -- Ralph L. Holloway, Professor of Anthropology, Columbia UniversityAn indispensable overview of the study of human brain evolution. -- Katerina Semendeferi, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of California-San DiegoAllen pieces together the puzzle of brain evolution. No stone is left unturned as Allen mines such fields as paleontology, anthropology, comparative anatomy and physiology, and the cognitive sciences. Allen's contribution is his interdisciplinary melding of theories, disclosing their strengths and weaknesses while squeezing them for evidence on brain evolution...His material on brain evolution is fascinating. -- Scott Vieira * Library Journal *A very good introduction to recent research on cognition, especially cognition and language. An antidote to many things you have read in Pinker. -- Tyler Cowen * marginalrevolution.com *The scope and scholarship of this book is impressive...There is much to learn, even by the experienced investigator, from reading this book, which is also a treat for any science-loving reader. -- Jon H. Kaas * Journal of Clinical Investigation *Allen's book is comprised of ten chapters that collectively fulfill the promise of the introductory chapter to provide the reader with an in-depth exploration of the current knowledge of the brain...Anyone who wanted to philosophize about mind should first spend a year studying the brain in a hands-on laboratory setting. If doing so is not possible then reading Allen's book is a good substitute...The Lives of the Brain provides the reader with a comprehensive picture of the state of the knowledge of brain evolution at the beginning of the twenty-first century. -- Bob Lane * Metapsychology *Allen, a neuroanatomist and anthropologist, has provided a lucidly comprehensive intellectual account of the human brain's developmental processes. -- J. N. Muzio * Choice *In The Lives of the Brain, John S. Allen explores the many influences that anatomy, molecular biology, aging, development and culture have on the evolution and functional organization of the human brain. He provides the perspective and foundation to start thinking about brain evolution in a more sophisticated, multidimensional fashion. -- Asif A. Ghazanfar * Times Literary Supplement *The Lives of the Brain is a wonderfully engaging book. Because of its wide scope, even experts in the field are certain to make new discoveries in its pages. Because it is written in a style that is accessible and does not presuppose a specialized background in neuroscience, it will also serve as an excellent entry point for the uninitiated reader who is interested in knowing more about the human brain and its evolutionary history. -- Chet C. Sherwood * American Journal of Physical Anthropology *Allen does a remarkable job in providing an insightful and a timely synthesis of current knowledge about brain evolution...He successfully highlights the controversies that surround the "big" issue of human brain evolution and manages to integrate findings across different levels and from various fields. The style of writing is clear and the book makes a comprehensible reading for anyone with an interest in brain evolution. -- Lambros Malafouris * American Journal of Human Biology *Table of Contents* Introduction * The Human Brain in Brief * Brain Size * The Functional Evolution of the Brain * The Plastic Brain * The Molecular Evolution of the Brain * The Evolution of Feeding Behavior * The Aging Brain * Language and Brain Evolution * Optimism and the Evolution of the Brain * References * Acknowledgments * Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1858, aged thirty-five, weak with malaria, isolated in the remote Spice Islands, Alfred Russel Wallace wrote to Charles Darwin: he had, he said excitedly, worked out a theory of natural selection. Darwin was aghast - his work of decades was about to be scooped. Within a fortnight, his outline and Wallace''s paper were presented jointly in London. A year later, with Wallace still at the opposite side of the world, On the Origin of Species was published. Wallace had none of Darwin''s advantages or connections. Born in Usk, Gwent, in 1823, he left school at fourteen and in his mid-twenties spent four years in the Amazon collecting for museums and wealthy patrons, only to lose all his finds in a shipboard fire in mid-Atlantic. He vowed never to travel again. Yet two years later he was off to the East Indies, beginning an eight-year trek over thousands of miles; here he discovered countless unknown species and identified for the first time the point of divide between Asian and Australian

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Book SynopsisHe urges his fellow Christians to refuse to participate in the intellectually stifling debate over evolution and creationism/intelligent design.Trade ReviewCovers the Christian debate over Darwin-and finds that much of the controversy in the U.S. over evolution is manufactured on a complete, often willful miss-appreciation of basic science. Chapters serve to erase these errors, offering insights into robots of debates about evolution and supporting Christianity and a less literal interpretation of Biblical ideas. Christian collections need this! Midwest Book Review If you are a young person who has been looking for a way both to retain your personal faith and appreciate the wonders of modern science, you cannot find a better book than this one. If you are the parent of a young person who has raised the question of the relationship between science and religion, you owe it to that young person to help prevent what could be a totally unnecessary dilemma as your child encounters the massive, compelling evidence for evolution in college biology classes. Louisiana Coalition for Science 2010 This is a book that would be well worth including in the library of any school or college that educates students over the age of 16. -- Michael Reiss School Science Review 2011 Joel W. Martin offers a book to an audience of students and parents (and presumably to other nontheological experts). Its purpose is to make a case supporting the thesis that evolutionary biology is consistent with Christian theology, and further, that evolution supports major biblical themes. Martin also wants to inform his readers of the nature of science, some areas of past conflict (and eventual resolution) between science and faith, and some cautionary advice for Christian laity in their Bible reading as they attempt to discern the Bible's message to us today. In our opinion, Martin does all of this effectively in a concise package. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 2011Table of ContentsIntroduction1. By the Numbers2. The Prism and the Rainbow3. The Flat Earth Society4. Of Serpents and Certainty5. The Nature of Science6. What Does "Theory" Mean?7. What Is Evolution?8. What Is Creationism?9. What Is Intelligent Design?10. Is There Evidence Supporting Intelligent Design?11. Human Arrogance12. In the Beginning13. The Unnecessary Choice14. What Are We to Believe?AcknowledgmentsAppendix: Major Christian Denominations and Their Stance on Science, Evolution, and Creationism/ Intelligent DesignNotesGlossaryRecommended Further ReadingHelpful Web SitesIndex

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Book SynopsisHow is consciousness possible? What biological purpose does it serve? Why do we value it so highly? In Soul Dust the psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, a leading figure in consciousness research, returns to the front-line with a startling new theory. Consciousness, he argues, is nothing less than a magical-mystery show that we stage for ourselves inside our own heads. This self-made show lights up the world for us, making us feel special and transcendent. Tightly argued, intellectually gripping and a joy to read, Soul Dust is a keenly anticipated book that provides answers to the deepest questions. It dovetails the ''hard problem of consciousness'' with the matters that obsess us all - the fear of death, how life should be lived. Resting firmly on neuroscience and evolutionary theory, it is an uncompromising yet life-affirming work that never loses sight of the majesty and mystery of consciousness. Trade Review'His book is not only thoroughly enjoyable but genuinely instructive too ... he has some really interesting and original ideas about consciousness' Alison Gopnik. * Alison Gopnik *'I find the argument rather beautiful, and plausible ... it has the added merit of foregrounding the wonderfulness of the world' New Humanist. * New Humanist *'Humphrey has laid out a new agenda for consciousness research' Michael Proulx, Science. * Science *'A delightful and thought-provoking tour de force' Simon Blackburn. * Simon Blackburn *'A beautifully written and highly original essay ... Humphrey wears his learning lightly but Soul Dust introduces the reader to many of the dominant scientific and philosophical ideas about consciousness' Standpoint. * Standpoint *'It's exhilarating to see this crucial question about our existence answered with such intellectual breadth' Matt Ridley, Wall Street Journal. * Wall Street Journal *Table of ContentsInvitation. Coming-to Explained. Being 'Like Something'. Sentition. Looping the Loop. So What? Being There. The Enchanted World. So That Is Who I Am! Being Number One. Entering the Soul Niche. Dangerous Territory. Cheating Death. Envoi. Acknowledgments. Notes. Index.

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Book SynopsisUnderstanding Reproduction offers a broad perspective on the phenomena of sex and reproduction. Written in an accessible and easy to digest style and featuring an abundance of examples from animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms, this book will appeal to interested general readers, biologists, science educators, philosophers and medical doctors.Trade Review'Fusco and Minelli provide a very clear and accessible overview of the strange and wonderful diversity of reproductive strategies and mechanisms in animals, plants and other organisms. They explain key concepts, define important terms, and place reproductive modes within an ecological and evolutionary context. This book will be a useful reference for biologists, students and even curious non-specialists.' Russell Bonduriansky, University of New South Wales, Australia'As a plant biologist, I often find myself trying to explain reproduction in plants as though they are somehow an anomaly rather than just another way of reaching the same goal following first principles. This perception of anomaly comes from a pedagogical bias of teaching reproduction as 'sex in mammals'. This book ties together concepts regardless of organism, drawing clear lines between a complex diversity of patterns and their underlying reproductive processes.' Chelsea D. Specht, Barbara McClintock Professor in Plant Biology, Cornell University, USATable of Contents1. Individuals and Reproduction; 2. Reproduction in the Life Cycle; 3. Reproduction Without Sex; 4. Reproduction with Sex; 5. Two-Parent Sexual Reproduction; 6. One-Parent (or Nearly so) Sexual Reproduction; 7. Development of Sexual Traits; 8. Widening the View: Reproductive Strategies; Concluding Remarks: Difficult Boundaries.

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Book SynopsisChildren growing up in harsh environments may develop intact, or even enhanced, skills for solving problems in high-adversity contexts (i.e., 'hidden talents'). This Element proposes that stress-adapted skills represent a form of adaptive intelligence enabling individuals to function within the constraints of harsh environments.Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Current Evidence for Hidden Talents; 3. Neural Plasticity Enables the Development of Hidden Talents; 4. Hidden Talents as Adaptive Intelligence; 5. Leveraging Hidden Talents in Education; 6. Incorporating Hidden Talents into Social Work Theory and Practice; 7. The Hidden Talents Approach Compared with Traditional Models of Resilience; 8. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThe newly revised and thoroughly updated standard source for mastering the human fossil record. This new edition of The Human Lineage is the best and most current guide to the morphological, geological, paleontological, and archeological evidence for the story of human evolution. This comprehensive textbook presents the history, methods, and issues of paleoanthropology through detailed analyses of the major fossils of interest to practicing scientists in the field. It will help both advanced students and practicing professionals to become involved with the lively scholarly debates that mark the field of human-origins research. Its clear and engaging chapters contain concise explanatory text and hundreds of high-quality illustrations. This thoroughly revised second edition reflects the most recent fossil discoveries and scientific analyses, offering new sections on the locomotor adaptations of Miocene hominoids, the taxonomic distinctiveness of Homo heidelbergTable of ContentsForeword xi Preface to the First Edition xiii Preface to the Second Edition xvi Some Notes on Nomenclature xix About the Companion Website xxi 1 The Fossil Record 1 1.1 The Discovery of the Deep Past 1 Changing Ideas About the Changing Earth 1 Neptune vs. Vulcan 2 A Brief Guide to Sedimentology 3 Dating the Rocks 4 The Succession of Faunas 5 Radiation-Based Dating Techniques 7 Other Dating Techniques 9 Dating Based on the Cycles of the Earth 9 The Problem of Orogeny 11 Continental Drift 11 1.2 A Brief History of Life 12 Life: The First Three Billion Years 12 Multicellular Life 14 The Cambrian Revolution 15 Jaws, Fins, and Feet 16 The Reptilian Revolutions 18 The Two Great Extinctions 20 The Mammals Take Over 21 2 Analyzing Evolution 23 2.1 Darwin and Evolution 23 Parsimony and Pigeons 23 Darwin’s Theory 24 Improving on Darwin 27 2.2 The Origin of Species 30 What, if Anything, is a Species? 30 The Speciation Process 31 The Tempo of Speciation 32 Semispecies, Hybrids, and Isolating Mechanisms 33 2.3 Species Concepts and Classification 35 Races, Semispecies, and Taxonomy 35 Other Species Concepts 37 Morphospecies and Chronospecies 39 2.4 Microevolution and Macroevolution 40 Is Evolution Smooth or Jerky? 40 The Neo-Darwinian Synthesis 41 The Politics of Macroevolution 42 2.5 Reconstructing the Tree of Life 42 Phylogenetic Inference 42 Sources of Error in Phylogenetics 44 2.6 Taxonomy and Classification 47 Linnaean Systematics 47 Evolutionary Systematics 47 Phenetics and Cladistics 49 Pros and Cons of Phylogenetic Systematics 49 3 People as Primates 51 3.1 Primates as Mammals 51 The First Mammals 51 Allometry 57 Allometry and Early Mammals 58 Death and Molar Occlusion 59 Allometry, Motherhood, and Milk 60 Respiration and the Palate 60 The Tribosphenic Molar 62 Live Birth and Placentation 64 Jurassic and Cretaceous Mammals 65 3.2 The Order Primates 66 What is a Primate? 66 The Living Strepsirrhines 73 Anthropoid Apomorphies: Ears, Eyes, and Noses 74 Tarsiers 76 Platyrrhines: The New World Anthropoids 77 Cercopithecoids: The Old World Monkeys 78 Hominoids: The Living Apes 79 Pongids and Hominids 81 Bonobos and Chimpanzees 84 Humans vs. Apes: Skulls and Teeth 85 3.3 The Primate Fossil Record 88 Primate Origins: The Crown Group 88 Fossil Primates: The Stem Group 90 Ancestral Traits and Genetic Evidence 91 The First Euprimates 92 Eocene “Lemurs” and “Tarsiers” 94 The First Anthropoids 96 Anthropoid Radiations 98 Miocene Catarrhines 99 Ape Origins 103 Cercopithecoids 107 4 The Bipedal Ape 109 4.1 The Discovery of Australopithecus 109 Being Human vs. Becoming Human 109 The Taung Child 109 Australopithecus Grows Up 111 4.2 The Anatomy of Bipedality 115 Upright Posture and the Vertebral Column 115 Bipedality and the Pelvis 116 Bipedal Locomotion: Knees 118 Bipedal Locomotion: The Hip Joint 123 Bipedal Locomotion: Feet 124 4.3 More South African Finds 127 Australopithecus Stands Up 127 The Skull of Australopithecus africanus 128 Australopithecus robustus 129 Man-Apes, Just Plain Apes, or Weird Apes? 133 Postcranial Peculiarities 133 4.4 Louis Leakey and Olduvai Gorge 135 4.5 Mio-Pliocene Enigmas 139 Sahelanthropus: The Oldest Hominin? 139 Orrorin 140 Ardipithecus 141 The Burtele Foot 146 4.6 The Genus Australopithecus 146 Australopithecus anamensis? 146 Australopithecus afarensis? 148 Afarensis Skulls and Teeth 152 Australopithecus bahrelghazali? 153 Australopithecus deyiremeda? 153 Kenyanthropus platyops? 154 Early Australopithecus from South Africa 154 Australopithecus prometheus? 155 Australopithecus aethiopicus 156 Australopithecus garhi 158 Australopithecus sediba? 159 Australopithecus boisei 160 Australopithecus robustus: Postcranial Skeleton and Relationships 162 4.7 Australopithecine Phylogeny 163 Alpha Taxonomy and Cladograms 163 Getting Around Cladistics 166 4.8 The Australopithecine Postcranium 167 Down from the Trees – How Far, How Fast? 167 Australopithecine Shoulders 171 Arms vs. Legs 172 The Hominin Hand 173 Australopithecine Vertebrae 174 Hip and Femur 177 Early Hominin Feet 179 Postcranial Diversity in Early Hominins 181 4.9 Ecology and Behavior 183 The Facts Thus Far 183 What Did Australopithecines Eat? 183 Early Hominin Environments 186 Social Ecology 188 4.10 Major Issues: Explaining Hominin Origins 192 5 The Migrating Ape 197 5.1 The Spread of Hominins out of Africa 197 5.2 The Emergence of the Genus Homo 198 Homo habilis and the Habilines 198 Habiline Dates and Stratigraphy in East Africa 203 Habiline Skulls 204 Habiline Teeth and Diets 207 Habiline Postcranial Remains 208 Habiline Taxonomy: The Frustrations of Variation 210 Back to South Africa 211 Advanced Australopithecus or Early Homo? Phylogenetic Issues 212 Early Material Culture 214 A Summary of the Habilines in Eight Questions 215 5.3 Homo erectus 216 An Introduction to Homo erectus 216 A Brief History of Homo erectus: 1889–1950 218 Later Discoveries in Africa and Eurasia 220 Erectine Chronology and Geographic Distribution 222 Asian Homo erectus: The Neurocranium 224 Cranial Capacity and the Brain in Asian Erectines 229 Asian Homo erectus: Faces and Mandibles 230 The Asian Erectine Dentition 232 Asian Erectine Postcranial Remains 233 Early African Erectine Skulls and the Ergaster Question 233 Early African Erectine Postcranial Morphology 237 Early Erectine Adaptations: Anatomy and Physiology 242 Early Erectine Adaptations: The Archaeological Evidence 245 Patterns of Development and Evolutionary Change in Erectines 247 Early Erectine Radiations in Africa 248 Out of Africa I: The First Migration into Eurasia 250 Dmanisi – The First Eurasians 253 Indonesian Erectines and the Specter of “Meganthropus” 259 Chinese Erectines 261 The Initial Occupation of Europe 262 Gran Dolina 264 5.4 Peripheral Holdouts along the Continental Margins 267 Flores 267 Luzon 272 Dushan 272 Rising Star 273 5.5 Major Issues: Summing Up the Erectines 275 6 The Big-Brained Ape: Middle Pleistocene Variants and Trends 279 6.1 Homo “heidelbergensis” 279 Crossing the Rubicon? 279 “Archaic Homo sapiens” vs. “Homo heidelbergensis” 280 Brains and Tools in the Middle Pleistocene 282 6.2 Models of Later Human Evolution 284 Changing Origin Narratives 284 The Piltdown Fraud 285 RAO and MRE 287 6.3 Regional Variants in Europe and Africa 289 European Heidelbergs 289 Petralona 290 Bilzingsleben 293 Swanscombe 293 Steinheim 294 Mauer 295 Boxgrove 296 Ceprano 296 Arago (Tautavel) and Lazaret 297 Sima de los Huesos 298 Other European Heidelbergs 303 African Heidelbergs: Kabwe 304 Bodo and Ndutu 306 African Heidelberg Mandibles 307 Other African Heidelbergs 307 North Africans 308 6.4 Asian Heidelbergs? 308 Mugharet El-Zuttiyeh 308 Other West Asian Candidates 309 South Asia 309 East Asia 309 6.5 Australasia 311 Sambungmacan 311 Ngandong 312 6.6 Supraorbital Tori, Chins, and Projecting Faces 314 6.7 The African Transition to Modern Humans 316 Background and Dating 316 The African Transitional Group: Vault Morphology 319 The African Transitional Group: Facial Morphology 320 The African Transitional Group: Additional Bones, Archaeology, and Other Matters 321 6.8 East Asian Archaic Humans 322 Background and Context 322 Dali 324 Harbin 325 Other Chinese Finds 325 East Asian Archaics: Continuity or Someone New? 326 6.9 Major Issues: Speciation, Migration, and Regional Differentiation 327 7 Talking Apes: The Neandertals 333 7.1 Changing Ideas about Neandertals 333 Early Discoveries and Interpretations 335 Neandertals – From Boule to the Twenty-First Century 338 7.2 Neandertal Chronology and Distribution 340 7.3 The Neandertal Skull 346 Neandertal Braincases 346 Neandertal Faces 356 Neandertal Mandibles 359 Neandertal Teeth 362 Prognathism 364 7.4 The Neandertal Body 366 Body Size and Proportions 366 Neck and Upper Limb 369 Lower Vertebrae, Pelvis, and Lower Limb 371 7.5 Neandertal Life History and Demography 374 7.6 Genetics and Genomics 376 The Mitochondrial Genome 376 The Nuclear Genome 378 Genes, Dates, and Lineages 379 Denisovans 380 Ghosts in the Genes 382 7.7 Brains and Behavior 383 Neandertal Brains 383 Neandertal Technology 385 Symbolic Behavior 386 Neandertals and Language 389 Diets and Subsistence Behavior 393 7.8 Neandertal Populations 395 Early European Neandertals 395 Krapina 396 “Würm” Neandertals from Western Europe 398 Western and Central Asian Neandertals 399 Late Neandertals 402 7.9 Major Issues 406 8 The Symbolic Ape: The Origins of Modern Humans 411 8.1 Symbolic Behavior 411 Signs and Symbols 411 A “Creative Explosion”? 412 8.2 Modern Human Anatomy 414 The Modern Skull 414 Cranial Capacity 416 The Postcranial Skeleton 417 8.3 The Fossil Record of Modern Human Origins 418 Geochronology 418 Early Modern Humans: The East African Record 418 Out of (East) Africa: Early Modern People in North and South Africa 421 The First Modern People Outside Africa: The Near Eastern Evidence 424 African and Circum-Mediterranean Gene Flow and Modern Human Origins 430 Modern Human Origins in East Asia 432 The First Australians 437 Europe: A Late Frontier 443 The Initial Upper Paleolithic 444 The Aurignacian and its Makers 445 The Gravettian 450 The Late Entry into Europe 452 Europe: The Morphological Evidence for Continuity 453 8.4 Genetics and Modern Human Origins 455 Genes, Populations, and Migrations 455 Human Self-Domestication? 459 Ancient DNA in Early Modern Humans 460 8.5 Modern Human Origins: The Models vs. the Data 461 The Recent African Origin Model 461 Multiregional Evolution 462 Alternative Views: The Assimilation Model 463 Assimilation and Interactions Between Modern and Archaic Humans 466 Appendix: Cranial Measurements 471 Bibliography 477 Index 583

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1921, this book by Major Leonard Darwin (18501943), a son of Charles Darwin, presents a personal perspective on evolution, produced in the hope of inducing 'some competent biologist to write a book suitable for the general reader in which recent changes of opinion in regard to organic evolution are clearly discussed and wisely criticised'.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. The selection of infrequent mutations and the inheritance of acquired characters could not alone account for evolution; 2. To admit the selection of small and frequent mutations amongst the explanations of evolution demands the solution of several unsolved problems; 3. The existence of a system of mutations due to imperfect segregation is suggested as one of the possible explanations; 4. The problems to be solved include the appearance of new forms and the bifurcation of species; 5. Infertility between species and facts connected with pure lines have also to be explained; 6. In experiments designed to test this hypothesis natural conditions should be imitated as far as possible.

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Book SynopsisThe first book to discuss milk from a comparative and evolutionary perspective, Power and Schulkin's masterpiece reveals the rich biological story of the common thread that connects all mammals.Trade ReviewThe book provides a unique lens for understanding milk and the processes involved in producing milk. It is well written and highly readable. It will be of value both to experts in the field as well as to novices looking for an encompassing overview.—The Quarterly Review of BiologyTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionPart I. The Birth of MilkChapter 1. Feeding Off springChapter 2. OriginsChapter 3. The Molecules of MilkChapter 4. Prolactin and OxytocinPart II. Milk as a FoodChapter 5. Not Quite PerfectionChapter 6. The Milk SpectrumChapter 7. Lactation StrategiesPart III. More Than Food8. Milk ProtectsChapter 9. Milk GuidesChapter 10. Milk RegulatesChapter 11. Developmental Origins of Health and DiseasePart IV. Our Mother's MilkChapter 12. Milk and Human EvolutionChapter 13. Breastfeeding, History, and HealthReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisRachel spent 11 years studying and teaching philosophy at the universities of London and Oxford before joining Usborne. Since then she has written books on subjects ranging from knights, to food, to philosophy, as well as retelling folk stories, and writing children's versions of numerous novels.

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Book SynopsisOn the Origin of Species outlines Charles Darwin's world-changing theory that life on Earth had not been brought into being by a creator, but had arisen from a single common ancestor and had evolved over time through the process of natural selection. This beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library edition of On the Origin of Species is complete and unabridged, and features an afterword by Oliver Francis. Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.Received with both enthusiasm and hostility on its publication, it triggered a seismic shift in our understanding of humanity's place in the natural world. It is not only a brilliant work of science but also a clear, vivid, sometimes moving piece of popular writing that reflects both Darwin's genius and his boundless enthusiasm for our planet and its species.

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Book Synopsis'A great journalist with a whip-like satirical prose style… Wolfe’s great gift is to make the heavy seem light and this book is such an entertaining polemic that I read it in a day and immediately wanted to read it again.' - Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times Tom Wolfe, whose legend began in journalism, takes us on an eye-opening journey through language. The Kingdom of Speech is a paradigm-shifting argument that speech - not evolution - is responsible for humanity's complex societies and achievements.From Alfred Russel Wallace, the Englishman who beat Darwin to the theory of natural selection but later renounced it, and through the controversial work of modern-day anthropologist Daniel Everett, who defies the current wisdom that language is hard-wired in humans, Wolfe examines the solemn, long-faced, laugh-out-loud zig-zags of Darwinism, old and Neo, and finds it irrelevant here in our Kingdom of Speech.Trade ReviewA great journalist with a whip-like satirical prose style… Wolfe’s great gift is to make the heavy seem light and this book is such an entertaining polemic that I read it in a day and immediately wanted to read it again. -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *You’re in the hands of a master who has never written a dull word in his life. Tom Wolfe, America’s greatest man of letters, is 85 and still fizzing with energy and insight… Wolfe packs a lot in it, [The Kingdom of Speech] writing with the fluency and vigour of a man one-third his age. -- James Delingpole * Mail on Sunday *The style is instantly recognisable, and the book hurtles on for 160 pages of wicked, opinionated, high-velocity prose. -- Alun Anderson * New Scientist *A marvelous mix of gleeful energy and whip-around-the-neck control, and his book is a gas to read. -- Charles Mann * Wall Street Journal (Europe) *It is clear how much we have missed him… The wonder of his book is its point of view. He is a polemicist, a slayer of reputation and pretension… It is wonderful to have him back. -- Philip Delves Broughton * Financial Times *

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