Description
Book SynopsisNeither cellular/molecular nor ecosystem processes can be fully understood without a detailed understanding of the biology of the whole organism. Despite this, much of modern biology teaching tends to be focused on the cellular and molecular level, with the organism often neglected. This is particularly noticeable in many undergraduate biology programs, where introductory courses in animal biology are either given with limited evolutionary context or else use an outdated view of animal phylogeny. This accessible textbook provides a general conceptual framework for understanding the organismic level. It provides a broad overview of the diversity of animal life while focusing on general organizational principles with a few, carefully chosen examples rather than providing exhaustive specific details. The book adopts two parallel tracks, with most chapters focusing on one or the other. The first follows the general principles of organismic biology and animal organization, starting with the
Table of ContentsPreface 1: The Hierarchical Nature of Biology 2: Species Concepts and Speciation 3: What Is an Organism? The Simplest Organisms 4: The Concept of Evolutionary Change 5: Multicellularity 6: Sponges: The Simplest Multicellular Organisms 7: Germ Layers: Inside and Outside 8: Motility and Symmetry 9: Diploblastic Organisms: Cnidaria and Ctenophora 10: Colonial Organisms and Complex Life Cycles 11: Bilateria 12: Sensory Systems 13: Platyhelminthes 14: Parasitism 15: Mollusca 16: Coeloms and Skeletons 17: Annelida 18: Segmental Organization of the Body 19: Size and Complexity 20: Molting Animals 21: Arthropoda I: General Introduction and Chelicerata 22: Terrestrialization 23: Arthropoda II: Mandibulata 24: Transport and Gas Exchange Systems 25: Embryogenesis 26: Echinodermata 27: Chordata and Hemichordata 28: Excretory Systems 29: Vertebrate Characteristics 30: Vertebrate Diversity 31: Vertebrate Organogenesis 32: Organismic Biology in the Twenty-First Century
