{"product_id":"prehistoric-life-9780632044726","title":"Prehistoric Life","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrehistoric life is the archive of evolution preserved in the fossil record. This book focuses on the meaning and significance of that archive and is designed for introductory college science students, including non-science majors, enrolled in survey courses emphasizing paleontology, geology and biology.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e From the origins of animals to the evolution of rap music, from ancient mass extinctions to the current biodiversity crisis, and from the Snowball Earth to present day climate change this book covers it, with an eye towards showing how past life on Earth puts the modern world into its proper context. The history of life and the patterns and processes of evolution are especially emphasized, as are the interconnections between our planet, its climate system, and its varied life forms. The book does not just describe the history of life, but uses actual examples from life's history to illustrate important concepts and theories.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePreface\u003c\/b\u003e.  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. Introduction to Fossils.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHistory, Science, and Historical Science.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTime, Life, and Stratigraphy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat is a Fossil?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow do Fossils Form?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusions: Fossils as Curious Stones.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. The Nature of the Fossil Record.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFossils in Sedimentary Rock.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaphonomy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTime Averaging.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMode of Growth.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eColonial Organisms.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrace Fossils.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. Organizing the Fossil Record.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHistory of Ideas on Biological Classification.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eApplying Linnaeus’ Hierarchy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat is a Species and How Does a Paleontologist Identify Them?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusions: the Difference Between Inanimate Atoms and Living Things.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. Introduction to Evolution.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Biological Definition of Evolution.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe History of Evolutionary Thought.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eScience and Religion.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDarwin and Wallace: Never Ask a Stranger to Present Your Paper at a Meeting You Cannot Attend.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Selection.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusions: Why was Natural Selection Not Endorsed at Once by Many Scientists?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5. Macroevolution, Progress, and the History of Life.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCompetition and Macroevolution.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDoes Evolution Happen Gradually or Episodically?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNatural Selection Operating Above and Below the Level of the Individual Organism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProgress and the History of Life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusions: Patterns and Processes of Increasing Complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6. Extinctions: The Legacy of the Fossil Record.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eContingency.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoundaries in the Geological Time Scale and the Nature of Extinction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Cretaceous–Tertiary Mass Extinction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow has the Existence of Mass Extinctions Influenced the History of Life?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWere Most Extinctions Caused by Asteroid Impact?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction—Causes and Consequences.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Ordovician–Silurian Mass Extinction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther Mass Extinction Events: The Late Devonian and the End of the Triassic.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHabitat Degradation and Mass Extinctions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Sixth Great Mass Extinction: The Current Biodiversity Crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusions: Lessons from the Past and Future Prospects for Humanity.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7. Systematics and the Fossil Record.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMethods and Approaches in Systematics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Growth of Molecular Biology and Improvements in DNA Sequencing Technology.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Spread of Computers and Computer Programs Used to Study Evolutionary Relationships.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSystematics and How to go About Identifying Species in the Fossil Record.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSystematics and its Relevance for Identifying Patterns of Mass Extinction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSystematics and the Meaning of Adaptations.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8. Principles of Growth and Form: Life, the Universe, and Gothic Cathedrals.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGalileo’s Principle.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGalileo’s Principle and its Relevance to the Biology of Living Organisms.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGalileo’s Principle and Constraints on the Evolution of Large Body Size.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGalileo’s Principle and its Relevance to Medieval Architecture.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGalileo’s Principle and its Relevance to Cratering Density in our Solar System.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9. The Role of Fossils in the Genesis of Myths and Legends.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePaleontologist’s Have Come from Many Different Walks of Life and Have Sported Many Different Hairdos.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePaleontology in Ancient Greece.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNative American Contributions to Paleontology.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10. Plate Tectonics and its Effects on Evolution.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEarly Ideas on Continents in Motion: Continental Drift.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlate Tectonics: Continental Drift in a Different Guise and with a Valid Mechanism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Evolutionary Implications of Plate Tectonics.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBiogeography.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e11. Life, Climate, and Geology.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSome of the Major Factors that Govern the Climate System.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExamples of How Life has Influenced Climate: The Difference Between the Proterozoic and the Permian.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLife Influencing Geology: the Form and Shape of Rivers and the Rocks they Leave Behind.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlants, Oxygen, and Coal: More Examples of Life Affecting the Atmosphere and Geology.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow Geology Affects Climate: Considering How Plate Tectonic Changes have Contributed to Climate Changes Over the Last 60 Million Years.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e12. Patterns and Processes of Precambrian Evolution.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Earliest Evidence for Life in the Geological Record.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Time of Pond Scum and the Rise of Oxygen.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor Billions of Years Organisms Have Been Modifying the Atmosphere and Their Environment.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMore Effects of Rising Oxygen Levels.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Evolution of the Eukaryotic Cell.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e13. The Cambrian Radiation and Beyond: Understanding Biology’s Big Bang.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLife Before the Cambrian Radiation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Burgess Shale and the Cambrian Radiation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Ordovician Radiation and Concluding.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRemarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e14. The Evolution and Extinction of Reefs Through Time: From the Precambrian to the Current Biodiversity Crisis.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReef-Forming Organisms Today.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCnidarians and Outer Space.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow Modern Cnidarian Corals Feed.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReefs Through Geological Time.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorals and the Biodiversity Crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLessons from Human Effects on Modern Reefs.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e15. Key Evolutionary Transitions: The Origins of Multicellularity and the Evolution of the Vertebrate Brain.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrigins of Multicellularity.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Evolution of the Vertebrate Brain.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrends in Brain Size Within Primates and.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHominids.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e16. Key Events in Vertebrate Evolution.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCambrian Origins.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMajor Groups of Chordates.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Vertebrates.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLobe-Finned Aquatic Vertebrates.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Origins and Evolution of the Tetrapods.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e17. Are We Alone in the Universe?.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat is the Potential that Humans will Encounter Extraterrestrial Civilizations?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRadio Waves and the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePossible Evidence for Life in a Martian Meteorite?.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e18. Humanity: Origins and Prospects.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow do New Species Evolve—The Shift from Chimps to Hominids.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHumans in a Changing Climate.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Current Biodiversity Crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMapping a Course for Future Changes—Climate and Life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcluding Remarks.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional Reading.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eColor plate section\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIndex.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49525936292183,"sku":"9780632044726","price":87.31,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780632044726.jpg?v=1731862294","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/prehistoric-life-9780632044726","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}