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The Evolution of Life stands alone amongst the major textbooks by focusing on key principles to offer a truly accessible, unintimidating treatment of evolutionary biology. With adaptation through natural selection - how the integrated complexity of living organisms comes about - as its central theme, the book adopts a lucid, crystal-clear narrative to explain the mechanism of evolution and its main outcomes. Chapters are grouped into six themed parts - basics, history, origins, adaptation, selection, and interaction - and the text is regularly interspersed with descriptive headings that set out a clear path through the subject. The Evolution of Life is written to instil a true understanding of the essential principles of evolutionary biology without that understanding being compromised by peripheral detail. As such, it is the ideal introduction for any student encountering this fascinating subject for the first time. Online Resource CentreThe Evolution of Life is supported by the following online resources: For registered adopters:* Figures from the book in electronic format for use in lectures* A set of exam questions for each chapter* Journal Clubs: discussion questions that guide students through research papers related to each chapter For students:* Programs and interactive spreadsheets related to activities posed in the book

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Foreword(p. v)
• Online Resource Centre(p. vi)
• Part 1 Basics(p. 1)
• 1 The Evidence for Evolution(p. 3)
• 1.1 The uniformity of life(p. 3)
• 1.2 Extinction(p. 7)
• 1.3 Adaptation(p. 12)
• 1.4 Development(p. 16)
• 1.5 Sex(p. 25)
• 1.6 Diversity(p. 29)
• 2 The Engine of Evolution(p. 35)
• 2.1 Mutation(p. 35)
• 2.2 Selection(p. 37)
• 2.3 Cumulation(p. 45)
• 2.4 Incorporation(p. 49)
• 2.5 Evolution(p. 50)
• Part 2 History(p. 63)
• 3 The Tree of Life(p. 65)
• 3.1 Evolution is the flux of lineages through time(p. 65)
• 3.2 Lineages are tree-like or web-like(p. 75)
• 3.3 Organisms are classified by relatedness, not by similarity(p. 80)
• 4 The Diversity of Life(p. 97)
• 4.1 Ourselves: Homo sapiens(p. 99)
• 4.2 Homo + Pan(p. 101)
• 4.3 Hominoidea(p. 102)
• 4.4 Primates(p. 103)
• 4.5 Eutheria(p. 105)
• 4.6 Mammalia(p. 107)
• 4.7 Amniota(p. 109)
• 4.8 Tetrapoda(p. 111)
• 4.9 Sarcopterygii(p. 113)
• 4.10 Osteichthyes (bony fishes)(p. 114)
• 4.11 Gnathostomata(p. 117)
• 4.12 Chordata(p. 118)
• 4.13 Deuterostomia(p. 120)
• 4.14 Bilateria(p. 122)
• 4.15 Metazoa(p. 125)
• 4.16 Unikonta(p. 127)
• 4.17 Eukaryota(p. 129)
• 4.18 Life(p. 131)
• 5 The Ancestry of Life(p. 136)
• 5.1 Ourselves: Homo sapiens(p. 139)
• 5.2 Homo + Pan(p. 142)
• 5.3 Hominoidea(p. 143)
• 5.4 Primates(p. 145)
• 5.5 Eutheria(p. 146)
• 5.6 Mammalia(p. 147)
• 5.7 Amniota(p. 149)
• 5.8 Tetrapoda(p. 152)
• 5.9 Sarcopterygii(p. 154)
• 5.10 Osteichthyes(p. 155)
• 5.11 Gnathostomata(p. 157)
• 5.12 Chordata(p. 158)
• 5.13 Deuterostomia(p. 160)
• 5.14 Bilateria(p. 161)
• 5.15 Metazoa(p. 163)
• 5.16 Unikonta(p. 165)
• 5.17 Eukaryota(p. 166)
• 5.18 Life(p. 168)
• Part 3 Origins(p. 175)
• 6 The Origin of Variation(p. 177)
• 6.1 Mutation is the source of genetic variation(p. 178)
• 6.2 Genes are often transferred from distant relatives in bacteria(p. 185)
• 6.3 New genes arise by modification and recombination(p. 186)
• 6.4 New ways of life evolve when new genes arise(p. 189)
• 7 The Origin of Species(p. 198)
• 7.1 Diversification is the natural tendency of lineages(p. 198)
• 7.2 Populations that are permanently separated may diverge through drift or selection(p. 202)
• 7.3 Divergent selection leads to more or less strongly marked varieties(p. 204)
• 7.4 Species are recognized when ecologically distinctive forms become sexually isolated(p. 211)
• 7.5 Rapid speciation gives rise to swarms of sister species(p. 217)
• 7.6 Diversity is the dynamic equilibrium between the origin and extinction of species(p. 219)
• 8 The Origin of Innovation(p. 226)
• 8.1 Mew structures evolve from old structures(p. 227)
• 8.2 Duplication provides an opportunity for functional divergence(p. 236)
• 8.3 The fusion of dissimilar cells has led to new kinds of eukaryote(p. 239)
• 8.4 The origin of life(p. 243)
• Part 4 Adaptation(p. 249)
• 9 Adaptation and Evoked Design(p. 251)
• 9.1 Utility favors optimal design(p. 253)
• 9.2 The optimal design of evolved structures is constrained by ancestry(p. 261)
• 9.3 Evolutionary engineering combines utility and ancestry(p. 264)
• 9.4 Simple ancestral states are connected to complex descendant states-or vice versa-by a series of intermediate states(p. 277)
• 10 Evolving Bodies(p. 284)
• 10.1 Multicellularity and differentiation give rise to complex individuals(p. 284)
• 10.2 Major clades have distinctive body plans(p. 288)
• 10.3 The evolution of tetrapod body plans is based on a group of multiply duplicated genes(p. 295)
• 10.4 The life history of an individual is its schedule of survival and reproduction(p. 299)
• 11 The Dynamic Genome(p. 310)
• 11.1 Evolving genomes diverge(p. 311)
• 11.2 Genes are modified at different rates(p. 314)
• 11.3 Eukaryote genomes have evolved nave! features(p. 321)
• 11.4 Genetic elements may evolve cooperation or conflict(p. 325)
• Part 5 Selection(p. 335)
• 12 Artificial Selection(p. 337)
• 12.1 Artificial selection produces rapid and predictable change in the short term(p. 337)
• 12.2 Domestication is applied artificial selection(p. 344)
• 12.3 Artificial selection can produce extensive adaptive radiations(p. 350)
• 13 Experimental Evolution(p. 354)
• 13.1 The laboratory microcosm is a time machine for evolution(p. 354)
• 13.2 Deleterious mutation is balanced by purifying selection(p. 356)
• 13.3 Beneficial mutation drives directional selection(p. 359)
• 13.4 Long-term experiments document the main features of evolutionary change(p. 366)
• 13.5 Novel ways of life can evolve rapidly in the laboratory(p. 372)
• 14 Selection m Natural Populations(p. 378)
• 14.1 Purifying natural selection maintains adaptation(p. 379)
• 14.2 Directional natural selection drives adaptation to changing conditions(p. 381)
• 14.3 Local selection leads to divergent specialization(p. 384)
• 14.4 Diversifying selection maintains extensive variation(p. 389)
• 14.5 Fluctuating selection changes in magnitude and direction over time(p. 391)
• 14.6 Selection is commonplace and often strong(p. 393)
• Part 6 Interaction(p. 463)
• 15 Sexual Selection(p. 405)
• 15.1 The eukaryote life cycle is an alternation between vegetative and sexual cycles(p. 405)
• 15.2 Sex modulates the dynamics of evolution(p. 407)
• 15.3 Gametes are modified by sexual selection(p. 412)
• 15.4 Males and females are divergently specialized through sexual selection(p. 418)
• 15.5 Male and female attributes may be antagonistic(p. 426)
• 16 Cooperation and Conflict(p. 430)
• 16.1 Neighbors are an important feature of the environment(p. 430)
• 16.2 Social interactions introduce a new aspect of adaptation(p. 435)
• 16.3 Sharing can evolve when fighting is risky(p. 438)
• 16.4 Subsidizing evolves when cheats can prosper(p. 440)
• 16.5 Cooperating can evolve through repeated encounters(p. 442)
• 16.6 Altruism evolves only In family groups(p. 445)
• 17 Symbiosis and Struggle(p. 450)
• 17.1 Partners are more or less permanently associated(p. 450)
• 17.2 Enemies stimulate perpetual coevolution(p. 452)
• Glossary(p. 461)
• Index(p. 465)

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Graham Bell is a James McGill Professor in the Department of Biology, McGill University, Canada.