Description
TAYLOR & FRANCIS Evolution The Origins And Mechanisms Of Diversity (Pb 2022) by BARD J.
Evolution is the single unifying principle of biology and core to everything in the life sciences. More than a century of work by scientists from across the biological spectrum has produced a detailed history of life across the phyla and explained the mechanisms by which new species form.This textbook covers both this history and the mechanisms of speciation; it also aims to provide students with the background needed to read the research literature on evolution. Students will therefore learn about cladistics, molecular phylogenies, the molecular-genetical basis of evolutionary change including the important role of protein networks, symbionts and holobionts, together with the core principles of developmental biology. The book also includes introductory appendices that provide background knowledge on, for example, the diversity of life today, fossils, the geology of Earth and the history of evolutionary thought.Key FeaturesSummarizes the origins of life and the evolution of the eukaryotic cell and of Urbilateria, the last common ancestor of invertebrates and vertebrates.Reviews the history of life across the phyla based on the fossil record and computational phylogenetics.Explains evo-devo and the generation of anatomical novelties.Illustrates the roles of small populations, genetic drift, mutation and selection in speciation.Documents human evolution using the fossil record and evidence of dispersal across the world leading to the emergence of modern humans. Preface. SECTION I: AN INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION 1. Approaching Evolution 2. A Potted History of Evolutionary Science 3. The Ancient World 4. Life Today: Species Diversity and Classification SECTION II. THE EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION 5. Analysing Evolutionary Change 6. The Anatomical Evidence for Evolutionary Change 7. The Genomic Evidence 8. The Evo-Devo Evidence SECTION III: THE HISTORY OF LIFE 9. The First Two Billion Years 10. The Roots of the Eukaryotic Tree of Life 11. The Evolution of Algae and Plants 12. The Evolution of Multicellular Organisms in the Ediacaran period 13. The Cambrian Explosion and the Evolution of Protostomes 14. Deuterostome Evolution: From the Beginnings to the Amphibians 15. Vertebrate Evolution: Stem Mammals, Reptiles and Birds 16. Vertebrate Evolution: Mammals SECTION IV: MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTION 17. Variation 1: Mutations and Phenotypes 18. Variation 2: Evolutionary Change 19. Adaptation, Symbionts and Holobionts 20. Selection 21. Evolutionary Population Genetics 22. Speciation SECTION V: HUMAN EVOLUTION 23. Human Evolution 1: The Fossil Evidence 24. Human Evolution 2: Genes and Migrations 25. Human Evolution 3: The Origins of Modern Humans 26. Conclusions Appendix 1. Systems Biology Appendix 2. A History of Evolutionary Thought Appendix 3. A Brief History of the World Appendix 4. Rocks, Dates and Fossils Appendix 5: Constructing Molecular Phylogenies Appendix 6: Three Key Model Organisms: Mouse, Drosophila and H. sapiens Appendix 7: Some Principles of Animal Developmental Biology Appendix 8: Evolution Versus Creationism Glossary. Acknowledgements. Index.