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| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Concepts of Biology Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise, 2023-05-12 Black & white print. Concepts of Biology is designed for the typical introductory biology course for nonmajors, covering standard scope and sequence requirements. The text includes interesting applications and conveys the major themes of biology, with content that is meaningful and easy to understand. The book is designed to demonstrate biology concepts and to promote scientific literacy. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: On the Origin of Species Illustrated Charles Darwin, 2020-12-04 On the Origin of Species (or, more completely, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life),[3] published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology.[4] Darwin's book introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. Darwin included evidence that he had gathered on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s and his subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Evolution: A Very Short Introduction Brian Charlesworth, Deborah Charlesworth, 2017-06-15 Less than 450 years ago, all European scholars believed that the Earth was at the centre of a Universe that was at most a few million miles in extent, and that the planets, sun, and stars all rotated around this centre. Less than 250 years ago, they believed that the Universe was created essentially in its present state about 6000 years ago. Even less than 150 years ago, the view that living species were the result of special creation by God was still dominant. The recognition by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace of the mechanism of evolution by natural selection has completely transformed our understanding of the living world, including our own origins. In this Very Short Introduction Brian and Deborah Charlesworth provide a clear and concise summary of the process of evolution by natural selection, and how natural selection gives rise to adaptations and eventually, over many generations, to new species. They introduce the central concepts of the field of evolutionary biology, as they have developed since Darwin and Wallace on the subject, over 140 years ago, and discuss some of the remaining questions regarding processes. They highlight the wide range of evidence for evolution, and the importance of an evolutionary understanding for instance in combating the rapid evolution of resistance by bacteria to antibiotics and of HIV to antiviral drugs. This reissue includes some key updates to the main text and a completely updated Further Reading section. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: In Search of the Causes of Evolution Peter R. Grant, B. Rosemary Grant, 2021-07-13 Evolutionary biology has witnessed breathtaking advances in recent years. Some of its most exciting insights have come from the crossover of disciplines as varied as paleontology, molecular biology, ecology, and genetics. This book brings together many of today's pioneers in evolutionary biology to describe the latest advances and explain why a cross-disciplinary and integrated approach to research questions is so essential. Contributors discuss the origins of biological diversity, mechanisms of evolutionary change at the molecular and developmental levels, morphology and behavior, and the ecology of adaptive radiations and speciation. They highlight the mutual dependence of organisms and their environments, and reveal the different strategies today's researchers are using in the field and laboratory to explore this interdependence. Peter and Rosemary Grant--renowned for their influential work on Darwin's finches in the Galápagos--provide concise introductions to each section and identify the key questions future research needs to address. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Myra Awodey, Christopher N. Balakrishnan, Rowan D. H. Barrett, May R. Berenbaum, Paul M. Brakefield, Philip J. Currie, Scott V. Edwards, Douglas J. Emlen, Joshua B. Gross, Hopi E. Hoekstra, Richard Hudson, David Jablonski, David T. Johnston, Mathieu Joron, David Kingsley, Andrew H. Knoll, Mimi A. R. Koehl, June Y. Lee, Jonathan B. Losos, Isabel Santos Magalhaes, Albert B. Phillimore, Trevor Price, Dolph Schluter, Ole Seehausen, Clifford J. Tabin, John N. Thompson, and David B. Wake. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Bird Species Dieter Thomas Tietze, 2018-11-19 The average person can name more bird species than they think, but do we really know what a bird “species” is? This open access book takes up several fascinating aspects of bird life to elucidate this basic concept in biology. From genetic and physiological basics to the phenomena of bird song and bird migration, it analyzes various interactions of birds – with their environment and other birds. Lastly, it shows imminent threats to birds in the Anthropocene, the era of global human impact. Although it seemed to be easy to define bird species, the advent of modern methods has challenged species definition and led to a multidisciplinary approach to classifying birds. One outstanding new toolbox comes with the more and more reasonably priced acquisition of whole-genome sequences that allow causative analyses of how bird species diversify. Speciation has reached a final stage when daughter species are reproductively isolated, but this stage is not easily detectable from the phenotype we observe. Culturally transmitted traits such as bird song seem to speed up speciation processes, while another behavioral trait, migration, helps birds to find food resources, and also coincides with higher chances of reaching new, inhabitable areas. In general, distribution is a major key to understanding speciation in birds. Examples of ecological speciation can be found in birds, and the constant interaction of birds with their biotic environment also contributes to evolutionary changes. In the Anthropocene, birds are confronted with rapid changes that are highly threatening for some species. Climate change forces birds to move their ranges, but may also disrupt well-established interactions between climate, vegetation, and food sources. This book brings together various disciplines involved in observing bird species come into existence, modify, and vanish. It is a rich resource for bird enthusiasts who want to understand various processes at the cutting edge of current research in more detail. At the same time it offers students the opportunity to see primarily unconnected, but booming big-data approaches such as genomics and biogeography meet in a topic of broad interest. Lastly, the book enables conservationists to better understand the uncertainties surrounding “species” as entities of protection. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Speciation and Patterns of Diversity Roger Butlin, Jon Bridle, Dolph Schluter, 2009-01-22 The diversity of species of plants and animals is the net result of the origin of new species by the splitting of existing lineages (speciation) and the loss of species through extinction. Why there are more species in some groups of organisms, in some places or at some times depends on the balance of these processes. This book explores the interaction between mechanisms and rates of speciation and these patterns of biological diversity, and is unusual in that it brings together the viewpoints of ecologists interested in the processes that generate patterns of diversity and evolutionary biologists who focus on mechanisms of speciation. It is intended to stimulate dialogue between these groups and so promote a more complete understanding of biological diversity. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Specialization, Speciation, and Radiation Kelley Jean Tilmon, 2008 This volume captures the state-of-the-art in the study of insect-plant interactions, and marks the transformation of the field into evolutionary biology. The contributors present integrative reviews of uniformly high quality that will inform and inspire generations of academic and applied biologists. Their presentation together provides an invaluable synthesis of perspectives that is rare in any discipline.--Brian D. Farrell, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University Tilmon has assembled a truly wonderful and rich volume, with contributions from the lion's share of fine minds in evolution and ecology of herbivorous insects. The topics comprise a fascinating and deep coverage of what has been discovered in the prolific recent decades of research with insects on plants. Fascinating chapters provide deep analyses of some of the most interesting research on these interactions. From insect plant chemistry, behavior, and host shifting to phylogenetics, co-evolution, life-history evolution, and invasive plant-insect interaction, one is hard pressed to name a substantial topic not included. This volume will launch a hundred graduate seminars and find itself on the shelf of everyone who is anyone working in this rich landscape of disciplines.--Donald R. Strong, Professor of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis Seldom have so many excellent authors been brought together to write so many good chapters on so many important topics in organismic evolutionary biology. Tom Wood, always unassuming and inspired by living nature, would have been amazed and pleased by this tribute.--Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: The Pangenome Hervé Tettelin, Duccio Medini, 2020-04-30 This open access book offers the first comprehensive account of the pan-genome concept and its manifold implications. The realization that the genetic repertoire of a biological species always encompasses more than the genome of each individual is one of the earliest examples of big data in biology that opened biology to the unbounded. The study of genetic variation observed within a species challenges existing views and has profound consequences for our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underpinning bacterial biology and evolution. The underlying rationale extends well beyond the initial prokaryotic focus to all kingdoms of life and evolves into similar concepts for metagenomes, phenomes and epigenomes. The book’s respective chapters address a range of topics, from the serendipitous emergence of the pan-genome concept and its impacts on the fields of microbiology, vaccinology and antimicrobial resistance, to the study of microbial communities, bioinformatic applications and mathematical models that tie in with complex systems and economic theory. Given its scope, the book will appeal to a broad readership interested in population dynamics, evolutionary biology and genomics. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Evolution Jonathan Bard, 2021-12-30 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 Features Summarizes 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. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Adaptive Speciation Ulf Dieckmann, Michael Doebeli, Johan A. J. Metz, Diethard Tautz, 2012-04-19 Adaptive speciation occurs when biological interactions induce disruptive selection and the evolution of assortative mating, thus triggering the splitting of lineages. Internationally recognized authorities explain exciting developments in modeling speciation, including celebrated examples of rapid speciation by natural selection. The text is geared toward students and researchers in biology, physics, and mathematics. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Why Evolution is True Jerry A. Coyne, 2009 Weaves together the many threads of modern work in genetics, palaeontology, geology, molecular biology, anatomy and development that demonstrate the processes first proposed by Darwin and to present them in a crisp, lucid, account accessible to a wide audience. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Speciation Pawel Michalak, 2013 The origin of species, or speciation, the mystery of mysteries, as Charles Darwin called it, is an issue at the very heart of evolutionary biology, critical to understanding the mechanisms behind the great diversity of life around us. This book is centred around three major research areas: (1) biodiversity patterns in relation to speciation scenarios; (2) mechanisms that produce pre- and postzygotic reproductive isolation and adaptive divergence; as well as (3) genetics, epigenetics, and genomics of speciation. Being a mishmash of new ideas, reviews, conventional and nonconventional case studies, this collection demonstrates more than anything how research can benefit from integration of traditionally divergent disciplines, such as biogeography, paleontology, taxonomy, molecular genetics, proteomics, and genomics. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Speciation Jerry A. Coyne, H. Allen Orr, 2004-01-01 Over the last two decades, the study of speciation has expanded from a modest backwater of evolutionary biology into a large and vigorous discipline. Speciation is designed to provide a unified, critical and up-to-date overview of the field. Aimed at professional biologists, graduate students and advanced undergraduates, it covers both plants and animals and deals with all relevant areas of research, including biogeography, field work, systematics, theory, and genetic and molecular studies. It gives special emphasis to topics that are either controversial or the subject of active research, including sympatric speciation, reinforcement, the role of hybridization in speciation, the search for genes causing reproductive isolation, and mounting evidence for the role of natural and sexual selection in the origin of species. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: The Apple Maggot Bennet Allen Porter, 1928 |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Endless Forms Daniel J. Howard, Stewart H. Berlocher, 1998 Speciation is one of the great themes of evolutionary biology. It is the process through which new species are born and diversity generated. Yet for many years our understanding of the process consisted of little more than a perception that if populations are isolated geographically, they will diverge genetically and may come to form new species. This situation began to change in the 1960s as an increasing number of biologists challenged the exclusivity of allopatric speciation and began to probe more deeply into the actual process by which divergence occurs and reproductive isolation is acquired. This focus on process led to many new insights, but numerous questions remain and speciation is now one of the most dynamic areas of research in modern evolutionary biology. This volume presents the newest research findings on speciation bringing readers up to day on species concepts, modes of speciation, and the nature of reproductive barriers. It also discusses the forces that drive divergence of populations, the genetic control of reproductive isolation, and the role played by hybrid zones and hybridization in speciation. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Origin of Species Revisited Donald Forsdyke, 2001 Major inconsistencies in Darwin's theory of the origin of species by natural selection remained unresolved for over a century until the results of recent research in various genome projects led to the theory's reinterpretation. Reviewing this new information, Donald Forsdyke, a laboratory scientist involved in genome research, wondered whether similar discoveries could have been made a century earlier, by one of Darwin's contemporaries. The Origin of Species Revisited describes his investigation into the history of evolutionary biology and its startling conclusion. The trail led first to Joseph Hooker and Thomas Huxley, who had been both the theory's strongest supporters and its most penetrating critics, and eventually to the Victorian George Romanes and Darwin's young research associate William Bateson. Although these men were well-known, their resolution of the origin of species paradox has either been ignored (Romanes), or ignored and reviled (Bateson). Four years after Darwin's death, Romanes published a theory of the origin of species by means of physiological selection that resolved the inconsistencies in Darwin's theory and introduced the idea of a peculiarity of the reproductive system that allowed selective fertility between physiological complements. Forsdyke argues that the chemical basis of the origin of species by physiological selection is actually the species-dependent component of the base composition of DNA, showing that Romanes thus anticipated modern biochemistry. Using this new perspective Forsdyke considers some of the outstanding problems in biology and medicine, including the question of how self is distinguished from not-self by members of different species. Finally he examines the political and ideological forces that led to Romanes' contribution to evolutionary biology remaining unappreciated until now. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Replacing Darwin Nathaniel Jeanson, 2017-10-09 If Darwin were to examine the evidence today using modern science, would his conclusions be the same? Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, published over 150 years ago, is considered one of history’s most influential books and continues to serve as the foundation of thought for evolutionary biology. Since Darwin’s time, however, new fields of science have immerged that simply give us better answers to the question of origins. With a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Harvard University, Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson is uniquely qualified to investigate what genetics reveal about origins. The Origins Puzzle Comes Together If the science surrounding origins were a puzzle, Darwin would have had fewer than 15% of the pieces to work with when he developed his theory of evolution. We now have a much greater percentage of the pieces because of modern scientific research. As Dr. Jeanson puts the new pieces together, a whole new picture emerges, giving us a testable, predictive model to explain the origin of species. A New Scientific Revolution Begins Darwin’s theory of evolution may be one of science’s “sacred cows,” but genetics research is proving it wrong. Changing an entrenched narrative, even if it’s wrong, is no easy task. Replacing Darwin asks you to consider the possibility that, based on genetics research, our origins are more easily understood in the context of . . . In the beginning . . . God, with the timeline found in the biblical narrative of Genesis. There is a better answer to the origins debate than what we have been led to believe. Let the revolution begin! |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Plant Speciation Verne Grant, 1981 Deals with speciation phenomena in higher plants beginning with a consideration of populations and races followed by a discussion of the nature and behavior of species, and the primary divergence of species. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Species Evolution Max King, 1995-01-26 What are species? What are the factors involved in their evolution? Dr Max King presents an up-to-date synthesis of theoretical, experimental and descriptive perspectives on speciation in higher organisms. The book provides a fresh insight into the processes involved in speciation utilizing the multi-dimensional databases now available. The author clearly and concisely analyses the most recent research in plant and animal populations, concentrating on the evolutionary processes, the role of chromosomes and the genetic mechanisms involved in speciation. This book will be essential reading for research workers in genetics, evolutionary studies, botany and zoology, as well as being of interest to advanced students entering the field. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Biogeography, Time and Place: Distributions, Barriers and Islands Willem Renema, 2010-11-20 This book offers exchanges between the fields of paleontology and zoology as patterns of biodiversity have long attracted the attention of both biologists and paleontologists. It covers the development of isolated island faunas, paleogeography and zoomorphology. The book shows that patterns are not always what they seem if looked at without a spatial or temporal reference. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE FUNDAMENTALS AND SYSTEMATICS - Volume IV Alessandro Minelli , Giancarlo Contrafatto , 2009-11-10 Biological Science Fundamentals and Systematics is a component of Encyclopedia of Biological, Physiological and Health Sciences in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Biological Science Fundamentals and Systematics provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world such as: History and Scope of Biological Sciences; The Origin and Evolution of Early Life; Evolution; Classification and Diversity of Life Forms; Systematics of Microbial Kingdom (s) and Fungi; Systematic Botany; Systematic Zoology: Invertebrates; Systematic Zoology: Vertebrates which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These four volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Physical Geography: The Key Concepts Richard John Huggett, 2009-06-26 Physical Geography: The Key Concepts is a thought-provoking and up-to-date introduction to the central ideas and debates within the field. It provides extended definitions of terms that are fundamental to physical geography and its many branches, covering topics such as: biogeography ecology climatology meteorology geomorphology hydrology pedology Complete with informative tables, diagrams, and suggestions for further reading, this is a highly accessible guide for those studying physical geography and related courses. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Environmental Epigenetics L. Joseph Su, Tung-chin Chiang, 2015-05-18 This book examines the toxicological and health implications of environmental epigenetics and provides knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach. Included in this volume are chapters outlining various environmental risk factors such as phthalates and dietary components, life states such as pregnancy and ageing, hormonal and metabolic considerations and specific disease risks such as cancer cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases. Environmental Epigenetics imparts integrative knowledge of the science of epigenetics and the issues raised in environmental epidemiology. This book is intended to serve both as a reference compendium on environmental epigenetics for scientists in academia, industry and laboratories and as a textbook for graduate level environmental health courses. Environmental Epigenetics imparts integrative knowledge of the science of epigenetics and the issues raised in environmental epidemiology. This book is intended to serve both as a reference compendium on environmental epigenetics for scientists in academia, industry and laboratories and as a textbook for graduate level environmental health courses. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Masatoshi Nei, 1987 -- The Scientist |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Mechanisms of Evolution Christopher J. Paradise, A. Malcolm Campbell, 2016-04-27 Three of the four major mechanisms of evolution, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow are examined. There are 5 tenets of natural selection that influence individual organisms: Individuals within populations are variable, that variation is heritable, organisms differ in their ability to survive and reproduce, more individuals are produced in a generation than can survive, and survival & reproduction of those variable individuals are non-random. Organisms respond evolutionarily to changes in their environment and other selection pressures, including global climate change. The importance of spatial structure of a population in relation to how it affects the strength of gene flow and/or genetic drift, as well as the genetic variation and evolution of populations, is shown. Gene flow tends to reduce variation between populations and increase it within populations, whereas genetic drift tends to reduce genetic variation, especially in small, isolated populations. The mechanisms of evolution can lead to speciation, which requires both time and genetic isolation of populations, in addition to natural selection or genetic drift. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Animal Species and Evolution Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology (Emeritus) Museum of Comparative Zoology Ernst Mayr, Ernst Mayr, 2013-10-01 In a series of twenty chapters, Ernst Mayr presents a consecutive story, beginning with a description of evolutionary biology and ending with a discussion of man as a biological species. Calling attention to unsolved problems, and relating the evolutionary subject matter to appropriate material from other fields, such as physiology, genetics, and biochemistry, the author integrates and interprets existing data. Believing that an unequivocal stand is more likely to produce constructive criticism than evasion of an issue, he does not hesitate to choose that interpretation of a controversial matter which to him seems most consistent with the emerging picture of the evolutionary process. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Fitness Landscapes and the Origin of Species Sergey Gavrilets, 2004-07-26 Fitness landscapes -- The Bateson-Dobzhansky-Muller model -- Speciation via the joint action of distruptive natural selection and nonrandom mating. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Microevolution Rate, Pattern, Process Andrew P. Hendry, Michael T. Kinnison, 2012-10-08 From guppies to Galapagos finches and from adaptive landscapes to haldanes, this compilation of contributed works provides reviews, perspectives, theoretical models, statistical developments, and empirical demonstrations exploring the tempo and mode of microevolution on contemporary to geological time scales. New developments, and reviews, of classic and novel empirical systems demonstrate the strength and diversity of evolutionary processes producing biodiversity within species. Perspectives and theoretical insights expand these empirical observations to explore patterns and mechanisms of microevolution, methods for its quantification, and implications for the evolution of biodiversity on other scales. This diverse assemblage of manuscripts is aimed at professionals, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates who desire a timely synthesis of current knowledge, an illustration of exciting new directions, and a springboard for future investigations in the study of microevolution in the wild. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Modes of Speciation Michael James Denham White, 1978 |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Species Conservation Jamieson A. Copsey, Simon A. Black, Jim J. Groombridge, Carl G. Jones, 2018-05-31 This book brings together leading conservation practitioners to reflect on their response to the current global biodiversity crisis, through the lens of island species recovery and management. Initial chapters cover the biological understanding of small population biology and the growing threat of invasive species, while subsequent chapters discuss the management of these threats and the complexity of leading projects within a dynamic and still relatively unknown system. Multiple case studies from islands worldwide illustrate key points, allowing readers to draw on the first-hand practical experience of experienced professionals. This resource will be invaluable to both current and future conservation professionals, helping them to go beyond disciplinary 'comfort zones' and develop, manage and lead projects over extensive timeframes in a way that brings others with them on the journey. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: The Basics of Selection Graham Bell, 2012-12-06 This new textbook for students taking courses in evolution is addressed to one of the most difficult questions evolutionary biology, that of selection. Covering both artificial and natural selection, the author has written a short, readable text that will appeal to students and professionals alike. how the nature of the process determines the nature of evolutionary change. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Evolution's Wedge David Pfennig, Karin Pfennig, 2012-10-25 Evolutionary biology has long sought to explain how new traits and new species arise. Darwin maintained that competition is key to understanding this biodiversity and held that selection acting to minimize competition causes competitors to become increasingly different, thereby promoting new traits and new species. Despite Darwin’s emphasis, competition’s role in diversification remains controversial and largely underappreciated. In their synthetic and provocative book, evolutionary ecologists David and Karin Pfennig explore competition's role in generating and maintaining biodiversity. The authors discuss how selection can lessen resource competition or costly reproductive interactions by promoting trait evolution through a process known as character displacement. They further describe character displacement’s underlying genetic and developmental mechanisms. The authors then consider character displacement’s myriad downstream effects, ranging from shaping ecological communities to promoting new traits and new species and even fueling large-scale evolutionary trends. Drawing on numerous studies from natural populations, and written for a broad audience, Evolution’s Wedge seeks to inspire future research into character displacement’s many implications for ecology and evolution. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: The Theory of Ecological Communities (MPB-57) Mark Vellend, 2016-08-23 A plethora of different theories, models, and concepts make up the field of community ecology. Amid this vast body of work, is it possible to build one general theory of ecological communities? What other scientific areas might serve as a guiding framework? As it turns out, the core focus of community ecology—understanding patterns of diversity and composition of biological variants across space and time—is shared by evolutionary biology and its very coherent conceptual framework, population genetics theory. The Theory of Ecological Communities takes this as a starting point to pull together community ecology's various perspectives into a more unified whole. Mark Vellend builds a theory of ecological communities based on four overarching processes: selection among species, drift, dispersal, and speciation. These are analogues of the four central processes in population genetics theory—selection within species, drift, gene flow, and mutation—and together they subsume almost all of the many dozens of more specific models built to describe the dynamics of communities of interacting species. The result is a theory that allows the effects of many low-level processes, such as competition, facilitation, predation, disturbance, stress, succession, colonization, and local extinction to be understood as the underpinnings of high-level processes with widely applicable consequences for ecological communities. Reframing the numerous existing ideas in community ecology, The Theory of Ecological Communities provides a new way for thinking about biological composition and diversity. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Species Concepts and Phylogenetic Theory Quentin D. Wheeler, Rudolf Meier, 2000-06-22 No question in theoretical biology has been more perennially controversial or perplexing than What is a species? Recent advances in phylogenetic theory have called into question traditional views of species and spawned many concepts that are currently competing for general acceptance. Once the subject of esoteric intellectual exercises, the species problem has emerged as a critically important aspect of global environmental concerns. Completion of an inventory of biodiversity, success in conservation, predictive knowledge about life on earth, management of material resources, formulation of scientifically credible public policy and law, and more depend upon our adoption of the right species concept. Quentin D. Wheeler and Rudolf Meier present a debate among top systematic biology theorists to consider the strengths and weaknesses of five competing concepts. Debaters include (1) Ernst Mayr (Biological Species Concept), (2) Rudolf Meier and Rainer Willmann (Hennigian species concept), (3) Brent Mishler and Edward Theriot (one version of the Phylogenetic Species Concept), (4) Quentin Wheeler and Norman Platnick (a competing version of the Phylogenetic Species Concept), and (5) E. O. Wiley and Richard Mayden (the Evolutionary Species Concept). Each author or pair of authors contributes three essays to the debate: first, a position paper with an opening argument for their respective concept of species; second, a counterpoint view of the weakness of competing concepts; and, finally, a rebuttal of the attacks made by other authors. This unique and lively debate format makes the comparative advantages and disadvantages of competing species concepts clear and accessible in a single book for the first time, bringing to light numerous controversies in phylogenetic theory, taxonomy, and philosophy of science that are important to a wide audience. Species Concepts and Phylogenetic Theory will meet a need among scientists, conservationists, policy-makers, and students of biology for an explicit, critical evaluation of a large and complex literature on species. An important reference for professionals, the book will prove especially useful in classrooms and discussion groups where students may find a concise, lucid entrée to one of the most complex questions facing science and society. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: African Genesis Sally C. Reynolds, Andrew Gallagher, 2012-03-29 This book reviews key themes and developments in palaeoanthropology, exploring their impact on our understanding of human origins in Africa. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Systematics and Evolution of Littorina David G. Reid, 1996 |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: The Science of Evolution and the Myth of Creationism Ardea Skybreak, 2006 This clear, lively, and systematic presentation examines the scientific evidence for evolution and reaches for the widest possible audience--from scientific minds to those with no science background at all. Forcefully rejecting creationist objections to evolution and including a critique of Intelligent Design, it argues that they are part of a larger social agenda. With discussion that celebrates the fascination to be found in studying the diversity and complexity of life, this examination suggests with some urgency that the science of evolution is crucial to the existence of science itself. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Genetics and the Origin of Species Theodosius Dobzhansky, 2013 |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Handbook of Paleoanthropology , 2007 Brings together contributions by the world's leading specialists that reflect the spectrum of modern palaeoanthropology, thus presenting a useful resource for both professionals and students alike. This volume deals with principles, methods, and approaches. |
| reviewing key concepts: mechanisms of speciation: Plant Variation and Evolution David Briggs, Stuart Max Walters, 1969 |
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REVIEWING | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
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REVIEWING definition: to look at or examine again | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples in American English
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Definition of review verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. [transitive] review something to write a report of a book, play, film, product, etc. in which you give your opinion of …
