Evolution and Escalation

by Vermeij, Geerat J.

• ISBN13: 9780691000800
• ISBN10: 0691000808
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-07-26
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Here is one biologist's interpretation of the chronology of life during the last six hundred million years of earth history: an extended essay that draws on the author's own data and a wide-ranging literature survey to discuss the nature and dynamics of evolutionary change in organisms and their biological surroundings. Geerat Vermeij demonstrates that escalation--the process by which species adapt to, or are limited by, their enemies as the latter increase in ability to acquire and retain resources--has been a dominant theme in the history of life despite frequent episodes of extinction.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. XI
A Theory of Adaptation
Aptations and Selective Agencies	p. 3
Natural Selection and Adaptation	p. 3
The Recognition of Aptations	p. 7
Effectiveness, Improvement, and Escalation	p. 10
Environmental Challenges and Pathways of Adaptation	p. 15
The Ranking of Selective Agencies	p. 23
Limits to Adaptation	p. 26
The Nature of Limitation	p. 26
Genetic and Developmental Limitation	p. 27
Ecological Limitation	p. 30
The Spatial Dimension	p. 42
Summary of the Theory of Adaptation	p. 46
Hypotheses and Their Evaluation in a Historical Science	p. 49
Predictions from the Theory of Adaptation	p. 49
The Nature of Historical Inquiry	p. 53
Artifacts and Resolution in the Fossil Record	p. 55
Functional Morphology and Ecological Inference in Fossils	p. 61
The Acquisition of Resources
Mechanisms and History of Competition	p. 67
Types of Competition	p. 67
Clones and Colonies	p. 70
Competition in Plants	p. 78
Metabolic Rate and Competition	p. 82
Competition for Mates	p. 95
Summary	p. 99
Safe Places, Anachronistic Aptations, and the Recycling of Resources	p. 102
The Invasion of Safe Places and Its Consequences	p. 102
The Identification of Safe Places	p. 103
Deep Water	p. 104
Caves and Interstitial Environments	p. 107
The Infaunal Environment	p. 108
Bioerosion and the Endolithic Environment	p. 119
Fresh Water and the Dry Land	p. 130
Parasitism and Mutualism	p. 136
Summary	p. 140
The Predators of Armored Animals: Functional Morphology and History	p. 142
Methods of Subjugation	p. 143
The History of Molluscivory	p. 173
Summary and Conclusions	p. 185
The Evolution of Armor and Locomotion
The Functional Morphology and History of Gastropod Armor	p. 191
The Functions of Armor	p. 191
The Characteristics of Gastropod Shell Armor	p. 192
The Effectiveness of Gastropod Armor	p. 205
The History of Gastropod Armor	p. 210
The History of Traces of Predation	p. 227
Summary and Conclusions	p. 237
Opportunistic Armor: The Evolution of the Conchicolous Habit	p. 240
The Conchicolous Habit	p. 240
Benefits and Risks of the Conchicolous Habit	p. 243
The Effects of Shell Supply	p. 246
Improving the Shell Resource	p. 249
The History of the Conchicolous Habit	p. 251
Evolutionary Effects of Conchicoles on Shell-Builders	p. 252
Summary	p. 254
Locomotion and the Evolution of Movement in Gastropods	p. 256
General Features of Locomotion	p. 256
Locomotion in Gastropods	p. 262
The History of Gastropod Burrowing	p. 266
Summary	p. 268
Armor and Locomotion in Cephalopods	p. 271
Adaptational Dilemmas	p. 271
The History of Cephalopod Armor	p. 277
Locomotion in Cephalopods	p. 285
Summary and Conclusions	p. 288
Armor and Locomotion in Bivalved Animals	p. 290
The Bivalve Shell	p. 290
Vivalve Armor	p. 292
Patterns of Armor in Space and Time	p. 301
Traces of Predation	p. 305
Locomotion in Pelecypods	p. 311
Summary	p. 315
Armor and Locomotion in Articulated Animals	p. 317
Functional Possibilities and Limitations	p. 317
Arthropod Molting	p. 319
Conglobation in Arthropods	p. 320
The Carapace Form in Arthropods	p. 326
Size in Land Arthropods	p. 328
Bamacles	p. 329
Echinoderms	p. 332
Armor in Vertebrates	p. 339
Swimming in Vertebrates	p. 347
Running in Land Animals	p. 348
Powered Flight	p. 354
Summary	p. 355
Escalation, Diversification, and Extinction
The Dynamics of Escalation	p. 359
A Review of the Evidence Pertaining to Escalation	p. 359
A Chronology of Phanerozoic Escalation	p. 361
The Role of Extrinsic Events	p. 371
Conditions Favorable to Escalation	p. 376
Marine Transgressions and Productivity	p. 378
Climatic Change and Biotic Interchange	p. 382
Intrinsic Factors: The Importance of Nutrients	p. 386
Summary and Conclusions	p. 387
Extinction	p. 390
A Theory of Extinction	p. 390
Timing, Frequency, and Magnitude of Extinction	p. 396
The Decrease in Extinction Rate	p. 400
Selectivity	p. 401
Population Size and Geographical Range	p. 413
Post-Crisis Conditions	p. 414
Summary	p. 416
Implications, Difficulties, and Future Directions	p. 418
The Domain of Individual Adaptation	p. 418
Evolutionary Progress	p. 419
Objections and Alternative Interpretations	p. 421
Future Research	p. 426
Appendix	p. 431
References	p. 435
Index	p. 521
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