Evolution: Principles and Processes

by Hall, Brian K.

• ISBN13: 9780763760397
• ISBN10: 0763760390
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-26
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Summary

If you want to know whether evolution is a science, how life began, what Charles Darwin really said about evolution, why a fungus is more closely related to humans than to a plant, how experiments in evolution can be carried out, why birds are flying dinosaurs, how we manipulate the evolution of other species, and if you want a clear treatment of the processes that result in evolution, then this is the book for you!Written for those with a minimal science background, Evolution: Principles and Processes provides a concise introduction of evolutionary topics for the one-term course. Using an engaging writing style and a wealth of full-color illustrations, Hall covers all topics from the origin of universe, Earth, the origin of life, and on to how humans influence the evolution of other species. He brings together the principles and processes that explain evolutionary change and discusses the patterns of life that have resulted from the operation of evolution over the past 3.5 billion years. This overview, coupled with numerous case studies and examples, helps readers understand and truly appreciate the origin and diversity of life.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Science And Evolution As Science
Chapter 1 The Nature of Science and Evolution, and Evolution as Science
Part2 Origins
Chapter2 The Origin of Matter, the Universe and Earth
Chapter 3 The Origin of Molecules and the Nature of Life
Chapter 4 From Molecules to Cells and the Origin of Selection
PartPart 3 Darwin, Wallace, Natural Selection and Iheritance
Chapter 5 Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle
Chapter6 Darwin and Wallace's Evolution by Natural Selection
Chapter 7 Darwin, Mendel and Theories of Inheritance
Part 4 The Universal Tree of Life
Chapter8 From Single-Celled Organisms to Kingdoms
Chapter 9 Eukaryotic Cells and Multicellular Organisms
Chapter10 Plants and Fungi as Branches of the Tree of Life
Chapter 11 Animals as a Branch of the Tree of Life
PartPart 5 Principles and Processes of Evolution
Chapter12 Individual Genetic Variation and Gene Regulation
Chapter 13 Genetic Variation in Populations
Chapter14 The Biology of Populations
Chapter 15 Natural Selection
Part6 On the Nature and Origin of Species
Chapter16 Species and Similarity: On Being the Same Yet Different
Chapter17 Origin of Species
Chapter 18 Mass Extinctions, Opportunities and Adaptive Radiations
PartPart 7 Human Origins and Evolution
Chapter 19 Human Origins and Evolution
Chapter 20 Cultural and Social Evolution
Chapter 21 Culture, Religion and Evolution