In Search of the Causes of Evolution

by Grant, Peter R.; Grant, B. Rosemary

• ISBN13: 9780691146959
• ISBN10: 0691146950
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

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 Galaacute;pagos--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.

Author Biography

Peter R. Grant is the Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology (emeritus) at Princeton University. B. Rosemary Grant is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
The Origins of Biological Diversity	p. 1
The Big Picture: A Tripartite View of Life and Environments through Time	p. 5
Macroevolutionary Trends in Time and Space	p. 25
Dinosaurs Live!	p. 44
Phylogeography and Phylogenetics in the Nuclear Age	p. 65
Mechanisms, Molecules, and Evo-Devo	p. 89
The Flexibility of Butterfly Wing Color Patterns and Evolution in Morphospace	p. 93
Genetics, Geology, and Miracles	p. 115
Evolutionary Genetics of Pigmentation Loss in the Blind Mexican Cavefish	p. 131
A Developmental View of Exaggerated Growth and Conditional Expression in the Weapons of Sexual Selection	p. 149
Morphology and Behavior	p. 173
How Does Morphology Affect Performance in Variable Environments?	p. 177
In Search of the Elusive Behavior Gene	p. 192
There Must be Finches-Charles Darwin, Prickly Pears, and Pollination Biology	p. 211
The Adaptive Radiation of Coevolving Prodoxid Moths and Their Host Plants: Greya Moths and Yucca Moths	p. 228
Ecological Diversity	p. 247
Ecological and Geographical Influences on the Allopatric Phase of Island Speciation	p. 251
Geographical Mode and Evolutionary Mechanism of Ecological Speciation in Cichlid Fish	p. 282
A Tale of Two Radiations: Similarities and Differences in the Evolutionary Diversification of Darwin's Finches and Greater Antillean Anolis Lizards	p. 309
Clarifying the Mechanisms of Evolution in Sticklebacks Using Field Studies of Natural Selection on Genes	p. 332
The Book and the Future: Perspective and Prospective	p. 347
A Festival for Rosemary and Peter Grant	p. 360
Index	p. 367
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