Evolution of Biological Diversity

ISBN-13: 9780198503040 / Angielski / Miękka / 1999 / 344 str.

Magurran; Matt May; Anne Magurran

Opis

Recent studies have discovered considerable genetic and morphological variation between and within populations of the same species. Yet the relation between this intraspecific variation and the processes of speciation remains poorly understood. When, how, and why do new species arrive?Evolution of Biological Diversity, with a prominent assortment of contributors, is an extensive review of the most recent research into this and other questions of biological diversity and the processes of speciation. Major chapters explore how variation occurs within species by emphasizing the ecological and behavioral basis of differentiation while others argue for the role of natural selection. Several chapters focus on the important emerging links between sexual selection, sexual conflict, and population differentiation. The final chapters of the book take a broader perspective on the question and explore the fossil record for data on the origination of species diversity - and extinction - in the past. This book is a necessity for all researchers and graduate students in the biological sciences seeking the latest findings on the evolution of biological diversity.

Recenzje

'... an excellent summary... It is this diversity of approaches that makes this book worth reading; in very few texts do we find such a range of up to date reviews of a subject that should be of interested to all ecologists and evolutionary biologists... This refreshing text is highly recommended for graduate students and those who wish to keep up to date with the most recent research into the origins of biological diversity from genes to species' Biologist

O autorze

Anne Magurran is Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of St Andrews. Tel. 01334 463506 Fax. 01334 463600 Email: aem1@st-andrews.ac.uk Sir Bob May is Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government, and is based at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.