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Adaptation and the Brain

Susan D. Healy

The rationale for this work is to make some sort of sense of the seeming myriad of adaptive explanations for why vertebrate brains vary in size. The role that natural selection has played in brain ... More

The rationale for this work is to make some sort of sense of the seeming myriad of adaptive explanations for why vertebrate brains vary in size. The role that natural selection has played in brain size has been addressed using the comparative method, which allows identification of evolutionary patterns across species. One starting assumption is that brain size is a useful proxy for intelligence and therefore that large-brained animals are more intelligent than smaller-brained animals. Five classes of selection pressure form the majority of explanations: ecology, technology, innovation, sex, and sociality. After chapters in which I describe the difficulties of measuring both brain size and intelligence (cognition), I address the evidence for each of the five factors in turn, reaching the conclusion that although ecology provides the best explanations for variation in the size of brain regions, none of the factors yet offers a robust and compelling explanation for variation in whole brain size. I end by providing the steps I consider necessary to reach such an explanation, steps that I suggest are feasible, if challenging.Less

Adapting to a Changing Environment: Confronting the Consequences of Climate Change

Tim R. McClanahan and Joshua Cinner

Societies must choose how they wish to deal with climate change. Not doing anything or pursuing ‘business as usual’ is likely to lead down a path that will have devastating consequences for many ... More

Societies must choose how they wish to deal with climate change. Not doing anything or pursuing ‘business as usual’ is likely to lead down a path that will have devastating consequences for many people, especially the world’s poor. Using a focal lens of coral reef fisheries, upon which millions of people depend on for their livelihood, this book provides a tool box of options for confronting the consequences of climate change through building local-scale adaptive capacity in societies and improving the condition of the natural resources. Building adaptive capacity will require strengthening appropriate aspects of a society’s flexibility, assets, learning and social organizations. They ways of doing this are diverse and will, of course, depend on existing local capacities and needs. Improving the condition of resources tends to require restricting or limiting society’s actions. These two broad concepts, of building social capacities and limiting certain types of resource use, interact in complicated ways, requiring coupled actions. One of the central themes of this book is that adaptation solutions are context dependent, determined in part by aspects of local resource conditions, adaptive capacity, and exposure to climate change impacts, but also by people’s history, culture, and aspirations. This book develops a framework to help provide governments, scientists, managers, and donors with critical information about the local context and develop nuanced actions that reflect these local conditions. This information can help to identify key opportunities and narrow the range of potential adaptation options that may be suitable for a particular location.Less

The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology

Erik Svensson and Ryan Calsbeek (eds)

This book aims to present different voices and perspectives on the adaptive landscape, its past, present, and future position in evolutionary biology. Chapters have been written by scientists in ... More

This book aims to present different voices and perspectives on the adaptive landscape, its past, present, and future position in evolutionary biology. Chapters have been written by scientists in different fields, including ecology, evolution, developmental biology, genetics, history of science and philosophy. The idea for this book came a few years ago, as the 80-year anniversary of Sewall Wright's classic paper was approaching rapidly (2012). This seemed to be an excellent opportunity to summarize the state of the art of the adaptive landscape. The hope is that this volume won't mark the end of the scientific discussions about the adaptive landscape, but rather a new beginning. And finally, it is hoped that if the adaptive landscape will not survive another 80 years, it will hopefully be replaced by an even better concept or metaphor that will push evolutionary biology forward and increase knowledge about adaptation, speciation, and the origins and preservation of biodiversity on this fragile planet.Less

Aging of the Genome: The dual role of DNA in life and death

Jan Vijg

Aging has long since been ascribed to the gradual accumulation of DNA mutations in the genome of somatic cells. However, it is only recently that the necessary sophisticated technology has been ... More

Aging has long since been ascribed to the gradual accumulation of DNA mutations in the genome of somatic cells. However, it is only recently that the necessary sophisticated technology has been developed to begin testing this theory and its consequences. This book critically reviews the concept of genomic instability as a possible universal cause of aging in the context of a new, holistic understanding of genome functioning in complex organisms resulting from recent advances in functional genomics and systems biology. It provides a synthesis of current research, as well as a look ahead to the design of strategies to retard or reverse the deleterious effects of aging. This is particularly important in a time when we are urgently trying to unravel the genetic component of aging-related diseases. Moreover, there is a growing public recognition of the imperative of understanding more about the underlying biology of aging, driven by continuing demographic change.Less

Alaska's Changing Arctic: Ecological Consequences for Tundra, Streams, and Lakes

John E. Hobbie and George W. Kling (eds)

This book synthesizes the findings from the NSF-funded Arctic LTER project based in Toolik Lake, Alaska, a site that has been active since the mid-1970s. The book presents research concerning the ... More

This book synthesizes the findings from the NSF-funded Arctic LTER project based in Toolik Lake, Alaska, a site that has been active since the mid-1970s. The book presents research concerning the core issues of climate-change science, and addresses the treeless regions of arctic Alaska, as well as the adjoining boreal forests. The book examines both terrestrial and freshwater-aquatic ecosystems, and their three typical habitats: tundra, streams and lakes. The book provides a history of the Toolik Lake LTER site, and discusses its present condition and future outlook. The chapters create a multidisciplinary survey of the Alaskan arctic ecosystem. Topics include glacial history, climatology, land-water interactions, mercury found in the Alaskan arctic, and the response of lakes to environmental change. The final chapter brings together these findings in order to make predictions regarding the consequences that arctic Alaska faces due to global warming and climate change, and discusses the future of the LTER site in the region.Less

Allee Effects in Ecology and Conservation

Franck Courchamp, Ludek Berec, and Joanna Gascoigne

Allee effects are broadly defined as a decline in individual fitness at low population size or density, that can result in critical population thresholds below which populations crash to extinction. ... More

Allee effects are broadly defined as a decline in individual fitness at low population size or density, that can result in critical population thresholds below which populations crash to extinction. As such, they are very relevant to many conservation programmes, where scientists and managers are often working with populations that have been reduced to low densities or small numbers. There are a variety of mechanisms that can create Allee effects, including mating systems, predation, environmental modification, and social interactions among others. The abrupt and unpredicted collapses of many exploited populations is just one illustration of the need to bring Allee effects to the forefront of conservation and management strategies. This book provides an overview of the topic, collating and integrating a widely dispersed literature from various fields: marine and terrestrial, plant and animal, theoretical and empirical, academic and applied. Less

America's Scientific Treasures: A Travel Companion

Stephen M. Cohen and Brenda H. Cohen

America’s Scientific Treasures is a comprehensive travel guide, designed for adults, that takes the reader to well-known and lesser-known sites of scientific and technological interest in the United ... More

America’s Scientific Treasures is a comprehensive travel guide, designed for adults, that takes the reader to well-known and lesser-known sites of scientific and technological interest in the United States. The book is divided into nine geographical chapters. Subdivided by states, each chapter is represented by its scientific and technological treasures, including museums, arboretums, zoos, national parks, planetariums, natural or technological points of interest, and the homes of famous scientists. While the book is aimed at adults, many of the sites may also be of interest to teens and younger children. The traveler is provided with essential information, including addresses, telephone numbers, hours of entry, handicapped access, dining facilities, dates open and closed, available public transportation, and websites. Nearly every site included here has been visited by the authors. Although written with scientists in mind, this book is for anyone who likes to travel and visit places of historical and scientific interest. Included are photographs of many sites within each state.Less

Among the Creationists: Dispatches from the Anti-Evolutionist Frontline

Jason Rosenhouse

Why do so many Americans reject the modern theory of evolution? Seeking answers, the author became a regular attendee at creationist conferences and other gatherings. After ten years of attending ... More

Why do so many Americans reject the modern theory of evolution? Seeking answers, the author became a regular attendee at creationist conferences and other gatherings. After ten years of attending events like the giant Creation Mega-Conference in Lynchburg, Virginia, and visiting sites like the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, and after hundreds of mostly friendly conversations with creationists of varying stripes, he has emerged with a story to tell, a story that goes well beyond the usual stereotypes of Bible-thumping fanatics railing against coldly rational scientists. Through anecdotes, personal reflections, and scientific and philosophical discussion, the author presents a more down-to-earth picture of modern creationism and the people who espouse it. He also tells the story of his own nonbeliever's attempt to understand a major aspect of American religion. Forced to wrestle with his views about religion and science, the author found himself drawn into a new world of ideas previously unknown to him, arriving at a sharper understanding of the reality of science versus religion disputes, and how these debates look to those beyond the ivory tower.Less

Anaconda: The Secret Life of the World's Largest Snake

Jesús A. Rivas

Written by Jesús Rivas, the undisputed expert on the biology of anacondas, this is the first authoritative book on the biology of the green anaconda, the world’s largest snake. Rivas describes his ... More

Written by Jesús Rivas, the undisputed expert on the biology of anacondas, this is the first authoritative book on the biology of the green anaconda, the world’s largest snake. Rivas describes his experiences over a quarter of a century exploring the secret life of these fantastic snakes, including their diet, movement patterns, life and tribulations, survival, behavior, and fascinating reproductive life. But more than just presenting facts about anacondas, Rivas tells his story about studying them in the field. Ultimately, his love for anacondas and his unorthodox approach give his voice a unique accent that makes this book stand out among other books of its kind. The rich photography and its storytelling approach make this an enjoyable and thoroughly readable book that can sit as comfortably on a coffee table as in the bookshelves of advanced scholars.Less

The Anatomy of Palms: Arecaceae - Palmae

P. Barry Tomlinson, James W. Horn, and Jack B. Fisher

Palms are an economically important group of plants and support major agronomic and horticultural industries, quite apart from their regional use in the cultures of many tropical countries as sources ... More

Palms are an economically important group of plants and support major agronomic and horticultural industries, quite apart from their regional use in the cultures of many tropical countries as sources of food, fibre, and building materials. Although easily recognized and limited by a lack of secondary growth, they range widely in size, life form, and habitat. This book provides a survey of the structure and vegetative anatomy of members of the palm family (Arecaceae or Palmae) and uses the most recent molecular phylogenetic treatment of the family as the basis for interpreting the systematic and ecological significance of anatomical characters. The first section starts with a description of the often distinctive anatomical techniques used, followed by the principles of palm development, a series of chapters on the microscopic anatomy of all the main organs, and finally an analysis of how these structures might have evolved. The second section documents the systematic anatomical variation found in the subfamilies, tribes, and subtribes. The internal structure of all vegetative organs is reviewed, although lamina anatomy is emphasized. In those cases where genera are anatomically distinctive, they are described in detail. The intrinsic novelty of this approach is the innovative synthesis of the latest structural information for all genera of palms, set in a contemporary molecular phylogenetic context.Less

Anatomy of the Monocotyledons Volume X: Orchidaceae

William Louis Stern

Mary Gregory and David F. Cutler (eds)

For many years orchids have been among the most popular of ornamental plants, with thousands of species and hybrids cultivated worldwide for the diversity, beauty, and intricacy of their flowers. ... More

For many years orchids have been among the most popular of ornamental plants, with thousands of species and hybrids cultivated worldwide for the diversity, beauty, and intricacy of their flowers. This book presents over thirty years of research. It describes the structure and relationships among the cells and tissues of leaves, stems, and roots, and is organized systematically in line with the taxonomy expressed in the Genera Orchidacearum Series. The book is illustrated with over 100 photomicrographs and numerous original line drawings.Less

Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction

David A Liberles (ed.)

Ancestral sequence reconstruction is a technique of growing importance in molecular evolutionary biology and comparative genomics. As a powerful tool for testing evolutionary and ecological ... More

Ancestral sequence reconstruction is a technique of growing importance in molecular evolutionary biology and comparative genomics. As a powerful tool for testing evolutionary and ecological hypotheses, as well as uncovering the link between sequence and molecular phenotype, there are potential applications in almost all fields of applied molecular biology. This book starts with a historical overview of the field, before discussing the potential applications in drug discovery and the pharmaceutical industry. This is followed by a section on computational methodology, which provides a detailed discussion of the available methods for reconstructing ancestral sequences (including their advantages, disadvantages, and potential pitfalls). Purely computational applications of the technique are then covered, including whole proteome reconstruction. Further chapters provide a detailed discussion on taking computationally reconstructed sequences and synthesizing them in the laboratory. The book concludes with a description of the scientific questions where experimental ancestral sequence reconstruction has been utilized to provide insights and inform future research.Less

Animal Architecture

Mike Hansell

Construction behaviour occurs across the entire spectrum of the animal kingdom and affects the survival of both builders and other organisms associated with them. This book provides a comprehensive ... More

Construction behaviour occurs across the entire spectrum of the animal kingdom and affects the survival of both builders and other organisms associated with them. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the biology of animal building. It recognizes three broad categories of built structure: homes, traps, and courtship displays. Even though some of these structures are complex and very large, the behaviour required to build them is generally simple and the anatomy for building unspecialized. Standardization of building materials helps to keep building repertoires simple, while self-organizing effects help create complexity. In a case-study approach to function, insects demonstrate how homes can remain operational while they grow, spiderwebs illustrate mechanical design, and the displays of bowerbirds raise the possibility of persuasion through design rather than just decoration. Studies of the costs to builders provide evidence of optimal designs and of trade-offs with other life history traits. As ecosystem engineers, the influence of builders is extensive and their effect is generally to enhance biodiversity through niche construction. Animal builders can therefore represent model species for the study of the emerging subject of environmental inheritance. Building, and in particular building with silk, has been demonstrated to have important evolutionary consequences.Less

Animal Athletes: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach

Duncan J. Irschick and Timothy E. Higham

This work examines the wonders of animal athletics, both from an ecological perspective and from an evolutionary perspective. Animals are remarkable for their amazing abilities to perform tasks such ... More

This work examines the wonders of animal athletics, both from an ecological perspective and from an evolutionary perspective. Animals are remarkable for their amazing abilities to perform tasks such as running, jumping, feeding, vocalization, and others. Many of these abilities far exceed what humans can accomplish, such as the ability of a rattlesnake to shake its tail at 90 Hz, or the ability of a mako shark to swim 50 km/h! These remarkable abilities have evolved to enable these animals to survive, often within very harsh conditions. This book examines how such abilities have evolved, how they are used in nature, and how they relate to many other features, such as sexual traits, reproduction, and the need to perform other tasks well. Further, this book examines how modern portable technology is enabling scientists to unlock many of the mysteries of how and why animals perform such tasks. By examining a wide range of animal species, including lizards, sharks, insects, spiders, mammals, and birds, among others, this book is a broad survey of the diversity of animal form and function.Less

Animal Evolution: Genomes, Fossils, and Trees

Maximilian J. Telford and D.T.J. Littlewood (eds)

Animal life, now and over the past half billion years, is incredibly diverse. Describing and understanding the evolution of this diversity of body plans — from vertebrates such as humans and fish to ... More

Animal life, now and over the past half billion years, is incredibly diverse. Describing and understanding the evolution of this diversity of body plans — from vertebrates such as humans and fish to the numerous invertebrate groups including sponges, insects, molluscs, and the many groups of worms — is a major goal of evolutionary biology. This book adopts a modern, integrated approach to describe how current molecular genetic techniques and disciplines as diverse as palaeontology, embryology, and genomics have been combined, resulting in a dramatic renaissance in the study of animal evolution. The last decade has seen growing interest in evolutionary biology fuelled by a wealth of data from molecular biology. Modern phylogenies integrating evidence from molecules, embryological data, and morphology of living and fossil taxa provide a wide consensus of the major branching patterns of the tree of life; moreover, the links between phenotype and genotype are increasingly well understood. This has resulted in a reliable tree of relationships that has been widely accepted and has spawned numerous new and exciting questions that require a reassessment of the origins and radiation of animal life. The focus of this volume is at the level of major animal groups, the morphological innovations that define them, and the mechanisms of change to their embryology that have resulted in their evolution. Current research themes and future prospects are highlighted including phylogeny reconstruction, comparative developmental biology, the value of different sources of data and the importance of fossils, homology assessment, character evolution, phylogeny of major groups of animals, and genome evolution. These topics are integrated in the light of a 'new animal phylogeny', to provide fresh insights into the patterns and processes of animal evolution.Less

Animal Evolution: Interrelationships of the Living Phyla

Claus Nielsen

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of evolution in the animal kingdom. It reviews the classical, morphological information from structure and embryology, as well as the new data gained from ... More

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of evolution in the animal kingdom. It reviews the classical, morphological information from structure and embryology, as well as the new data gained from studies using immune stainings of nerves and muscles and blastomere markings, which makes it possible to follow the fate of single blastomeres all the way to early organogenesis. Until recently, the information from analyses of gene sequences has tended to produce myriads of quite diverging trees. However, the latest generation of molecular methods, using many genes, expressed sequence tags, and even whole genomes, has brought a new stability to the field. The book brings together the information from these varied fields, and demonstrates that it is indeed now possible to build a phylogenetic tree from a combination of both morphology and gene sequences. This thoroughly revised third edition brings the subject fully up to date, especially in light of the latest advances in molecular techniques. The book is illustrated throughout with finely detailed line drawings and clear diagrams, many of them new.Less

Animal Eyes

Michael F. Land and Dan-Eric Nilsson

This book provides a comparative account of all the types of eye in the animal kingdom. It gives an outline of the structure and function of each kind of eye, with an emphasis on the nature of the ... More

This book provides a comparative account of all the types of eye in the animal kingdom. It gives an outline of the structure and function of each kind of eye, with an emphasis on the nature of the optical systems and the physical principles involved in image formation. The book also covers the evolution and taxonomic distribution of each type of eye, and their roles in the behaviour and ecology of the animals that possess them. In comparing the capabilities of eyes, it considers the factors that lead to good resolution of detail, and to the ability to function under a wide range of light conditions. The book also deals with movements of the eyes: how they sample the world in time as well as space.Less

Animal Locomotion

Andrew Biewener and Sheila Patek

This book provides a synthesis of the physical, physiological, evolutionary, and biomechanical principles that underlie animal locomotion. An understanding and full appreciation of animal locomotion ... More

This book provides a synthesis of the physical, physiological, evolutionary, and biomechanical principles that underlie animal locomotion. An understanding and full appreciation of animal locomotion requires the integration of these principles. Toward this end, we provide the necessary introductory foundation that will allow a more in-depth understanding of the physical biology and physiology of animal movement. In so doing, we hope that this book will illuminate the fundamentals and breadth of these systems, while inspiring our readers to look more deeply into the scientific literature and investigate new features of animal movement. Several themes run through this book. The first is that by comparing the modes and mechanisms by which animals have evolved the capacity for movement, we can understand the common principles that underlie each mode of locomotion. A second is that size matters. One of the most amazing aspects of biology is the enormous spatial and temporal scale over which organisms and biological processes operate. Within each mode of locomotion, animals have evolved designs and mechanisms that effectively contend with the physical properties and forces imposed on them by their environment. Understanding the constraints of scale that underlie locomotor mechanisms is essential to appreciating how these mechanisms have evolved and how they operate. A third theme is the importance of taking an integrative and comparative evolutionary approach in the study of biology. Organisms share much in common. Much of their molecular and cellular machinery is the same. They also must navigate similar physical properties of their environment. Consequently, an integrative approach to organismal function that spans multiple levels of biological organization provides a strong understanding of animal locomotion. By comparing across species, common principles of design emerge. Such comparisons also highlight how certain organisms may differ and point to strategies that have evolved for movement in diverse environments. Finally, because convergence upon common designs and the generation of new designs result from historical processes governed by natural selection, it is also important that we ask how and why these systems have evolved.Less

Animal Migration: A Synthesis

E.J. Milner-Gulland, John M. Fryxell, and Anthony R.E. Sinclair (eds)

This book takes a comparative, integrated view of migration, linking evolution with ecology and management, theory with empirical research, and embracing all the major migratory taxa (including ... More

This book takes a comparative, integrated view of migration, linking evolution with ecology and management, theory with empirical research, and embracing all the major migratory taxa (including humans). The scope extends beyond the target organism to consider the ecosystem-level dynamics of migration. Rather than simply reviewing the field of migration as it stands today, the book highlights the lacunae in our knowledge and understanding. The emphasis is on exciting new research avenues that are now opening up, whether because of advances in our understanding of migration as a biological phenomenon or through the availability of a range of new technologies. Broad themes that emerge include smoothly integrating migration into the broad spectrum of movement behaviour; the need for a comparative and cross-taxonomic approach that considers migration at a range of temporal and spatial scales; and examination of the key roles of resource uncertainty and spatial heterogeneity in driving migratory behaviour. The chapters identify the potential for new tools to revolutionise the study of migration, including satellite-tracking technology, genomics and modelling – all of which are linked to increasing computing power. There is a current dearth of hypothesis-driven studies that fully integrate theory and empirical analyses, and a taxonomic bias towards birds in much migration research; both of these issues need to be resolved if we are to progress. We are on the verge of a breakthrough in migration research, which is crucial given the multiple threats that face the conservation of migration as a phenomenon, including climate change.Less

Animal Movement Across Scales

Lars-Anders Hansson and Susanne Åkesson (eds)

This book takes a broad approach to animal movement across both temporal and spatial scales. Movement and migration on land, in the air, and in water are pervading features of animal life—from the ... More

This book takes a broad approach to animal movement across both temporal and spatial scales. Movement and migration on land, in the air, and in water are pervading features of animal life—from the smallest protozoans to the largest whales—and can extend from millimetres to global scale. Research into animal movement ecology is now entering a new era with the development of novel molecular, electronic, and technical methods that make it possible to analyse the movements of individual animals under complex environmental conditions that determine the evolution of movement habits. This book addresses how and why animals move and in what ways they differ in their locomotion and navigation performance. The book also synthesizes current knowledge of the genetics of movement/migration, including gene flow and local adaptations. Based on long-term data sets, a future perspective on how patterns of animal migration may change over time together with the potential evolutionary consequences is provided. Throughout it is suggested that optimization is a useful approach for understanding the evolution of movement patterns among different animals as well as their travelling performance, movement strategies, and paths followed. Taking movement, dispersal, and migration into account is crucial for understanding the spatial scale of adaptation, and for analysing the consequences on population and community levels of landscape and climate change, as well as of invasive species.Less