Essential Readings in Evolutionary Biology

Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4214-1305-1
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 576 Seiten, Format (B × H): 210 mm x 259 mm, Gewicht: 1520 g

Evolutionary biology is one of the most fascinating and controversial fields of science, and its principles are fundamental to science as a whole. Presented here are 48 classic papers, selected and introduced by two of the world’s most distinguished evolutionary biologists, Francisco J. Ayala and John C. Avise. The volume reveals, in chronological order, 150 years of evolutionary biology, from the field’s origins to recent discoveries and reinterpretations based on new theory and evidence.

A perfect book for seminar courses in biology, zoology, botany, ecology or evolution, this comprehensive tour of landmark publications traces scholarly thought from the foggy nineteenth-century birth of evolutionary biology to the mapping of the human genome. Each selection is preceded by a short essay that explains its significance.

The papers represent hallmark publications by seminal thinkers in the field such as Charlesworth, Dobzhansky, Ehrlich and Raven, Gould and Lewontin, Hamilton, Hardy, Hillis, Margulis, Maynard Smith, Mayr, MacArthur and Wilson, McClintock, Simpson, Trivers, Watson and Crick, West-Eberhard, and Wright. Subjects include natural selection, adaptation, and complex design, as well as mutation, chromosome speciation, and pseudogenes.

In short, Essential Readings in Evolutionary Biology provides a captivating history of the foundation and growth of biology’s central discipline.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ayala, Francisco J.

Avise, John C.

Über Autor(innen)

Ayala, Francisco J.
An eminent scientist, Francisco J. Ayala is the University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology and a professor of logic and the philosophy of science at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of more than 30 technical books and hundreds of scientific papers and a recipient of numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science and the 2010 Templeton Prize.

Avise, John C.
John C. Avise is a distinguished professor of ecology and evolution at the University of California, Irvine. He has served on editorial boards for fifteen scientific journals and was the president of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the American Genetic Association, and the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. He has published ten books, including Phylogeography: The History and Formation of Species; Molecular Markers, Natural History, and Evolution; and, most recently, Evolutionary Pathways in Nature: A Phylogenetic Approach.

Francisco J. Ayala is Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology; professor of philosophy; and professor of logic and the philosophy of science at the University of California, Irvine. He is author of Am I A Monkey? Six Big Questions about Evolution, also published by Johns Hopkins. John C. Avise is Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine, and author of On Evolution, also published by Johns Hopkins.