Rates of Evolution
eBook - PDF

Rates of Evolution

A Quantitative Synthesis

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Rates of Evolution

A Quantitative Synthesis

About this book

How fast is evolution, and why does it matter? The rate of evolution, and whether it is gradual or punctuated, is a hotly debated topic among biologists and paleontologists. This book compiles and compares examples of evolution from laboratory, field, and fossil record studies, analyzing them to extract their underlying rates. It concludes that while change is slow when averaged over many generations, on a generation-to-generation time scale, evolution is rapid. Chapters cover the history of evolutionary studies, from Lamarck and Darwin in the nineteenth century to the present day. An overview of the statistics of variation, dynamics of random walks, processes of natural selection and random drift, and effects of scale and time averaging are also provided, along with methods for the analysis of evolutionary time series. Containing case studies and worked examples, this book is ideal for advanced students and researchers in paleontology, biology, and anthropology.

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Yes, you can access Rates of Evolution by Philip D. Gingerich in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Sciences physiques & Géologie et sciences de la Terre. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half-title
  3. Reviews
  4. Title page
  5. Copyright information
  6. Dedication
  7. Contents
  8. Preface
  9. Acknowledgments
  10. 1 Introduction
  11. 2 Variation in Nature
  12. 3 Evolutionary Time
  13. 4 Random Walks and Brownian Diffusion
  14. 5 Temporal Scaling and Evolutionary Mode
  15. 6 Directional Selection, Stabilizing Selection, and Random Drift
  16. 7 Phenotypic Change in Experimental Lineages
  17. 8 Phenotypic Change Documented in Field Studies
  18. 9 Phenotypic Change in the Fossil Record
  19. 10 A Quantitative Synthesis
  20. 11 Retrospective on Punctuated Equilibria
  21. 12 Genetic Models
  22. 13 Independent Contrasts: Phylogeny's Influence on Phenotypes
  23. 14 Rate Perspective on Early Bursts of Evolution
  24. 15 Summary and Conclusions
  25. Appendix
  26. References
  27. Index