On Evolution

John C. Avise

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9780801896033
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biology
• Index: Biological Sciences

John Avise is one of the most distinguished evolutionary biologists of our time. His groundbreaking work with mitochondrial DNA created the entire discipline of phylogeography and his work on the Pleistocene refugia hypothesis redirected scientific thinking about patterns of distribution. Spanning a remarkable thirty-five-year career, the essays gathered here were rewritten from his previously published articles and represent the first single-volume collection of Avise's work.

Moving through various questions in evolutionary biology, these eclectic essays reveal Avise's unique perspectives on major topics in the field. From how to define a species to the folly of faulty applications of cladistics to connections between conservation and evolutionary biology, On Evolution takes the reader on a personal journey into the mind of one of the world's leading evolutionists.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Publisher’s Note
• Preface
• 1 Genetic Differentiation during Speciation
• 2 Molecular Variability and Hypothesis Testing: An Ode to Electrophoresis
• 3 The Pocket Gopher
• 4 Gene Trees and Organismal Histories
• 5 Nature’s Family Archives
• 6 Molecular Clones within Organismal Clones
• 7 Aging, Sexual Reproduction, and DNA Repair
• 8 The Real Message from Biosphere 2
• 9 Conservation Genetics and Sea Turtles
• 10 The History and Purview of Phylogeography
• 11 Cladists in Wonderland
• 12 Evolving Genomic Metaphors: A New Look at the Language of DNA
• 13 Genetic Mating Systems and Reproductive Natural Histories of Fishes
• 14 An American Naturalist’s Impressions on Australian Biodiversity
• 15 The Best and the Worst of Times for Evolutionary Biology
• 16 Models, Metaphors, and Machines
• 17 Evolution’s Unanswered Questions
• Source Articles
• Index