Genetics, paleontology, and macroevolution

An engaging area of biology for more than a century, the study of macroevolution continues to offer profound insight into our understanding of the tempo of evolution and of the evolution of biological diversity. What regulates biological diversity and its historical development? Can it be explained by natural selection alone? Has geologic history regulated the tempo of diversification? This expanded and updated second edition offers a comprehensive look at macroevolution and its underpinnings, with a primary emphasis on animal evolution. From a Neodarwinian point of view, it integrates evolutionary processes at all levels to explain the diversity of animal life. It examines a wide range of topics including genetics and speciation, development and evolution, the constructional and functional aspects of form, fossil lineages, and systematics, and it takes a hard look at the Cambrian explosion. Researchers and graduate students will find this book a most comprehensive examination of macroevolution. "An engaging area of biology for more then a century, the study of macroevolution continues to offer profound insight into our understanding of the tempo of evolution and the evolution of biological diversity. In seeking to unravel the patterns and processes that regulate large-scale evolutionary change, the study of macroevolution asks: What regulates biological diversity and its historical development? Can it be explained by natural selection alone? Has geologic history regulated the tempo of diversification? The answers to such questions lie in many disciplines including genetics, paleontology, and geology." "This expanded and updated second edition offers a comprehensive look at macroevolution and its underpinnings, with a primary emphasis on animal evolution. From a neo-Darwinian point of view, it integrates evolutionary processes at all levels to explain the diversity of animal life. It examines a wide range of topics including genetics and speciation, development and evolution, the constructional and functional aspects of form, fossil lineages, and systematics. This book also takes a hard look at the Cambrian explosion. This new edition possesses all of the comprehensiveness of the first edition, yet ushers it into the age of molecular approaches to evolution and development. It also integrated important recent contributions made to our understanding of the early evolution of animal life. Researchers and graduate students will find this insightful book a most comprehensive and up-to-date examination of macroevolution."--Jacket Contents......Page 8 Preface to the First Edition......Page 10 Preface to the Second Edition......Page 14 1 Macroevolution: The Problem and the Field......Page 18 2 Genealogy, Systematics, and Macroevolution......Page 49 3 Genetics, Speciation, and Transspecific Evolution......Page 98 4 Development and Evolution......Page 174 5 The Constructional and Functional Aspects of Form......Page 244 6 Patterns of Morphological Change in Fossil Lineages......Page 302 7 Patterns of Diversity, Origination, and Extinction......Page 384 8 A Cambrian Explosion?......Page 460 9 Coda: Ten Theses......Page 512 Glossary of Macroevolution......Page 528 References......Page 536 B......Page 604 C......Page 606 D......Page 607 G......Page 608 H......Page 609 K......Page 611 L......Page 612 M......Page 613 N......Page 614 R......Page 615 S......Page 616 T......Page 618 W......Page 619 Z......Page 620 B......Page 622 C......Page 623 D......Page 624 E......Page 625 G......Page 626 H......Page 627 M......Page 628 N......Page 629 P......Page 630 R......Page 631 S......Page 632 V......Page 633 Z......Page 634