In Search of the Causes of Evolution: From Field Observations to Mechanisms

Published by Princeton University Press 2011

In Search of the Causes of Evolution

From Field Observations to Mechanisms

Edited by: Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400837090

Overview
Contents

About this book

Evolutionary biology has witnessed breathtaking advances in recent years. Some of its most exciting insights have come from the crossover of disciplines as varied as paleontology, molecular biology, ecology, and genetics. This book brings together many of today's pioneers in evolutionary biology to describe the latest advances and explain why a cross-disciplinary and integrated approach to research questions is so essential.

Contributors discuss the origins of biological diversity, mechanisms of evolutionary change at the molecular and developmental levels, morphology and behavior, and the ecology of adaptive radiations and speciation. They highlight the mutual dependence of organisms and their environments, and reveal the different strategies today's researchers are using in the field and laboratory to explore this interdependence. Peter and Rosemary Grant--renowned for their influential work on Darwin's finches in the Galápagos--provide concise introductions to each section and identify the key questions future research needs to address.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are Myra Awodey, Christopher N. Balakrishnan, Rowan D. H. Barrett, May R. Berenbaum, Paul M. Brakefield, Philip J. Currie, Scott V. Edwards, Douglas J. Emlen, Joshua B. Gross, Hopi E. Hoekstra, Richard Hudson, David Jablonski, David T. Johnston, Mathieu Joron, David Kingsley, Andrew H. Knoll, Mimi A. R. Koehl, June Y. Lee, Jonathan B. Losos, Isabel Santos Magalhaes, Albert B. Phillimore, Trevor Price, Dolph Schluter, Ole Seehausen, Clifford J. Tabin, John N. Thompson, and David B. Wake.

Author / Editor information

Peter R. Grant is the Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology (emeritus) at Princeton University. B. Rosemary Grant is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton.

Reviews

"The Grants' gift to evolutionary biology—the characterization of evolution in action in the Galápagos finches—was enough to define extraordinary careers. Here they extend their reach by depicting the study of evolution as a process of discovery that spans levels of organization ranging from individual genes to development, adaptation, speciation, and even the origin and deep history of life. The contributors span generations of investigators who are among our best and brightest."—David Reznick, University of California, Riverside

"Peter and Rosemary Grant – Winners of the 2017 Royal Medal in Biology, The Royal Society"

"Just under 20 pages each, these chapters are accessible, up-to-date, and authoritative summaries of the current status of the search for mechanisms of evolution. Sixteen color plates provide a visual perspective on the topics covered, all of which deal with multicellular organisms, plants, and animals, although the universal tree of life is discussed in several chapters."

"In Search of the Causes of Evolution offers a bountiful sampler of what is going on in evolutionary research. Darwin's finches, which for three decades engaged Peter and Rosemary Grant's research, are there, and much, much more—all written by accomplished specialists. There is much to learn and much to enjoy in this wonderful, and at times riveting, book."—Francisco J. Ayala, author of Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion

"This is an important contributory book, which synthesizes the classical concepts of organic evolution with recent findings and developments in the field of Evolutionary Biology."---K. K. Verma, Bionotes

"Rosemary and Peter Grant have pursued a monumental search for the causes of evolution in the behavior, morphology, ecology, and genetics of Darwin's finches. Here they extend that search as editors of seventeen contributions, a set of major statements by leaders in the fields of biology touched by their own work. This is a connoisseurs' collection of selected readings in modern evolutionary biology, molded into a synthesis by the eloquent commentaries of the Grants themselves."—Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

"In Search of the Causes of Evolution will inspire biologists in the field, at the laboratory bench, and in the classroom. Many of the individual chapters are gems of evolutionary thought. High points include an exploration of classical ideas from novel perspectives, touching on the authors' work, but they often delve into the historical, the whimsical, or just thoughtful speculation."---Ryan Calsbeek, BioScience

"These accessible and informative essays span the range of evolution, from its historical and environmental context to the nature of adaptation itself and the generation of biological diversity. Peter and Rosemary Grant have assembled a stellar cast of authors who, through their own work, pay tribute to the Grants' decades of research on Darwin's finches. Anyone wishing a thoroughly modern and readable account of evolution should start here."—Robert E. Ricklefs, University of Missouri, St. Louis

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Contributors Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction to Section I
The Origins of Biological Diversity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter One. The Big Picture: A Tripartite View of Life and Environments through Time Andrew H. Knoll and David T. Johnston Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
Chapter Two. Macroevolutionary Trends in Time and Space David Jablonski Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
Chapter Three. Dinosaurs Live! Philip J. Currie Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
Chapter Four. Phylogeography and Phylogenetics in the Nuclear Age Christopher N. Balakrishnan, June Y. Lee and Scott V. Edwards Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
Introduction to Section II
Mechanisms, Molecules, and Evo-Devo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
Chapter Five. The Flexibility of Butterfly Wing Color Patterns and Evolution in Morphospace Paul M. Brakefield and Mathieu Joron Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
Chapter Six. Genetics, Geology, and Miracles David Kingsley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
Chapter Seven. Evolutionary Genetics of Pigmentation Loss in the Blind Mexican Cavefish Joshua B. Gross and Clifford J. Tabin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
Chapter Eight. A Developmental View of Exaggerated Growth and Conditional Expression in the Weapons of Sexual Selection Douglas J. Emlen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Introduction to Section III
Morphology and Behavior Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
Chapter Nine. How Does Morphology Affect Performance in Variable Environments? Mimi A. R. Koehl Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Chapter Ten. In Search of the Elusive Behavior Gene Hopi E. Hoekstra Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	192
Chapter Eleven. There Must Be Finches—Charles Darwin, Prickly Pears, and Pollination Biology May R. Berenbaum Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
Chapter Twelve. The Adaptive Radiation of Coevolving Prodoxid Moths and Their Host Plants: Greya Moths and Yucca Moths John N. Thompson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	228
Introduction to Section IV
Ecological Diversity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Chapter Thirteen. Ecological and Geographical Influences on the Allopatric Phase of Island Speciation Trevor Price, Albert B. Phillimore, Myra Awodey and Richard Hudson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
Chapter Fourteen. Geographical Mode and Evolutionary Mechanism of Ecological Speciation in Cichlid Fish Ole Seehausen and Isabel Santos Magalhaes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	282
Chapter Fifteen. A Tale of Two Radiations: Similarities and Differences in the Evolutionary Diversification of Darwin’s Finches and Greater Antillean Jonathan B. Losos Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	309
Chapter Sixteen. Clarifying the Mechanisms of Evolution in Sticklebacks Using Field Studies of Natural Selection on Genes Rowan D. H. Barrett and Dolph Schluter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	332
Chapter Seventeen. The Book and the Future: Perspective and Prospective Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	347
Chapter Eighteen. A Festival for Rosemary and Peter Grant David B. Wake Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	360
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	367