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Evolutionary Patterns

Author : Alan H. Cheetham

Publisher : University of Chicago Press

Page : 416 pages

File Size : 11,10 MB

Release : 2001-08

Category : Science

ISBN : 0226389316

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Book Description

With all the recent advances in molecular and evolutionary biology, one could almost wonder why we need the fossil record. Molecular sequence data can resolve taxonomic relationships, experiments with fruit flies demonstrate evolution and development in real time, and field studies of Galapagos finches have provided the strongest evidence for natural selection ever measured in the wild. What, then, can fossils teach us that living organisms cannot? Evolutionary Patterns demonstrates the rich variety of clues to evolution that can be gleaned from the fossil record. Chief among these are the major trends and anomalies in species development revealed only by "deep time," such as periodic mass extinctions and species that remain unchanged in form for millions of years. Contributors explore modes of development, the tempo of speciation and extinction, and macroevolutionary patterns and trends. The result is an important contribution to paleobiology and evolutionary biology, and a spirited defense of the fossil record as a crucial tool for understanding evolution and development. The contributors are Ann F. Budd, Efstathia Bura, Leo W. Buss, Mike Foote, Jörn Geister, Stephen Jay Gould, Eckart Hâkansson, Jean-Georges Harmelin, Lee-Ann C. Hayek, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Kenneth G. Johnson, Nancy Knowlton, Scott Lidgard, Frank K. McKinney, Daniel W. McShea, Ross H. Nehm, Beth Okamura, John M. Pandolfi, Paul D. Taylor, and Erik Thomsen.



The Emergence of Whales

Author : J.G.M. Thewissen

Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media

Page : 480 pages

File Size : 37,27 MB

Release : 2013-11-11

Category : Science

ISBN : 1489901590

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Book Description

Research in whale origins is now in an explosive phase, with a cascade of discoveries adding to our understanding of the evolutionary pattern and a suite of new techniques being applied to address new questions. The objective of this volume is to provide a snapshot of this explosion. The volume paints the scene with a broad brush. Taken together the chapters clearly indicate that cetacean origins is a field that is dynamic, multidisciplinary, and that the end of the explosive phase is not in sight.



Evolutionary Phonology

Author : Juliette Blevins

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 388 pages

File Size : 23,98 MB

Release : 2004-07-22

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 1139451464

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Book Description

Evolutionary Phonology is a theory of sound patterns which synthesizes results in historical linguistics, phonetics and phonological theory. In this book, Juliette Blevins explores the nature of sounds patterns and sound change in human language over the past 7000–8000 years, the time depth for which the comparative method is reasonably reliable. This book presents an approach to the problem of how genetically unrelated languages, from families as far apart as Native American, Australian Aboriginal, Austronesian and Indo-European, can often show similar sound patterns, and also tackles the converse problem of why there are notable exceptions to most of the patterns that are often regarded as universal tendencies or constraints. It argues that in both cases, a formal model of sound change that integrates phonetic variation and patterns of misperception can account for attested sound systems without reference to markedness or naturalness within the synchronic grammar.



Evolutionary Patterns

Author : Alan H. Cheetham

Publisher : University of Chicago Press

Page : 424 pages

File Size : 22,84 MB

Release : 2001-08

Category : Science

ISBN : 9780226389301

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Book Description

With all the recent advances in molecular and evolutionary biology, one could almost wonder why we need the fossil record. Molecular sequence data can resolve taxonomic relationships, experiments with fruit flies demonstrate evolution and development in real time, and field studies of Galapagos finches have provided the strongest evidence for natural selection ever measured in the wild. What, then, can fossils teach us that living organisms cannot? Evolutionary Patterns demonstrates the rich variety of clues to evolution that can be gleaned from the fossil record. Chief among these are the major trends and anomalies in species development revealed only by "deep time," such as periodic mass extinctions and species that remain unchanged in form for millions of years. Contributors explore modes of development, the tempo of speciation and extinction, and macroevolutionary patterns and trends. The result is an important contribution to paleobiology and evolutionary biology, and a spirited defense of the fossil record as a crucial tool for understanding evolution and development. The contributors are Ann F. Budd, Efstathia Bura, Leo W. Buss, Mike Foote, Jörn Geister, Stephen Jay Gould, Eckart Hâkansson, Jean-Georges Harmelin, Lee-Ann C. Hayek, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Kenneth G. Johnson, Nancy Knowlton, Scott Lidgard, Frank K. McKinney, Daniel W. McShea, Ross H. Nehm, Beth Okamura, John M. Pandolfi, Paul D. Taylor, and Erik Thomsen.



Patterns of Human Growth

Author : Barry Bogin

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 476 pages

File Size : 43,55 MB

Release : 1999-05-06

Category : Medical

ISBN : 9780521564380

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Book Description

A revised edition of an established text on human growth and development from an anthropological and evolutionary perspective.



Evolutionary Patterns of Local Industrial Systems

Author : Fiorenza Belussi

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 218 pages

File Size : 28,48 MB

Release : 2018-08-20

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 0429861869

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Book Description

Pulished in 2000, a selection of contributions presented in 1998 at the conference of Udine entitled, "The Development of Industrial Districts in Italy". The theoretical aim of the book is to explain the dynamic mechanism of the growth of Italian "industrial districts" shifting attention from "Marshallian industrial districts", where focus is not just on the decentralization of production among small-batch firms. Determinant factors explaining growth seem related to the ways in which firms explore the markets, learn tacit knowledge, network with subcontractors and make incremental innovations. In substance, the work offers a cognitive approach to the issue of industrial districts.



Sequence — Evolution — Function

Author : Eugene V. Koonin

Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media

Page : 482 pages

File Size : 35,6 MB

Release : 2013-06-29

Category : Science

ISBN : 1475737831

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Book Description

Sequence - Evolution - Function is an introduction to the computational approaches that play a critical role in the emerging new branch of biology known as functional genomics. The book provides the reader with an understanding of the principles and approaches of functional genomics and of the potential and limitations of computational and experimental approaches to genome analysis. Sequence - Evolution - Function should help bridge the "digital divide" between biologists and computer scientists, allowing biologists to better grasp the peculiarities of the emerging field of Genome Biology and to learn how to benefit from the enormous amount of sequence data available in the public databases. The book is non-technical with respect to the computer methods for genome analysis and discusses these methods from the user's viewpoint, without addressing mathematical and algorithmic details. Prior practical familiarity with the basic methods for sequence analysis is a major advantage, but a reader without such experience will be able to use the book as an introduction to these methods. This book is perfect for introductory level courses in computational methods for comparative and functional genomics.



Another Unique Species

Author : Robert Foley

Publisher : Longman Scientific and Technical

Page : 344 pages

File Size : 48,89 MB

Release : 1987

Category : Nature

ISBN :

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Systematics and the Fossil Record

Author : Andrew B. Smith

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 233 pages

File Size : 33,89 MB

Release : 2009-07-15

Category : Science

ISBN : 1444313908

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Book Description

This new text sets out to establish the key role played by systematics in deciphering patterns of evolution from the fossil record. It begins by considering the nature of the species in the fossil record and then outlines recent advances in the methodology used to establish phylogenetics relationships, stressing why fossil evidence can be crucial. The way species are grouped into higher taxa, and how this affects their utility in evolutionary studies is also discussed. Because the fossil record abounds with sampling and preservational biases, the book emphasizes that observed patterns can rarely be taken at face value. It is argued that evolutionary trees, constructed from combining phylogenetic and biostratigraphic data, provide the best approach for investigating patterns of evolution through geologic time. The only integrated text covering the study of evolutionary patterns from a phylogenetic stance.



Patterns of Growth and Development in the Genus Homo

Author : J. L. Thompson

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 0 pages

File Size : 37,55 MB

Release : 2010-12-23

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 9780521184229

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Book Description

Assuming that the earliest human ancestors grew more like apes than current-day humans, when, how and why did our modern growth pattern evolve? Covering growth patterns within available Plio-Pleistocene Hominids, including juvenile fossil specimens, and individuals assigned to the newest species, Homo antecessor, this book provides a rich data source for anthropologists and evolutionary biologists exploring these questions.