Evolutionary Patterns and Processes

Evolutionary Patterns and Processes

Author: D. R. Lees

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Evolution is the central theme of all biology. Researcarcch in the many branches of evolutionary study continues to flourish. This book, based on a symposium of the Linnean Society, discusses the diversity in currentevolutionary research. It approaches the subject ambitiously and from several angles, bringing ttogether eminent authors from a variety of disciplines paleontologists traditionally with a macroevolutionary bias, neontologists concentrating on microevolutionary processes, and those studying the very essence ofsses and those studying the very essence of evolution the process of speciation in living organisms. Evolutionary Patterns and Processes will appeal to a broad spectrum of professional biologistsworking in such fields as paleontology, population biology, and evolutionary genetics. Biologists will enjoy chapters by Stephen J. Gould, discovering in the much earlier work of Hugo de Vries parallels with his ideas on punctuational evolution; Guy Bush,considering why there are so many small animals; Peter Sheldon, examining detailed fossil trilobite sequences for evidence of microevolutionary processes and considering models of speciation; as well as others dealing with cytological, ecological, and behavioral processes leading to the evolution of new species. None


Evolutionary Phonology

Evolutionary Phonology

Author: Juliette Blevins

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-07-22

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 1139451464

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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

Evolutionary Patterns

Author: Alan H. Cheetham

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2001-08

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 0226389316

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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

The Emergence of Whales

Author: J.G.M. Thewissen

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-11

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 1489901590

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.


Systematics and the Fossil Record

Systematics and the Fossil Record

Author: Andrew B. Smith

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2009-07-15

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1444313908

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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 Human Growth

Patterns of Human Growth

Author: Barry Bogin

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1999-05-06

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 9780521564380

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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


Neotropical Diversification: Patterns and Processes

Neotropical Diversification: Patterns and Processes

Author: Valentí Rull

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-03-30

Total Pages: 816

ISBN-13: 3030311678

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the patterns of biodiversity in various neotropical ecosystems, as well as a discussion on their historical biogeographies and underlying diversification processes. All chapters were written by prominent researchers in the fields of tropical biology, molecular ecology, climatology, paleoecology, and geography, producing an outstanding collection of essays, synthetic analyses, and novel investigations that describe and improve our understanding of the biodiversity of this unique region. With chapters on the Amazon and Caribbean forests, the Atlantic rainforests, the Andes, the Cerrado savannahs, the Caatinga drylands, the Chaco, and Mesoamerica – along with broad taxonomic coverage – this book summarizes a wide range of hypotheses, views, and methods concerning the processes and mechanisms of neotropical diversification. The range of perspectives presented makes the book a truly comprehensive, state-of-the-art publication on the topic, which will fascinate both scientists and general readers alike.


Evolutionary Patterns of Local Industrial Systems

Evolutionary Patterns of Local Industrial Systems

Author: Fiorenza Belussi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-08-20

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 0429861869

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.