Sexual Selection: A Very Short Introduction
Sexual Selection: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Marlene Zuk

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-06-28

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0191084409

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What is responsible for the differences between the sexes in so many animals, from the brilliant plumage of birds of paradise to the antlers on deer? And why are the traits that distinguish the sexes sometimes apparently detrimental to survival? Even when they look more or less alike, why do males and females sometimes behave differently? Questions like these have intrigued scientists and the public alike for many years, and new discoveries are showing us both how wildly variable the natural world is, and how some basic principles can help explain much of that variation. Like natural selection, sexual selection is a process that results from differential representation of genes in successive generations. Under sexual selection, however, the crucial characteristics that determine whether an individual reproduces depend on sexual competition, rather than survival ability. This Very Short Introduction considers the history of our understanding of sexual selection, from Darwin's key insights to the modern day. Considering the investment animals place on reproduction, variation in mating systems, sexual conflict, and the origin of sexual dimorphism, Marlene Zuk and Leigh Simmons discuss questions such as whether females can really choose between males on aesthetic grounds, and how sexual conflict is resolved in different species. They conclude with a consideration of the thorny question of how, and even if, sexual selection theory applies to humans. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Evolution
Evolution

Author: Brian Charlesworth

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 0198804369

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This text is about the central role of evolution in shaping the nature and diversity of the living world. It describes the processes of natural selection, how adaptations arise, and how new species form, as well as summarizing the evidence for evolution

Evolutionary Psychology: a Very Short Introduction
Evolutionary Psychology: a Very Short Introduction

Author: Maryanne Fisher

Publisher:

Published: 2020-04-26

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9780198827931

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One of the most powerful frameworks for understanding human behaviour is evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology takes the view that the brain, just like any other part of our body such as teeth or hands, has been shaped by the processes of natural and sexual selection. How we think,and the way we use logic or assess problems, has its roots in behaviour which enabled our ancestors to survive and reproduce successfully. Using this perspective, the divide between nature and nurture evaporates, as humans are shown to be the product of their genes and biology, as well as theirenvironment, social groups, and families.In this Very Short Introduction Maryanne Fisher show how examining the historic lives of our ancestors can provide insight into of our modern psychology, especially when we add data from modern-day hunter-gatherer societies, comparative studies on the great apes, and the fossil record. Surprisingly,alongside these traditional data sources, evolutionary psychology can also use surveys from university students, romance novels, and even patterns in online shopping behaviour. Throughout, Maryanne Fisher discusses how drawing together this diverse data allows us to understand the complexity ofhumans in a powerful mannerABOUT THE SERIES:The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to makeinteresting and challenging topics highly readable.

Viruses
Viruses

Author: Dorothy H. Crawford

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0198811713

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Viruses are big news. From pandemics such as HIV, swine flu, and SARS, we are constantly being bombarded with information about new lethal infections. In this Very Short Introduction, Dorothy Crawford demonstrates from their discovery and the unravelling of their intricate structures, how clever these entities really are.

Urban Evolutionary Biology
Urban Evolutionary Biology

Author: Marta Szulkin

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0192573845

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Urban Evolutionary Biology fills an important knowledge gap on wild organismal evolution in the urban environment, whilst offering a novel exploration of the fast-growing new field of evolutionary research. The growing rate of urbanization and the maturation of urban study systems worldwide means interest in the urban environment as an agent of evolutionary change is rapidly increasing. We are presently witnessing the emergence of a new field of research in evolutionary biology. Despite its rapid global expansion, the urban environment has until now been a largely neglected study site among evolutionary biologists. With its conspicuously altered ecological dynamics, it stands in stark contrast to the natural environments traditionally used as cornerstones for evolutionary ecology research. Urbanization can offer a great range of new opportunities to test for rapid evolutionary processes as a consequence of human activity, both because of replicate contexts for hypothesis testing, but also because cities are characterized by an array of easily quantifiable environmental axes of variation and thus testable agents of selection. Thanks to a wide possible breadth of inference (in terms of taxa) that may be studied, and a great variety of analytical methods, urban evolution has the potential to stand at a fascinating multi-disciplinary crossroad, enriching the field of evolutionary biology with emergent yet incredibly potent new research themes where the urban habitat is key. Urban Evolutionary Biology is an advanced textbook suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers studying the genetics, evolutionary biology, and ecology of urban environments. It is also highly relevant to urban ecologists and urban wildlife practitioners.

Genes
Genes

Author: Jonathan Slack

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 137

ISBN-13: 019967650X

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Explores the discovery, nature, and role of genes in evolution and development.

Darwin: A Very Short Introduction
Darwin: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Jonathan Howard

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2001-02-22

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0191622427

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Darwin's theory that our ancestors were apes caused a furore in the scientific world and outside it when The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Arguments still rage about the implications of his evolutionary theory, and scepticism about the value of Darwin's contribution to knowledge is widespread. In this analysis of Darwin's major insights and arguments, Jonathan Howard reasserts the importance of Darwin's work for the development of modern biology. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction
The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Michael J. Benton

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2008-11-27

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 0199226326

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This Very Short Introduction presents a succinct and accessible guide to the key episodes in the story of life on earth - from the very origins of life four million years ago to the extraordinary diversity of species around the globe today.

Evolution: A Very Short Introduction
Evolution: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Brian Charlesworth

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2003-06-26

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 0191577669

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Less than 450 years ago, all European scholars believed that the earth was the centre of a universe that was at most a few million miles in extent, and that the planets, sun, and stars all rotated around this centre. Less than 250 years ago, they believed that the universe was created essentially in its present state about 6000 years ago. Less than 150 years ago, the special creation by God of living species was still dominant. The relentless application of the scientific method of inference from experiment and observation, without reference to religious, or governmental authority has completely transformed our view of our origins and relation to the universe, in less than 500 years. Few would dispute that this programme has been spectacularly successful, particularly in the twentieth century. This book is about the crucial role of evolutionary biology in transforming our view of human origins and relation to the universe, and the impact of this idea on traditional philosophy and religion. The purpose of this book is to introduce the general reader to some of the most important basic findings, concepts, and procedures of evolutionary biology, as it has developed since the first publications of Darwin and Wallace on the subject, over 140 years ago. Evolution provides a unifying set of principals for the whole of biology; it also illuminates the relation of human beings to the universe and each other. In addition, many aspects of evolution have practical importance; for instance, the rapid evolution of resistance by bacteria to antibiotics and of HIV to antiviral drugs are pressing medical problems. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction
The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Linda Greenhouse

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2012-02-13

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0199930066

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For thirty years, Linda Greenhouse, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The U.S. Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction, chronicled the activities of the justices as the Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times. In this concise volume, she draws on her deep knowledge of the court's history as well as of its written and unwritten rules to show the reader how the Supreme Court really works.