Selection: The Mechanism of Evolution

Bell, Graham

ISBN 10: 041205521X / ISBN 13: 9780412055218

Edité par Chapman & Hall, International Thomson Publishing, 1997

A propos de cet article

Deaccessioned from an academic library; book is bright and fresh; tight, text clean. xxiii, 699 p., illustrated. Large, heavy book. [b 726].

N° de réf. du vendeur 400272

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Selection: The Mechanism of Evolution
• Éditeur: Chapman & Hall, International Thomson Publishing
• Date de parution: 1997
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 041205521X
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780412055218
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: Good

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Thisbookhasbeenwritten tomake a pointand tofulfill a need. Thepoint is that the importance and the distinctiveness of the process of selection have been undervalued by most biologists. There is, consequently, the need for a book that describes the principles of selection in a simple but reasonably comprehensive way. Selection Is a Distinct Kind ofProcess Although we are now well into the second century of Darwinism, the theorythatDarwinand Wallaceannouncedin 1858hasnotyetmademuch progress beyond a small coterie of professional biologists. The reason is thatit isjarringlyunfamiliar toournormalexperienceofhow things come to be. Few ofus would be able to design a light bulb or a lathe, still fewer the computerand itsattendant softwarewithwhich this sentence is being written. But we all have a clear idea of what is meant by "design", and we readily, too readily, transfer this notion to the natural world. A light bulb or a lathe are prefigured in the mind, and constructed according to a plan. It is entirely reasonable to assume that beetles and daisies must be constructed after the same fashion, especially because they are much morecomplicatedthananythingthathumaningenuityhassofarmanaged to devise. There is, however, a second route to complex organization, throughtheselectionofrandomvariantsthatpropagatenearlyexactcopies ofthemselves. Itisofverylittleconsequenceinourdailylives, becauseifis somuchmorelaboriousandexpensivethandeliberatedesign. However, it isanotherwayofconstructingthings. Indeed, sofarasIknow, itistheonly other way of constructing things that we have ever been able to imagine.

Présentation de l'éditeur

This book adopts an experimental approach to understanding the mechanisms of evolution and the nature of evolutionary processes, with examples drawn from microbial, plant and animal systems. It incorporates insights from remarkable recent advances in theoretical modeling, and the fields of molecular genetics and environmental genomics. Adaptation is caused by selection continually winnowing the genetic variation created by mutation. In the last decade, our knowledge of how selection operates on populations in the field and in the laboratory has increased enormously, and the principal aim of this book is to provide an up-to-date account of selection as the principal agent of evolution. In the classical Fisherian model, weak selection acting on many genes of small effect over long periods of time is responsible for driving slow and gradual change. However, it is now clear that adaptation in laboratory populations often involves strong selection acting on a few genes of large effect, while in the wild selection is often strong and highly variable in space and time. Indeed these results are changing our perception of how evolutionary change takes place. This book summarizes our current understanding of the causes and consequences of selection, with an emphasis on quantitative and experimental studies. It includes the latest research into experimental evolution, natural selection in the wild, artificial selection, selfish genetic elements, selection in social contexts, sexual selection, and speciation. Selection: The Mechanism of Evolution is an advanced textbook suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in evolutionary biology, ecology, population genetics, and experimental evolution. It will also be a valuable reference tool for those professional researchers in these fields requiring an authoritative and up-to-date overview of the topic, as well as providing an accessible treatment of evolutionary mechanisms for molecular and cellular biologists.