Relentless Evolution
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Relentless Evolution
At a glance, most species seem adapted to the environment in which they live. Yet species relentlessly evolve, and populations within species evolve in different ways. Evolution, as it turns out, is much more dynamic than biologists realized just a few decades ago.
In Relentless Evolution, John N. Thompson explores why adaptive evolution never ceases and why natural selection acts on species in so many different ways. Thompson presents a view of life in which ongoing evolution is essential and inevitable. Each chapter focuses on one of the major problems in adaptive evolution: How fast is evolution? How strong is natural selection? How do species co-opt the genomes of other species as they adapt? Why does adaptive evolution sometimes lead to more, rather than less, genetic variation within populations? How does the process of adaptation drive the evolution of new species? How does coevolution among species continually reshape the web of life? And, more generally, how are our views of adaptive evolution changing?
Relentless Evolution draws on studies of all the major forms of life—from microbes that evolve in microcosms within a few weeks to plants and animals that sometimes evolve in detectable ways within a few decades. It shows evolution not as a slow and stately process, but rather as a continual and sometimes frenetic process that favors yet more evolutionary change.
512 pages | 64 halftones, 25 line drawings, 4 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2013
Biological Sciences: Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Natural History
Reviews
Table of Contents
Preface
Part I. The Process of Adaptation
Chapter 1. Adaptive Evolution
Chapter 2. Natural Selection
Part II. The Ecological Genetics of Adaptation
Chapter 3. Genes
Chapter 4. Genomes
Chapter 5. Coevolving Genomes
Chapter 6. Conflicting Genomes
Part III. Variable Selection and Adaptation
Chapter 7. Adaptive Variation
Chapter 8. Recombination and Reproduction
Chapter 9. Divergence and Selection across Environments
Chapter 10. Local Adaptation
Part IV. The Dynamics of Coadaptation
Chapter 11. Coevolutionary Dynamics
Chapter 12. The Geography of Traits and Outcomes
Chapter 13. Experimental Evolution
Part V. Diversification
Chapter 14. Ecological Speciation
Chapter 15. Reticulate Diversification
Chapter 16. Species Interactions and Adaptive Radiations
Chapter 17. The Web of Life
Part VI. Synthesis
Chapter 18. Our Changing Perceptions
Chapter 19. Conclusions
Literature Cited
Index
Part I. The Process of Adaptation
Chapter 1. Adaptive Evolution
Chapter 2. Natural Selection
Part II. The Ecological Genetics of Adaptation
Chapter 3. Genes
Chapter 4. Genomes
Chapter 5. Coevolving Genomes
Chapter 6. Conflicting Genomes
Part III. Variable Selection and Adaptation
Chapter 7. Adaptive Variation
Chapter 8. Recombination and Reproduction
Chapter 9. Divergence and Selection across Environments
Chapter 10. Local Adaptation
Part IV. The Dynamics of Coadaptation
Chapter 11. Coevolutionary Dynamics
Chapter 12. The Geography of Traits and Outcomes
Chapter 13. Experimental Evolution
Part V. Diversification
Chapter 14. Ecological Speciation
Chapter 15. Reticulate Diversification
Chapter 16. Species Interactions and Adaptive Radiations
Chapter 17. The Web of Life
Part VI. Synthesis
Chapter 18. Our Changing Perceptions
Chapter 19. Conclusions
Literature Cited
Index
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