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Zusatztext "The main strength of this provocative book is that it undoubtedly provides a successful argument against the widespread tendency to give an adaptive explanation for any biological trait, and, above all, it opens the door to a fruitful way to reconsider the traditional view of evolution as mainly driven by natural selection." ---Francesca Merlin, Biol Theory Informationen zum Autor John Tyler Bonner is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University. His books include The Social Amoebae: The Biology of Cellular Slime Molds and Why Size Matters: From Bacteria to Blue Whales (both Princeton). Klappentext "John Tyler Bonner, a distinguished developmental biologist, has long argued that a major driving force in the evolution of complexity is natural selection for large size. Here he takes a radically different view to explain the diversity of form among eukaryotic microorganisms: randomness, not selection, rules their lives. This stimulating and provocative theme is explored with ideas from a variety of fields. It simultaneously introduces students to the nature of a debate on the causes of diversity." --Peter R. Grant, coauthor of How and Why Species Multiply: The Radiation of Darwin's Finches "Bonner makes a compelling case that the morphology of microorganisms is governed not by natural selection but by chance. He could be right. But right or wrong, this claim will be hugely controversial. It doesn't just 'approach heresy, ' as he puts it. It is heresy." --Dan McShea, Duke University "The main point of Bonner's book is that the importance of randomness in evolution depends on size. What is new is the claim that small organisms are more likely to have selectively neutral morphological variation. This, if true, is very interesting and important. Randomness in Evolution is provocative and will lead to lively discussion." --Michael Foote, University of Chicago Zusammenfassung John Tyler Bonner, one of our most distinguished and insightful biologists, here challenges a central tenet of evolutionary biology. In this concise, elegantly written book, he makes the bold and provocative claim that some biological diversity may be explained by something other than natural selection. With his customary wit and accessible style, Inhaltsverzeichnis Illustrations vii Preface ix 1 Life and the Riddle of Randomness 1 2 Time! Size! and Complexity 17 3 Small Organisms and Neutral Morphologies 40 4 The Evolution of the Decrease of Randomness 63 5 An Exception: Where Small Organisms Suppress Randomness 93 6 The Division of Labor: Two Cases of the Return of Randomness in Higher Forms 101 7 Envoi 118 Acknowledgments 121 Bibliography 125 Index 131 ...
