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An overview of evolutionary rates, analyzing data from laboratory, field and fossil record studies to extract their underlying generation-to-generation rates.
List of contents
1. Introduction; 2. Variation in nature; 3. Evolutionary time; 4. Random walks and Brownian diffusion; 5. Temporal scaling and evolutionary mode; 6. Directional selection, stabilizing selection, and random drift; 7. Phenotypic change in experimental lineages; 8. Phenotypic change documented in field studies; 9. Phenotypic change in the fossil record; 10. A quantitative synthesis; 11. Retrospective on punctuated equilibria; 12. Genetic models; 13. Independent contrasts: Phylogeny's influence on phenotypes; 14. Rate perspective on early bursts of evolution; 15. Summary and conclusions; Appendix: generation times in bacteria, plants, and animals; References; Index.
About the author
Philip D. Gingerich is Professor Emeritus of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Anthropology at the University of Michigan; as well as Curator Emeritus of Vertebrate Paleontology. His honors include the Henry Russel Award, Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, and Collegiate Professorship at the University of Michigan; Schuchert Award from the Paleontological Society; Dumont Medal from the Belgian Geological Society; and the Romer-Simpson Medal from the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and was previously President of the Paleontological Society.
Summary
This book compiles and compares examples of evolution from laboratory, field and fossil record studies, analyzing them to extract underlying generation-to-generation rates. It covers analysis methods, statistics of variation, and processes of natural selection and random drift, for students and researchers in paleontology, biology, and anthropology.
