Evolution (eBook)

Wallace Arthur is Professor of Zoology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He is one of the founding editors of the journal Evolution & Development. He obtained his PhD from the University of Nottingham, and held positions at several British universities before moving to Galway in 2004. He has been a Visiting Research Scholar at Harvard University and a Visiting Associate of Darwin College, Cambridge.

PART I: FOUNDATIONS

* Introduction

* What is evo-devo?

* Development, cells and molecules

* Natural populations

PART II: DEVELOPMENTAL REPATTERNING

* Mutation and developmental repatterning

* Heterochrony

* Heterotopy

* Heterometry

* Heterotypy

* The integrative nature of repatterning

* Mapping repatterning to trees

PART III: THE DIRECTION OF EVOLUTION

* Adaptation, coadaptation and exaptation

* Developmental constraint and bias

* Developmental genes and evolution

* Gene co-option as an evolutionary mechanism

* Developmental plasticity and evolution

* The origin of species, novelties and body plans

* The evolution of complexity

PART IV: CONCLUSIONS

* Key concepts and connections

* Prospect

"For that audience, I think it will serve well and I
recommend it strongly for university courses." (The
Quarterly Review of Biology, 6 March2013)

"Written is an accessible style, illustrated by many
original and specific examples including animals, plants or
fossils, this book has the advantage to be an excellent textbook
devoted to students studying evolution or to their teachers.
It can be also recommended to anybody interested by the basic
concept of evolution." (Mammalia, 28 June
2012)
"The style is lucid, the illustrations are lavish, and the length
is just about right for an undergraduate course resource. Summing
Up: Recommended. All students, researchers/faculty, and
professionals." (Choice, 1 September 2011)

"This exceedingly accessible and very attractive text is
illustrated in full color." (Booknews, 1 June 2011)

"Although this is a text intended for third level students and
professional biologists, Prof Arthur's book brings anyone with more
than a passing interest up to date on the mechanisms involved in
evolution, and as he notes, we should go easy on the assumptions."
(Science Spin, 1 May 2011)

"I greatly enjoyed studying Wallace Arthur's new book.
I believe it is the first of its kind -- a general evolution text
that is focused on the integrated developing organism in a broad
evolutionary and phylogenetic framework. The organization is
novel and intriguing...[the] many illustrations are well chosen
and executed and the book is attractive and inviting. I no
longer teach evolution, but if I did I would use this book because
I believe it shows the directions in which evolutionary studies are
heading." Professor David Wake, University of California,
Berkeley

"There is much more to evolution than mere gene frequency
changes in natural populations. Wallace Arthur was among the first
to recognize the lack of a developmental dimension as missing from
the traditional view of evolution and is among the main actors who
have been shaping the emerging agenda of evolutionary developmental
biology. From his research experience, Wallace has distilled in
this book an original approach to the study of evolution, written
in his uniquely attractive style where immediateness successfully
mixes with conceptual clarity and exacting (but never boring)
lexical precision." Professor Alessandro Minelli,
University of Padova

"I have really enjoyed reading this book. One of the
strengths of the book is the almost conversational style. I
found the style easy to read, but also feel that it will be
invaluable in teaching. One of our tasks in university level
teaching is to develop students' critical thinking
skills. We need to support them in their intellectual
development from a "just the facts" approach to being
able to make critical judgements based on available evidence.
The openness and honesty with which Arthur speaks to uncertainty in
science is refreshing and will be a baseline for discussions with
students." Professor Patricia Moore, Exeter
University

"This book, written, as an undergraduate text, is a really most
impressive book. Given the burgeoning interest in the role of
developmental change in evolution in recent times, this will be a
very timely publication. The book is well structured and, like the
author's other books, very well written. He communicates with
a clear, lucid style and has the ability to explain even some of
the more difficult concepts in an accessible manner." Dr
Kenneth McNamara, University of Cambridge