For undergraduate courses in Evolution
By presenting evolutionary biology as a dynamic, ongoing research effort and organizing discussions around questions, this best-selling text helps students think like scientists as they learn about evolution. The authors convey the excitement and logic of evolutionary science by introducing principles through recent and classical studies, and by emphasizing real-world applications.
In the Fifth Edition, co-author Jon Herron takes the lead in streamlining and updating content to reflect key changes in the field. The design and art program have also been updated for enhanced clarity.
- Inquiry-Driven Presentation presents basic principles of evolutionary biology through the analysis of new and classical research studies. This trains students to think like scientists by evaluating hypotheses, considering experimental design, analyzing data, and highlighting new questions for future research.
- Evolution presented as a process enables students to make connections as they see a scientific theory from observation, through testing and data analysis.
- Updated coverage throughout includes the latest research and examples, giving students access to the most current developments in the field.
- Author-developed illustration program includes diagrams, data-graphics, and full-color photographs throughout. This ties the illustrations closely to the text, making the overall presentation more accessible to students.
- Instructor Resource DVD contains all of the illustrations and photos as JPEGs and PowerPoints for use in your lecture presentation.
New to this Edition
- The book’s traditional emphasis on scientific reasoning has been maintained and enhanced. For example, every chapter begins with a one-page case study, typically including both a photo and dataset, that presents a research question and a study that answers it. These cases serve to introduce the kinds of problems and research programs that will be covered in the chapter.
- Streamlined and updated content in every chapter reflects key changes in the field and incorporates new research and examples. A few key highlights are listed below.
- Heavily revised Chapter 1 (Understanding HIV) includes updated statistics on the status of the pandemic, newer thinking on how HIV causes AIDS, new data on the origin of HIV, and new ideas and evidence on why HIV is lethal.
- Reorganized Chapter 2 (Evidence for Evolution) features sections on evidence for microevolution, speciation, macroevolution, and common ancestry.
- Completely revised Chapter 4 (Estimating Evolutionary Trees) provides an improved introduction to tree thinking and includes more detailed explanations of parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian phylogeny inference.
- Completely revised Chapter 15 (Phylogenomics and Molecular Adaptation) includes new sections on the evolution of genome architecture, the evolution of mutation rates, and gene families. Coverage of mobile genetic elements and the molecular basis of adaptation have been updated.
- Heavily revised Chapter 16 (Speciation) includes new sections on mechanisms of divergence, hybridization and gene flow, and what drives diversification. The chapter includes new examples illustrating the application of species concepts as well as new examples of mechanisms of isolation.
- Completely revised Chapter 19 (Evolution and Development) includes revised coverage of Hox genes, deep homology, developmental constraints and trade-offs, and the evolution of novel traits.
- The art and design program has been updated to reflect an increasing emphasis on evolutionary genetics and on macroevolution.
- Computing Consequences boxes offer mathematical elaborations of quantitative topics.
- An updated media program features chapter quizzes, simulations, activities, and case studies.
Table of Contents
1. A Case for Evolutionary Thinking: Understanding HIV
2. The Evidence for Evolution
3. Darwinian Natural Selection
4. Reconstructing Evolutionary Trees
II. MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
5. Mutation and Genetic Variation
6. Mendelian Genetics in Populations I: Selection and Mutation as Mechanisms of Evolution
7. Mendelian Genetics in Populations II: Migration, Genetic Drift, and Nonrandom Mating
8. Evolution at Multiple Loci: Linkage and Sex
9. Evolution at Multiple Loci: Quantitative Genetics
10. Studying Adaptation: Evolutionary Analysis of Form and Function
11. Sexual Selection
12. Kin Selection and Social Behavior
13. Aging and Other Life History Characters
14. Evolution and Human Health
15. Phylogenomics and the Molecular Basis of Adaptation
IV. THE HISTORY OF LIFE
16. Mechanisms of Speciation
17. The Origins of Life and Precambrian Evolution
18. The Cambrian Explosion and Beyond
19. Development and Evolution
20. Human Evolution