Molecules and Morphology in Evolution
Title | Molecules and Morphology in Evolution PDF eBook |
Author | Colin Patterson |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 244 |
Release | 1987-07-09 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 9780521338608 |
Papers presented at the Third International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, held at the University of Sussex, 4-11 July 1985.
Morphology, Molecules, Evolution and Phylogeny in Polychaeta and Related Taxa
Title | Morphology, Molecules, Evolution and Phylogeny in Polychaeta and Related Taxa PDF eBook |
Author | Thomas Bartolomaeus |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 406 |
Release | 2005-07-13 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 9781402029516 |
Annelida, mainly consisting of marine Polychaeta and in faunal and partly parasitic Clitellata, is one the most significant metazoan taxa. Its more than 20.000 described species invade nearly all habitats and play a central role in marine benthic systems as well as in terrestrial soil communities. Annelids include all soft-bodied segmented worm-like organisms and have been recognized as a separate "phylum" for almost 200 years. Recently, evidence has been accumulated which shows that some of the groups formerly regarded as independent "phyla" such as Pogonophora (now recognized as Siboglinidae), Echiura, Myzostomida and perhaps Sipuncula, are most probably nothing else than greatly modified Annelida. The extreme morphological diversity found especially in Polychaeta displays the plasticity of a simple segmented organisation that basically is nothing else but a serial repetition of identical units. Thus, annelids are highly important to our understanding of fundamental questions about morphological and adaptive diversity, as well as clarifying evolutionary changes and phylogenetic relationships. The book aims to summarize our knowledge on Polychaetes polychaetes and their allies and gives an overview of recent advances gained by studies that employed conventional and modern methods plus, increasingly and importantly, the use of molecular markers and computer-assisted kinship analyses. It also reflects the state of art in polychaete sciences and presents new questions and controversies. As such it will significantly influence the direction of research on Polychaeta and their related taxa.
Evolutionary Biology - Concepts, Molecular and Morphological Evolution
Title | Evolutionary Biology - Concepts, Molecular and Morphological Evolution PDF eBook |
Author | Pierre Pontarotti |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 367 |
Release | 2010-08-24 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 3642123406 |
The annual Evolutionary Biology Meetings in Marseille aim to bring together leading scientists, promoting an exchange of state-of-the-art knowledge and the formation of inter-group collaborations. This book presents the most representative contributions to the 13th meeting, which was held in September 2009. It comprises 21 chapters, which are organized into the following three categories: • Evolutionary Biology Concepts • Genome/Molecular Evolution • Morphological Evolution/Speciation This book offers an up-to-date overview of evolutionary biology concepts and their use in the biology of the 21st century.
Arthropod Biology and Evolution
Title | Arthropod Biology and Evolution PDF eBook |
Author | Alessandro Minelli |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 530 |
Release | 2013-04-11 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 3642361609 |
More than two thirds of all living organisms described to date belong to the phylum Arthropoda. But their diversity, as measured in terms of species number, is also accompanied by an amazing disparity in terms of body form, developmental processes, and adaptations to every inhabitable place on Earth, from the deepest marine abysses to the earth surface and the air. The Arthropoda also include one of the most fashionable and extensively studied of all model organisms, the fruit-fly, whose name is not only linked forever to Mendelian and population genetics, but has more recently come back to centre stage as one of the most important and more extensively investigated models in developmental genetics. This approach has completely changed our appreciation of some of the most characteristic traits of arthropods as are the origin and evolution of segments, their regional and individual specialization, and the origin and evolution of the appendages. At approximately the same time as developmental genetics was eventually turning into the major agent in the birth of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), molecular phylogenetics was challenging the traditional views on arthropod phylogeny, including the relationships among the four major groups: insects, crustaceans, myriapods, and chelicerates. In the meantime, palaeontology was revealing an amazing number of extinct forms that on the one side have contributed to a radical revisitation of arthropod phylogeny, but on the other have provided evidence of a previously unexpected disparity of arthropod and arthropod-like forms that often challenge a clear-cut delimitation of the phylum.
Molecular Tools for Screening Biodiversity
Title | Molecular Tools for Screening Biodiversity PDF eBook |
Author | A. Karp |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 482 |
Release | 2012-12-06 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 9400900198 |
Mark Chase There are many literature resources available to molecular biologists wishing to assess genetic variation, but the myriad of techniques and approaches potentially available to the plant breeder and the evolutionary biologist is truly bewildering, and most have never been evaluated side-by-side on the same sets of samples. Additionally, it is often not recognized that tools that are useful for breeders can often be adapted for use in evolutionary studies and vice versa, but this is generally the case. The borderline between population genetics and phylogenetics is vague and difficult to assess, and a combination of both types of tools is best when it is not clear with which area one is dealing. Furthermore, it is not now appropriate to use just one type of marker in any kind of study; most markers have the potential to misinform under certain conditions, so it is always wise to incorporate at least two different types of assessments into any project. This volume is designed to facilitate this sort of multiple approach and provides comparative data on most currently available methods so that researchers can more intelligently select those appropriate to their area of interest, regardless of whether it is in the realm of breeding or evolutionary biology.
Molds, Molecules, and Metazoa
Title | Molds, Molecules, and Metazoa PDF eBook |
Author | Peter R. Grant |
Publisher | Princeton University Press |
Pages | 194 |
Release | 2014-07-14 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 1400862671 |
Through an integration of systematics, genetics, and related disciplines, the Modern Synthesis of Evolutionary Biology came into being over fifty years ago. Knowledge of evolution has since been transformed by several revolutions: the way we interpret the fossil record has been radically affected by theories of continental drift and asteroid impacts; the way we classify organisms has been influenced by the development of cladistics. Perhaps the most dramatic revolution has been the explosion in molecular biology of information about the genome. Aiming to capture the excitement of modern evolutionary biology, six prominent scientists here explore important issues and problems in their areas of specialization and identify the most promising directions of future research. The scope of this volume ranges from macroevolutionary patterns in the Precambrian to molecular evolution of the genome. Major themes include the origin and maintenance of variation and the causes of evolutionary change. Chapters on paleontology, ecology, behavior, development, and cell and molecular biology are contributed by Jim Valentine, Graham Bell, Mary Jane West Eberhard, Leo Buss, Marc Kirschner, and Marty Kreitman. The book contains an introductory chapter by John Bonner, whose seminal work is honored here. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics
Title | Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics PDF eBook |
Author | Masatoshi Nei |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 444 |
Release | 2000-07-27 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0199881227 |
During the last ten years, remarkable progress has occurred in the study of molecular evolution. Among the most important factors that are responsible for this progress are the development of new statistical methods and advances in computational technology. In particular, phylogenetic analysis of DNA or protein sequences has become a powerful tool for studying molecular evolution. Along with this developing technology, the application of the new statistical and computational methods has become more complicated and there is no comprehensive volume that treats these methods in depth. Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics fills this gap and present various statistical methods that are easily accessible to general biologists as well as biochemists, bioinformatists and graduate students. The text covers measurement of sequence divergence, construction of phylogenetic trees, statistical tests for detection of positive Darwinian selection, inference of ancestral amino acid sequences, construction of linearized trees, and analysis of allele frequency data. Emphasis is given to practical methods of data analysis, and methods can be learned by working through numerical examples using the computer program MEGA2 that is provided.