Improbable Destinies

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Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399184937
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (991 download)

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Book Synopsis Improbable Destinies by : Jonathan B. Losos

Download or read book Improbable Destinies written by Jonathan B. Losos and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-08-08 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major new book overturning our assumptions about how evolution works Earth’s natural history is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times. But evolutionary biologists also point out many examples of contingency, cases where the tiniest change—a random mutation or an ancient butterfly sneeze—caused evolution to take a completely different course. What role does each force really play in the constantly changing natural world? Are the plants and animals that exist today, and we humans ourselves, inevitabilities or evolutionary flukes? And what does that say about life on other planets? Jonathan Losos reveals what the latest breakthroughs in evolutionary biology can tell us about one of the greatest ongoing debates in science. He takes us around the globe to meet the researchers who are solving the deepest mysteries of life on Earth through their work in experimental evolutionary science. Losos himself is one of the leaders in this exciting new field, and he illustrates how experiments with guppies, fruit flies, bacteria, foxes, and field mice, along with his own work with anole lizards on Caribbean islands, are rewinding the tape of life to reveal just how rapid and predictable evolution can be. Improbable Destinies will change the way we think and talk about evolution. Losos's insights into natural selection and evolutionary change have far-reaching applications for protecting ecosystems, securing our food supply, and fighting off harmful viruses and bacteria. This compelling narrative offers a new understanding of ourselves and our role in the natural world and the cosmos.

Extraterrestrials in the Catholic Imagination

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Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1527566005
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (275 download)

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Book Synopsis Extraterrestrials in the Catholic Imagination by : Jennifer Rosato

Download or read book Extraterrestrials in the Catholic Imagination written by Jennifer Rosato and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-02-10 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do scientists know about the possibility of life outside our solar system? How does Catholic science fiction imagine such worlds? What are the implications for Catholic thought? This collection brings together leading scientists, philosophers, theologians, and science fiction authors in the Catholic tradition to examine these issues. In the first section, Christian scientists detail the latest scientific findings regarding the possibility of life on exoplanets. The second part brings together leading Catholic science fiction authors who describe how “alien” life forms have been prevalent in the Catholic imagination from the Middle Ages right up to the present day. In the final section, Catholic philosophers and theologians examine the implications of discovering intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Rather than worrying that the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrials might threaten the dignity of humans or their existence, the contributors here maintain that such creatures should be welcomed as fellow creatures of God and potential subjects of divine salvation.

The Evolution of Snake-like Body Form in Squamate Reptiles and the Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Scincid Genus Plestiodon

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 520 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Snake-like Body Form in Squamate Reptiles and the Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Scincid Genus Plestiodon by : Matthew Christopher Brandley

Download or read book The Evolution of Snake-like Body Form in Squamate Reptiles and the Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Scincid Genus Plestiodon written by Matthew Christopher Brandley and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

General Biology, Archosauria, Chelonia

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Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110367254
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis General Biology, Archosauria, Chelonia by : Ulrich Joger

Download or read book General Biology, Archosauria, Chelonia written by Ulrich Joger and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2024-08-06 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With more than 10,000 known species, recent reptiles (excluding birds) are the most specious tetrapod class. Their diversity is high, and many of them are frequently used as model organisms in phylogeographic and ecological studies. On the other hand, unique aspects of their biology are still being studied and important contributions to their understanding have just been issued. These aspects include the evolution of viviparity and of venom glands, metabolic regulation in poikilotherms, their ecophysiological tolerance and neurobiological and sensorial capacities such as infrared imaging and chemosensitivity. Genetic and developmental phenomena such as parthenogenesis and temperature-dependent sex determination are also special to reptiles. They are generally important for understanding evolutionary processes in vertebrates. The latest results of worldwide research on dinosaurs and other fossil reptiles, crocodiles and turtles conclude this first volume of Reptilia in the Handbook of Zoology.

Genetics of Speciation

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Genetics of Speciation by : David L. Jameson

Download or read book Genetics of Speciation written by David L. Jameson and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nature of populations, races, subspecies, and species. Genetic basis of isolation. Origin of isolation - theoretical. Origin of isolation - experimental. The nature of the speciation process.

Convergent Evolution

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3031114418
Total Pages : 594 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (311 download)

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Book Synopsis Convergent Evolution by : Vincent L. Bels

Download or read book Convergent Evolution written by Vincent L. Bels and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-03-01 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents a series of case studies, at different levels of inclusivity, of how organisms exhibit functional convergence as a key evolutionary mechanism resulting in responses to similar environmental constraints in mechanically similar ways. The contributors to this volume have selected and documented cases of convergent evolution of form and function that are perceived to be driven by environmental abiotic and/or biotic challenges that fall within their areas of expertise. Collectively these chapters explore this phenomenon across a broad phylogenetic spectrum. The sequence of chapters follows the organizational principle of increasing phylogenetic inclusivity, rather than the clustering of chapters by perceived similarity of the phenotypic features or biomechanical challenges being considered. This is done to maintain focus on the evolutionary phenomenon that is the primary subject matter of the book, thereby providing a basis for discussion among the readership about what is necessary and sufficient to justify the recognition of functional convergence. All chapters stress the need for integrative approaches for the elucidation of both pattern and process as they relate to convergence at various taxonomic levels.

Feeding in Vertebrates

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3030137392
Total Pages : 873 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis Feeding in Vertebrates by : Vincent Bels

Download or read book Feeding in Vertebrates written by Vincent Bels and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 873 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides students and researchers with reviews of biological questions related to the evolution of feeding by vertebrates in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Based on recent technical developments and novel conceptual approaches, the book covers functional questions on trophic behavior in nearly all vertebrate groups including jawless fishes. The book describes mechanisms and theories for understanding the relationships between feeding structure and feeding behavior. Finally, the book demonstrates the importance of adopting an integrative approach to the trophic system in order to understand evolutionary mechanisms across the biodiversity of vertebrates.

Secrets of the Snake Charmer

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Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 : 1450221270
Total Pages : 421 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis Secrets of the Snake Charmer by : John C. Murphy

Download or read book Secrets of the Snake Charmer written by John C. Murphy and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2010-04-16 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Note that there is a companion website for this book and it can be seen at: http://secretsofthesnakecharmer.blogspot.com/ Humans and snakes have an intimate and ancient relationship that often revolves around either love or hate. Snakes can be seen as gods, spiritual messengers, symbols of fertility, and guardians of resources in virtually all cultures. But to those that fear them, snakes are seen as venomous creatures that cannot be trusted. In Secrets of the Snake Charmer, John Murphy, a research associate of the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, provides an in-depth, twenty-first century look at snakes utilizing the published research of other herpetologists as well as his own personal experiences and speculations. Murphy covers a wide range of topics such as the adaptability of snakes, the ways in which evolution has tinkered with snakes during the last 160 million years, and the impact snakes have on the ecological communities they live in. While sharing ideas about the origin of snakes, rattlesnake rattles, and spitting in cobras, Murphy presents an innovative portrayal of snakes that proves they co-evolve with their prey, predators, and parasites in order to fulfill a significant and novel role in the web of life.

Arthropod Biology and Evolution

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3642361609
Total Pages : 530 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (423 download)

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Book Synopsis Arthropod Biology and Evolution by : Alessandro Minelli

Download or read book Arthropod Biology and Evolution written by Alessandro Minelli and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Varanoid Lizards of the World

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Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780253343666
Total Pages : 654 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (436 download)

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Book Synopsis Varanoid Lizards of the World by : Erick Pianka

Download or read book Varanoid Lizards of the World written by Erick Pianka and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2004-09-21 with total page 654 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monitor lizards (genus Varanus) have attracted a great deal of interest--these large and impressive lizards are often the centerpiece of reptile house exhibits. Monitors tend to be fairly wary and difficult to observe--therefore they are not particularly tractable research subjects, but they have nevertheless received an extraordinary amount of attention from devoted students.Varanoid Lizards of the World is a comprehensive account of virtually everything important that is known about monitor lizards, beginning with detailed species accounts and proceeding to various modern comparative analyses. Where possible, people who have had detailed field experience with a particular species have assembled species accounts. In the process of reporting what is known, we also identify what remains to be learned about these lizards. We hope to establish a prototype showing how such a diverse monophyletic group can be exploited both to identify and to understand the actual course of evolution. As such, this effort becomes a protocol for future workers to follow for other groups of closely-related species.

Fossil Lizards of North America

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Publisher : National Academies
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Fossil Lizards of North America by : Charles Whitney Gilmore

Download or read book Fossil Lizards of North America written by Charles Whitney Gilmore and published by National Academies. This book was released on 1978 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199595372
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (995 download)

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Book Synopsis The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology by : Erik Svensson

Download or read book The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology written by Erik Svensson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-17 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 'Adaptive Landscape' has been a central concept in population genetics and evolutionary biology since this powerful metaphor was first formulated in 1932. This volume brings together historians of science, philosophers, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists, to discuss the state of the art from several different perspectives.

The Biology and Evolution of Australian Lizards

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Publisher : Surrey Beatty and Sons
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Biology and Evolution of Australian Lizards by : Allen E. Greer

Download or read book The Biology and Evolution of Australian Lizards written by Allen E. Greer and published by Surrey Beatty and Sons. This book was released on 1989 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Biology of Chameleons

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Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520276051
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis The Biology of Chameleons by : Krystal A. Tolley

Download or read book The Biology of Chameleons written by Krystal A. Tolley and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2013-11-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They change color depending on their mood. They possess uniquely adapted hands and feet distinct from other tetrapods. They feature independently movable eyes. This comprehensive volume delves into these fascinating details and thorough research about one of the most charismatic families of reptilesÑChameleonidae. Written for professional herpetologists, scholars, researchers, and students, this book takes readers on a voyage across time to discover everything that is known about chameleon biology: anatomy, physiology, adaptations, ecology, behavior, biogeography, phylogeny, classification, and conservation. A description of the natural history of chameleons is given, along with the fossil record and typical characteristics of each genus. The state of chameleons in the modern world is also depicted, complete with new information on the most serious threats to these remarkable reptiles.

Convergent Evolution

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Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262016427
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Convergent Evolution by : George R. McGhee

Download or read book Convergent Evolution written by George R. McGhee and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Convergent evolution occurs on all levels, from tiny organic molecules to entire ecosystems of species.

Lizards

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Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 9780520234017
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis Lizards by : Eric R. Pianka

Download or read book Lizards written by Eric R. Pianka and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-09-24 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of the diversity of lizards and their major adaptive features. The authors discuss the latest research findings and provide new hypotheses about lizard diversity.

Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families

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Publisher : Stanford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780804714358
Total Pages : 660 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (143 download)

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Book Synopsis Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families by : Richard Estes

Download or read book Phylogenetic Relationships of the Lizard Families written by Richard Estes and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1988 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: