Species And Speciation In The Fossil Record

Download or read book Species and Speciation in the Fossil Record written by Warren D. Allmon and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The literature of paleobiology is brimming with qualifiers and cautions about using species in the fossil record, or equating such species with those recognized among living organisms. Species and Speciation in the Fossil Record digs through this literature and surveys the recent research on species in paleobiology. In these pages, experts in the field examine what they think species are - in their particular taxon of specialty or more generally in the fossil record. They also reflect on what the answers mean for thinking about species in macroevolution. The first step in this approach is an overview of the Modern Synthesis, and paleobiology’s development of quantitative ways of documenting and analyzing variation with fossil assemblages. Following that, this volume’s central chapters explore the challenges of recognizing and defining species from fossil specimens, and show how with careful interpretation and a clear species concept, fossil species may be sufficiently robust for meaningful paleobiological analyses. Tempo and mode of speciation over time are also explored, exhibiting how the concept of species, if more refined, can reveal enormous amounts about the interplay between species origins and extinction and local and global climate change.

Download or read book The Paleobiological Revolution written by David Sepkoski and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-03-04 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Paleobiological Revolution chronicles the incredible ascendance of the once-maligned science of paleontology to the vanguard of a field. With the establishment of the modern synthesis in the 1940s and the pioneering work of George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr, and Theodosius Dobzhansky, as well as the subsequent efforts of Stephen Jay Gould, David Raup, and James Valentine, paleontology became embedded in biology and emerged as paleobiology, a first-rate discipline central to evolutionary studies. Pairing contributions from some of the leading actors of the transformation with overviews from historians and philosophers of science, the essays here capture the excitement of the seismic changes in the discipline. In so doing, David Sepkoski and Michael Ruse harness the energy of the past to call for further study of the conceptual development of modern paleobiology.

Download or read book New Approaches to Speciation in the Fossil Record written by Douglas H. Erwin and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of case studies that seeks to reexamine the understanding of the speciation patterns that appear in the fossil record through an analysis of the patterns and their presumed processes. In each case, the rigorous techniques of morphological analysis, quantitative genetic analysis, phylogenetic analysis, and sedimentary completeness have been employed.

Download or read book Species and Speciation in the Fossil Record written by Warren D. Allmon and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the species is one of the fundamental units of biological classification, there is remarkably little consensus among biologists about what defines a species, even within distinct sub-disciplines. The literature of paleobiology, in particular, is littered with qualifiers and cautions about applying the term to the fossil record or equating such species with those recognized among living organisms. In Species and Speciation in the Fossil Record, experts in the field examine how they conceive of species of fossil animals and consider the implications these different approaches have for thinking about species in the context of macroevolution. After outlining views of the Modern Synthesis of evolutionary disciplines and detailing the development within paleobiology of quantitative methods for documenting and analyzing variation within fossil assemblages, contributors explore the challenges of recognizing and defining species from fossil specimens—and offer potential solutions. Addressing both the tempo and mode of speciation over time, they show how with careful interpretation and a clear species concept, fossil species may be sufficiently robust for meaningful paleobiological analyses. Indeed, they demonstrate that the species concept, if more refined, could unearth a wealth of information about the interplay between species origins and extinctions, between local and global climate change, and greatly deepen our understanding of the evolution of life.

Download or read book Principles of Biology written by Lisa Bartee and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Principles of Biology sequence (BI 211, 212 and 213) introduces biology as a scientific discipline for students planning to major in biology and other science disciplines. Laboratories and classroom activities introduce techniques used to study biological processes and provide opportunities for students to develop their ability to conduct research.

Download or read book Evolutionary Patterns and Processes written by D. R. Lees and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolution is the central theme of all biology. Researcarcch in the many branches of evolutionary study continues to flourish. This book, based on a symposium of the Linnean Society, discusses the diversity in currentevolutionary research. It approaches the subject ambitiously and from several angles, bringing ttogether eminent authors from a variety of disciplines paleontologists traditionally with a macroevolutionary bias, neontologists concentrating on microevolutionary processes, and those studying the very essence ofsses and those studying the very essence of evolution the process of speciation in living organisms. Evolutionary Patterns and Processes will appeal to a broad spectrum of professional biologistsworking in such fields as paleontology, population biology, and evolutionary genetics. Biologists will enjoy chapters by Stephen J. Gould, discovering in the much earlier work of Hugo de Vries parallels with his ideas on punctuational evolution; Guy Bush,considering why there are so many small animals; Peter Sheldon, examining detailed fossil trilobite sequences for evidence of microevolutionary processes and considering models of speciation; as well as others dealing with cytological, ecological, and behavioral processes leading to the evolution of new species. None

Download or read book Evolutionary Patterns written by Alan H. Cheetham and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2001-08 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With all the recent advances in molecular and evolutionary biology, one could almost wonder why we need the fossil record. Molecular sequence data can resolve taxonomic relationships, experiments with fruit flies demonstrate evolution and development in real time, and field studies of Galapagos finches have provided the strongest evidence for natural selection ever measured in the wild. What, then, can fossils teach us that living organisms cannot? Evolutionary Patterns demonstrates the rich variety of clues to evolution that can be gleaned from the fossil record. Chief among these are the major trends and anomalies in species development revealed only by "deep time," such as periodic mass extinctions and species that remain unchanged in form for millions of years. Contributors explore modes of development, the tempo of speciation and extinction, and macroevolutionary patterns and trends. The result is an important contribution to paleobiology and evolutionary biology, and a spirited defense of the fossil record as a crucial tool for understanding evolution and development. The contributors are Ann F. Budd, Efstathia Bura, Leo W. Buss, Mike Foote, Jörn Geister, Stephen Jay Gould, Eckart Hâkansson, Jean-Georges Harmelin, Lee-Ann C. Hayek, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Kenneth G. Johnson, Nancy Knowlton, Scott Lidgard, Frank K. McKinney, Daniel W. McShea, Ross H. Nehm, Beth Okamura, John M. Pandolfi, Paul D. Taylor, and Erik Thomsen.