The Darwin Archipelago

Download or read book The Darwin Archipelago written by Steve Jones and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Darwin is of course best known for The Voyage of the Beagle and The Origin of Species. But he produced many other books over his long career, exploring specific aspects of the theory of evolution by natural selection in greater depth. The eminent evolutionary biologist Steve Jones uses these lesser-known works as springboards to examine how their essential ideas have generated whole fields of modern biology.Earthworms helped found modern soil science, Expression of the Emotions helped found comparative psychology, and Self-Fertilization and Forms of Flowers were important early works on the origin of sex. Through this delightful introduction to Darwin's oeuvre, one begins to see Darwin's role in biology as resembling Einstein's in physics: he didn't have one brilliant idea but many and in fact made some seminal contribution to practically every field of evolutionary study. Though these lesser-known works may seem disconnected, Jones points out that they all share a common theme: the power of small means over time to produce gigantic ends. Called a "world of wonders" by the Timesof London, The Darwin Archipelago will expand any reader's view of Darwin's genius and will demonstrate how all of biology, like life itself, descends from a common ancestor.

Download or read book Dispelling The Darkness: Voyage In The Malay Archipelago And The Discovery Of Evolution By Wallace And Darwin written by John Van Wyhe and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2013-05-10 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the road to the heart of the species problem lay through them, until Darwin and Wallace dispelled the darkness.”T H Huxley (1887)Darwin is one of the most famous scientists in history. But he was not alone. Comparatively forgotten, Wallace independently discovered evolution by natural selection in Southeast Asia. This book is based on the most thorough research ever conducted on Wallace's voyage. Closely connected, but worlds apart, Darwin and Wallace's stories hold many surprises. Did Darwin really keep his theory a secret for twenty years? Did he plagiarise Wallace? Were their theories really the same? How did Wallace hit on the solution, and on which island? This book reveals for the first time the true story of Darwin, Wallace and the discovery that would change our understanding of life on Earth forever.

Download or read book Darwin in Galápagos written by K. Thalia Grant and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-11-22 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recreates the scientist's historic visit to the Galapagos Islands using his original notebooks and logs, the latest findings by scholars and researchers, and the authors' first-hand knowledge of the archipelago.

Download or read book The Galapagos Islands written by Charles Darwin and published by Penguin Group. This book was released on 1996 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Why Darwin Matters written by Michael Shermer and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A creationist-turned-scientist demonstrates the facts of evolution and exposes Intelligent Design's real agenda Science is on the defensive. Half of Americans reject the theory of evolution and "Intelligent Design" campaigns are gaining ground. Classroom by classroom, creationism is overthrowing biology. In Why Darwin Matters, bestselling author Michael Shermer explains how the newest brand of creationism appeals to our predisposition to look for a designer behind life's complexity. Shermer decodes the scientific evidence to show that evolution is not "just a theory" and illustrates how it achieves the design of life through the bottom-up process of natural selection. Shermer, once an evangelical Christian and a creationist, argues that Intelligent Design proponents are invoking a combination of bad science, political antipathy, and flawed theology. He refutes their pseudoscientific arguments and then demonstrates why conservatives and people of faith can and should embrace evolution. He then appraises the evolutionary questions that truly need to be settled, building a powerful argument for science itself. Cutting the politics away from the facts, Why Darwin Matters is an incisive examination of what is at stake in the debate over evolution.

Download or read book The Galapagos Marine Reserve written by Judith Denkinger and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-01-24 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on how marine systems respond to natural and anthropogenic perturbations (ENSO, overfishing, pollution, tourism, invasive species, climate-change). Authors explain in their chapters how this information can guide management and conservation actions to help orient and better manage, restore and sustain the ecosystems services and goods that are derived from the ocean, while considering the complex issues that affect the delicate nature of the Islands. This book will contribute to a new understanding of the Galapagos Islands and marine ecosystems.​

Download or read book On the Backs of Tortoises written by Elizabeth Hennessy and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-29 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful exploration of the iconic Galápagos tortoises, and how their fate is inextricably linked to our own in a rapidly changing world. Finalist for the 2020 E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, sponsored by PEN America Literary Awards The Galápagos archipelago is often viewed as a last foothold of pristine nature. For sixty years, conservationists have worked to restore this evolutionary Eden after centuries of exploitation at the hands of pirates, whalers, and island settlers. This book tells the story of the islands’ namesakes—the giant tortoises—as coveted food sources, objects of natural history, and famous icons of conservation and tourism. By doing so, it brings into stark relief the paradoxical, and impossible, goal of conserving species by trying to restore a past state of prehistoric evolution. The tortoises, Elizabeth Hennessy demonstrates, are not prehistoric, but rather microcosms whose stories show how deeply human and nonhuman life are entangled. In a world where evolution is thoroughly shaped by global history, Hennessy puts forward a vision for conservation based on reckoning with the past, rather than trying to erase it. “Fresh, insightful . . . Hennessy’s melding of human and natural history makes for thought-provoking reading.” —Booklist (starred review) “Gripping . . . well-researched and thought-provoking . . . whether you’re well-versed in the intricacies of conservation or have only just begun to long for a look at the tortoises yourself. On the Backs of Tortoises is a natural history that asks important questions, and challenges us to think about how best to answer them.” —Genevieve Valentine, NPR “Wonderfully interesting, informative, and engaging, as well as scholarly.” —Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place