The Nature of Diversity: An Evolutionary Voyage of Discovery
All living things on earth—from individual species to entire ecosystems—have evolved through time, and evolution is the acknowledged framework of modern biology. Yet many areas of biology have moved from a focus on evolution to much narrower perspectives.\ Daniel R. Brooks and Deborah A. McLennan argue that it is impossible to comprehend the nature of life on earth unless evolution—the history of organisms—is restored to a central position in research. They demonstrate how the phylogenetic...
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Darwin recognized that evolution is the result of interactions between the inherited nature of organisms and the nature of their living conditions. Of the two, he proposed that the nature of the organism is paramount. A universal aspect of that nature is retained history, or phylogeny.Daniel R. Brooks and Deborah A. McLennan argue that evolution has been so complex and historically contingent that robust evolutionary explanations must include phylogenetic information. Clearly setting out the conceptual, methodological, and empirical foundations of their research program, they show how scientists can uncover the effects of evolutionary history on all levels of biological organization, from organisms to ecosystems. While illustrating and testing their approach with examples drawn from a wide variety of species and habitats, they adopt the metaphor of a voyage of discovery, because there is still so much to learn about the evolved nature of the biosphere.The argument in The Nature of Diversity greatly expands upon and refines the arguments made in the authors' previous book Phylogeny, Ecology, and Behavior.
Preface1Voyage of Discovery12Tools for the Voyage233Species: Exploring the Entities1004Historical Biogeography: Exploring Space1735Functions: Exploring Options2536Evolutionary Radiations: Exploring Time3537Community Evolution: Exploring the Space-Time Continuum4178Coevolution: Exploring Personal Relationships4659Biodiversity: Exploring the Future525References561Index661
