Evolution 101
Published on 30. September 2006
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-313-33292-0 (ISBN)
Description
What should the average person know about science? Because science is so central to life in the 21st century, science educators and other leaders of the scientific community believe that it is essential that everyone understand the basic concepts of the most vital and far-reaching disciplines. Evolution 101 does exactly that. This accessible volume provides readers - whether students new to the field or just interested members of the lay public - with the essential ideas of evolution using a minimum of jargon and mathematics. Concepts are introduced in a progressive order so that more complicated ideas build on simpler ones, and each is discussed in small, bite-sized segments so that they can be more easily understood.
Evolution 101 provides an introduction for non-scholars to this most powerful scientific theory, covering such issues as: the history of evolutionary thought, from before Darwin to the present day; the evidence for evolution, from fields as diverse as geology, molecular biology, paleontology, and more, that show how strongly supported evolution is; how evolution works, including topics ranging from behavior (e.g., sexual selection) to molecular biology (e.g., mutation); and evolution in our daily lives, including how evolution accounts for phenomena such as antibiotic resistance and pesticide resistance. This essential resource will answer the questions students and lay people have regarding evolution, and will point them on the path to further understanding.
Evolution 101 provides an introduction for non-scholars to this most powerful scientific theory, covering such issues as: the history of evolutionary thought, from before Darwin to the present day; the evidence for evolution, from fields as diverse as geology, molecular biology, paleontology, and more, that show how strongly supported evolution is; how evolution works, including topics ranging from behavior (e.g., sexual selection) to molecular biology (e.g., mutation); and evolution in our daily lives, including how evolution accounts for phenomena such as antibiotic resistance and pesticide resistance. This essential resource will answer the questions students and lay people have regarding evolution, and will point them on the path to further understanding.
Reviews / Votes
[E]ven younger, motivated students should be able to gain some understanding of these topics without assistance or prior knowledge. Teachers will appreciate the depth and clairity. * VOYA * NSTA Recommends Seldom is a book so well written and so well researched that it ought to be required reading for every thinking person. Moores one-volume reference on the theory of evolution comes as close as anything I have ever encountered in my career as both a biologist and an educator. From its thorough history of the development of the theory over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries to its painstaking analysis of how evolution works and the evidence for it, this book explains in simple but accurate language everything any person needs to know to grasp the essence of one of the most important scientific explanations of all time....Not only should every high school, community, and university library have a copy of Evolution 101 but every science teacher in the country should as well. * NSTA National Science Teachers Association * [T]his book is a valuable, concise introduction to evolutionary thought. The authors have succeeded in providing a simple explanation of evolutionary theory that should be understandable to the average reader. This book should be essential for school and public libraries, and would be a valuable resource for any biology teacher concerned about teaching this subject accurately. * The American Biology Teacher * Written to be fully accessible and with a minimum of jargon, this covers what general readers should know about evolution for them to apply to further reading or study. Randy Moore and Janice Moore take a practical approach but also offer the theory necessary to get the point across, starting with the history of evolutionary thought (Darwin and the Beagle), extension and elaboration of Darwin's basic theories, and the impact of those who thought they knew Darwin's work but wandered off a bit by themselves. They describe the evidence for evolution in fossils, rocks and drug resistance, examine how evolution works (DNA, genetic variation and gene frequency, mate choices and coefficients of relatedness), the scale and products of evolution and the role of evolution in our daily lives. * SciTech Book News *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
523 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-313-33292-0 (9780313332920)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Randy Moore is H.T. Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Biology at the University of Minnesota. He had edited The American Biology Teacher and Journal of College Science Teaching, and serves on the editorial board of Journal of Biological Education. He has won numerous grants and teaching awards, including the Teacher Exemplar Award (Society for College Science Teachers). Moore, an Honorary Member of the National Association of Biology Teachers, has written over 200 articles and books, including numerous textbooks and Evolution in the Courtroom: A Reference Guide (2002).
Janice Moore is professor of Biology at Colorado State University. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and the book Parasites and the Behavior of Animals (2002). She is also co-editor of Host-Parasite Evolution (1997) and serves on the editorial board of BioScience.
Janice Moore is professor of Biology at Colorado State University. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and the book Parasites and the Behavior of Animals (2002). She is also co-editor of Host-Parasite Evolution (1997) and serves on the editorial board of BioScience.
Content
Series Foreword
Preface
1 The History of Evolutionary Thought
Early Ideas About Life's Diversity
Naming Life
Lamarck Proposes the First Testable Theory of Evolution
Charles Darwin
Darwin Sets Sail Aboard the Beagle and Sees the World
Darwin's Life Back in England
Down House
Wallace Provokes Darwin to Announce His Idea
The Theory of Evolution After Darwin
Darwin's Bold Prediction
Summary
2 Evidence for Evolution
The Evidence for Evolution
The Age of the Earth
Determining the Ages of Fossils and Rocks
Fossils
Extinctions
Artificial Selection
Embryology
Biogeography
Comparative Anatomy
Vestigial Structures
Molecular Biology
We Can Watch Evolution Happen
Evolution, Life, and Death: The Evolution of Drug Resistance
Can Evolution Be Stopped?
Contradictory Evidence?
Evolution in the Courtroom
Summary
3 How Evolution Works
Genes Link Generations
Pesticide Resistance
DNA and Chromosomes
The Frequencies of Genes Can Change
What Causes Genetic Variation?
Mutation Can Cause Genetic Variation
Gene Flow Can Cause Genetic Variation
Genetic Mixing Can Cause Genetic Variation
Evolution Is Change in Gene Frequency-How Do Gene Frequencies Change?
Conservation and Genetic Diversity
Natural Selection Produces Adaptive Change in Gene Frequencies
Sexual Reproduction Increases Genetic Variation
The Red Queen and Sexual Reproduction
Mate Choice Can Be Adaptive
Selection for One Extreme, Both Extremes, or the Middle
Nice Guys Don't Have to Finish Last
Calculating Coefficients of Relatedness
Mutualism
Summary
4 The Scale and Products of Evolution
Microevolution Occurs Within Populations
Macroevolution Produces Species Diversity
What Is a Species?
How Do Species Form?
Species Form by Geographic Isolation, A Disturbance in Gene Flow
Species Form When Shifts in Resources Disturb Gene Flow
Species Form When Mate Choice Restricts Gene Flow
Species Form When Genetic Changes Disturb Gene Flow
The Common Theme of Speciation Is Reproductive Isolation
A Phylogeny Traces the History of Speciation
Shared Traits Reveal Shared Ancestry
Three Types (Branches) of Living Organisms
Where Did Life Come From?
The Evolution of Multicellular Organisms
Adaptive Radiation Fuels Biodiversity
Poisonous Oceans, Death Stars, and Mass Extinction
Summary
5 Evolution and Our Daily Lives
Darwin's Predictions Continue to Ring True
Social Darwinism
Eugenics
The Evolution of Pathogens
Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology
Human Evolution
Summary
Appendices
Appendix 1: The Geological Timescale
Appendix 2: Legal Decisions Involving the Teaching of Evolution and Creationism in Public Schools
Appendix 3: A Timeline for Evolutionary Thought
Appendix 4: Meiosis and Crossing Over
Appendix 5: The Products of Evolution
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index
Preface
1 The History of Evolutionary Thought
Early Ideas About Life's Diversity
Naming Life
Lamarck Proposes the First Testable Theory of Evolution
Charles Darwin
Darwin Sets Sail Aboard the Beagle and Sees the World
Darwin's Life Back in England
Down House
Wallace Provokes Darwin to Announce His Idea
The Theory of Evolution After Darwin
Darwin's Bold Prediction
Summary
2 Evidence for Evolution
The Evidence for Evolution
The Age of the Earth
Determining the Ages of Fossils and Rocks
Fossils
Extinctions
Artificial Selection
Embryology
Biogeography
Comparative Anatomy
Vestigial Structures
Molecular Biology
We Can Watch Evolution Happen
Evolution, Life, and Death: The Evolution of Drug Resistance
Can Evolution Be Stopped?
Contradictory Evidence?
Evolution in the Courtroom
Summary
3 How Evolution Works
Genes Link Generations
Pesticide Resistance
DNA and Chromosomes
The Frequencies of Genes Can Change
What Causes Genetic Variation?
Mutation Can Cause Genetic Variation
Gene Flow Can Cause Genetic Variation
Genetic Mixing Can Cause Genetic Variation
Evolution Is Change in Gene Frequency-How Do Gene Frequencies Change?
Conservation and Genetic Diversity
Natural Selection Produces Adaptive Change in Gene Frequencies
Sexual Reproduction Increases Genetic Variation
The Red Queen and Sexual Reproduction
Mate Choice Can Be Adaptive
Selection for One Extreme, Both Extremes, or the Middle
Nice Guys Don't Have to Finish Last
Calculating Coefficients of Relatedness
Mutualism
Summary
4 The Scale and Products of Evolution
Microevolution Occurs Within Populations
Macroevolution Produces Species Diversity
What Is a Species?
How Do Species Form?
Species Form by Geographic Isolation, A Disturbance in Gene Flow
Species Form When Shifts in Resources Disturb Gene Flow
Species Form When Mate Choice Restricts Gene Flow
Species Form When Genetic Changes Disturb Gene Flow
The Common Theme of Speciation Is Reproductive Isolation
A Phylogeny Traces the History of Speciation
Shared Traits Reveal Shared Ancestry
Three Types (Branches) of Living Organisms
Where Did Life Come From?
The Evolution of Multicellular Organisms
Adaptive Radiation Fuels Biodiversity
Poisonous Oceans, Death Stars, and Mass Extinction
Summary
5 Evolution and Our Daily Lives
Darwin's Predictions Continue to Ring True
Social Darwinism
Eugenics
The Evolution of Pathogens
Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology
Human Evolution
Summary
Appendices
Appendix 1: The Geological Timescale
Appendix 2: Legal Decisions Involving the Teaching of Evolution and Creationism in Public Schools
Appendix 3: A Timeline for Evolutionary Thought
Appendix 4: Meiosis and Crossing Over
Appendix 5: The Products of Evolution
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index