Natural History

Unique in its approach, this work updates our understanding of human variation by employing both laboratory and field perspectives. Written by a team of scientists, it reviews the way we examine and analyze human variation with special reference to genetics, growth and development, and physiology. I..

Interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes elucidates the role of the flatworms in the animal kingdom. It brings together results from an international group of experts, spanning many disciplines, who give evidence for the phylogeny of flatworms and constituent major taxa. A combined approach, using ..

Advances in molecular biology and developmental genetics have contributed to a wealth of new data on the major steps in vertebrate evolution. This volume documents this rapidly developing research and shows how phylogenetics and developmental biology can provide complementary and mutually supportive..

This book provides a detailed account of the comparative anatomy, development, homologies, and evolution of the head, neck, pectoral, and forelimb muscles of vertebrates. It includes hundreds of illustrations that show the homologies between the muscles of all the major extant vertebrate taxa and su..

This work provides a guide to current research in barnacle evolution. Topics covered include: chemical signals in barnacles; larval settlement; naupliar evidence for cirripede taxonomy and phylogeny; and South American patterns of barnacle distribution...

Comparative biology became overtly evolutionary in the mid-19th century following acceptance of the ideas of Charles Darwin by Ernst Haeckel. During the next 100 years, these evolutionary concepts changed and inspired Phylogenetic Systematics—a body of work exemplified by the publications of Willi H..

Of relevance to systematic, taxonomic, and evolutionary biologists, Reconstructing the Tree of Life: Taxonomy and Systematics of Species Rich Taxa features the contributions of leading experts, who examine recent progress and consider future developments. Detailing a broad range of organisms, the te..

Species is a benchmark exploration and clarification of a concept fundamental to the past, present, and future of the natural sciences. In this edition, a section is added on the debate over species since the time of the New Synthesis, and brings the book up to date...

This book represents a discussion between molecular biologists and paleontologists, in which they investigate the significance of competing sources of data, explain the nature of molecular clocks and the fossil record, and attempt to develop compromise models that incorporate conflicting opinions. T..

A collaboration of over 30 experts, The Biology of Gobies summarizes the systematics, ecology, zoogeography, and general biology of Gobiiformes. It discusses the astounding diversity of gobies, the largest family of marine fishes, examining the more than 200 genera and 2000 species. It highlights th..

An in-depth discussion of the future of descriptive taxonomy, this book examines the efforts of several international groups to catalog the world’s biodiversity and meet the unprecedented challenges of the biodiversity crisis. Reclaiming the unique mission, goals, and importance of taxonomy as an in..

With six pages of full color plates, this volume assesses the impact of molecular tools on the taxonomy of algal groups. It discusses the extent to which these tools extend understanding of the immense algal diversity and revolutionize ideas of taxonomy and classification. Illustrating contrasting v..