Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I am a graduate student in evolutionary genetics.
This is a great collection of short reviews/perspectives from leaders in evolutionary biology. Chapters give a survey of the current state of subfields: behavior, speciation, biogeography, paleontology, human genetics, evo-devo, and others. Each chapter covers basic concepts which develop into current research agendas. Each chapter is well-written and intended for a wide audience. The authors represent a decent cross-section of leading evolution research in the West.
Who would like this book? Those with some experience with the field. Obviously, participants in research - graduates, professors, etc. - will appreciate the book's depth and breadth. Those with a more abridged background could still enjoy much of this, but the pacing and level of jargon approaches an academic journal style. Thus, many will find this book dry and esoteric.
Those looking for more of an introduction to current evolutionary research try:
Why Evolution is True - Jerry Coyne
Your Inner Fish - Neil Shubin
The Making of the Fittest - Sean B. Carroll
Click Here to see more reviews about: In Search of the Causes of Evolution: From Field Observations to Mechanisms
Evolutionary biology has witnessed breathtaking advances in recent years. Some of its most exciting insights have come from the crossover of disciplines as varied as paleontology, molecular biology, ecology, and genetics. This book brings together many of today's pioneers in evolutionary biology to describe the latest advances and explain why a cross-disciplinary and integrated approach to research questions is so essential.
Contributors discuss the origins of biological diversity, mechanisms of evolutionary change at the molecular and developmental levels, morphology and behavior, and the ecology of adaptive radiations and speciation. They highlight the mutual dependence of organisms and their environments, and reveal the different strategies today's researchers are using in the field and laboratory to explore this interdependence. Peter and Rosemary Grant--renowned for their influential work on Darwin's finches in the Galápagos--provide concise introductions to each section and identify the key questions future research needs to address.
In addition to the editors, the contributors are Myra Awodey, Christopher N. Balakrishnan, Rowan D. H. Barrett, May R. Berenbaum, Paul M. Brakefield, Philip J. Currie, Scott V. Edwards, Douglas J. Emlen, Joshua B. Gross, Hopi E. Hoekstra, Richard Hudson, David Jablonski, David T. Johnston, Mathieu Joron, David Kingsley, Andrew H. Knoll, Mimi A. R. Koehl, June Y. Lee, Jonathan B. Losos, Isabel Santos Magalhaes, Albert B. Phillimore, Trevor Price, Dolph Schluter, Ole Seehausen, Clifford J. Tabin, John N. Thompson, and David B. Wake.
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