Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by analyzing the ecological factors that shape age-specific schedules of growth, reproduction, and survival and by investigating the trade-offs that constrain the evolution of these traits. Although life history theory has made enormous progress in explaining the diversity of life history strategies among species, it traditionally ignores the underlying proximate mechanisms. This novel book argues that many fundamental problems in life history evolution, including the nature of trade-offs, can only be fully resolved if we begin to integrate information on developmental, physiological, and genetic mechanisms into the classical life history framework. Each chapter is written by an established or up-and-coming leader in their respective field; they not only represent the state of the art but also offer fresh perspectives for future research. The text is divided into 7 sections that cover basic concepts (Part 1), the mechanisms that affect different parts of the life cycle (growth, development, and maturation; reproduction; and aging and somatic maintenance) (Parts 2-4), life history plasticity (Part 5), life history integration and trade-offs (Part 6), and concludes with a synthesis chapter written by a prominent leader in the field and an editorial postscript (Part 7).

Evolution is the single unifying principle of biology and core to everything in the life sciences. More than a century of work by scientists from across the biological spectrum has produced a detailed history of life across the phyla and explained the mechanisms by which new species form. This textbook covers both this history and the mechanisms of speciation; it also aims to provide students with the background needed to read the research literature on evolution. Students will therefore learn about cladistics, molecular phylogenies, the molecular-genetical basis of evolutionary change including the important role of protein networks, symbionts and holobionts, together with the core principles of developmental biology. The book also includes introductory appendices that provide background knowledge on, for example, the diversity of life today, fossils, the geology of Earth and the history of evolutionary thought. Key Features Summarizes the origins of life and the evolution of the eukaryotic cell and of Urbilateria, the last common ancestor of invertebrates and vertebrates. Reviews the history of life across the phyla based on the fossil record and computational phylogenetics. Explains evo-devo and the generation of anatomical novelties. Illustrates the roles of small populations, genetic drift, mutation and selection in speciation. Documents human evolution using the fossil record and evidence of dispersal across the world leading to the emergence of modern humans.

Life History Evolution represents a synthetic approach to the understanding of the evolution of life history variation using the three types of environment (constant, stochastic, predictable) as the focus under which the theory is developed and tested. First, the author outlines a general framework for the study and analysis of life history variation, bringing together the approaches of quantitative genetic modeling and optimality analysis. Using this framework, he then discusses how life histories evolve in the three different types of environments, each of which presents unique characteristics. The theme of the book is that an understanding of evolutionary change requires analysis at both the genetic and phenotypic levels, and that the environment plays a central role in such analyses. Intended for graduate students and researchers, the book's emphasis is on assumptions and testing of models. Mathematical processes are described, but mathematical derivations are kept to a minimum. Each chapter includes a summary, and boxes provide supplementary material.

This book presents 19 selected contributions to the 16th Evolutionary Biology Meeting, which took place in September 2012 in Marseilles. The aims of these annual meetings, which gather together leading evolutionary biologists and other scientists, are to promote the exchange of ideas and to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. The first chapter deals with the history of a great discovery: The first experiments on ascidian and sea urchin egg fertilization. The remaining contributions are grouped under the following categories: · Evolutionary biology concepts · Exobiology and the origin of life · Evolutionary mechanisms Offering an up-to-date overview of recent findings in the field of evolutionary biology, this book is an invaluable source of information for scientists, teachers and advanced students.

Life histories can be defined as the means by which individuals (or more precisely genotypes) vary their age- or stage-specific expenditures of reproductive effort in response to genetic, phenotypic, and environmental correlates of survival and fecundity. Life histories reflect the expression of traits most closely related to individual fitness, such as age and size at maturity, number and size of offspring, and the timing of the expression of those traits throughout an individual's life. In addition to addressing questions of fundamental importance to ecology and evolution, life-history research plays an integral role in species conservation and management. This accessible primer encompasses the basic concepts, theories, and applied elements of life history evolution, including patterns of trait variability, underlying mechanisms of plastic/evolutionary change, and the practical utility of life-history traits as metrics of species/population recovery, sustainable exploitation, and risk of extinction. Empirical examples are drawn from the entire spectrum of life. A Primer of Life Histories is designed for readers from a broad range of academic backgrounds and experience including graduate students and researchers of ecology and evolutionary biology. It will also be useful to a more applied audience of academic/government researchers in fields such as wildlife biology, conservation biology, fisheries science, and the environmental sciences.

The history and diversity of life on earth are testimony to evolutionary processes that extend back to the dawn of time. The agent of change and diversification is natural selection acting over long periods of time. We might, however, ask how a process so simple can give rise to the intricate and complex organization of living things, and might wonder how a process so long-drawn-out can be studied at all. These questions can be answered by recognizing that selection is a distinctive kind of process whose apparent simplicity can lead to very surprising outcomes. For the first time, this book brings together the work of laboratories throughout the world, showing how experimental evolution provides a solid foundation for our understanding of the living world. Selection: The Mechanism of Evolution offers both organismal and molecular biologists and professionals in a wide range of biological disciplines an exciting single-source reference that provides extensive documentation of the experimental basis of our understanding of selection. This book is also an important reference for university professors and graduate students doing research in evolution, evolutionary and ecological genetics, biology, zoology, botany and genetics.