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Convergent Evolution: Limited Forms Most Beautiful by George R McGhee Jr. (Hardcover, 2011)

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An analysis of convergent evolution from molecules to ecosystems, demonstrating the limited number of evolutionary pathways available to life. Charles Darwin famously concluded On the Origin of Species with a vision of endless forms most beautiful continually evolving. More than 150 years later many evolutionary biologists see not endless forms but the same, or very similar, forms evolving repeatedly in many independent species lineages. A porpoise's fishlike fins, for example, are not inherited from fish ancestors but are independently derived convergent traits. In this book, George McGhee describes the ubiquity of the phenomenon of convergent evolution and connects it directly to the concept of evolutionary constraint-the idea that the number of evolutionary pathways available to life are not endless, but quite limited. Convergent evolution occurs on all levels, from tiny organic molecules to entire ecosystems of species. McGhee demonstrates its ubiquity in animals, both herbivore and carnivore; in plants; in ecosystems; in molecules, including DNA, proteins, and enzymes; and even in minds, describing problem-solving behavior and group behavior as the products of convergence. For each species example, he provides an abbreviated list of the major nodes in its phylogenetic classification, allowing the reader to see the evolutionary relationship of a group of species that have independently evolved a similar trait by convergent evolution. McGhee analyzes the role of functional and developmental constraints in producing convergent evolution, and considers the scientific and philosophical implications of convergent evolution for the predictability of the evolutionary process.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
MIT Press Ltd
ISBN-10
0262016427
ISBN-13
9780262016421
eBay Product ID (ePID)
111503311

Product Key Features

Author
George R Mcghee Jr.
Publication Name
Convergent Evolution: Limited Forms Most Beautiful
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Subject
Life Sciences: General, Geography & Geosciences, Biology
Publication Year
2011
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
336 Pages

Dimensions

Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
567g

Additional Product Features

Title_Author
George R Mcghee Jr.
Series Title
Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States

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Convergent Evolution: Limited Forms Most Beautiful by George R McGhee Jr. (Hardcover, 2011)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

Product Key Features

Dimensions

Additional Product Features

Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

Australian Native Bee Book: Keeping Stingless Bee Hives for Pets, Pollination and Sugarbag Honey by Tim Heard (Paperback, 2015)

The Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by Adam Grubb, Annie Raser-Rowland (2012, Paperback)

Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison (Hardcover, 1988)

The Falsification of History: Our Distorted Reality by John Hamer (Paperback, 2013)

In-Basket Case Studies by Guy Adamson (Paperback, 1986)

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne (Paperback, 2011)

Botanical Field Guide by Stefan Mager (Fold-out book or chart, 2021)

Save on Adult Learning & University

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Havard's Nursing Guide to Drugs

Steven Holzner Physics Essentials For Dummies (Paperback)

T. Jared Bunch Matthew LaPlante John D. Day The AFib Cure (Paperback)

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