John Avise is one of the most distinguished evolutionary biologists of our time. His groundbreaking work with mitochondrial DNA created the entire discipline of phylogeography and his work on the Pleistocene refugia hypothesis redirected scientific thinking about patterns of distribution. Spanning a remarkable thirty-five-year career, the essays gathered here were rewritten from his previously published articles and represent the first single-volume collection of Avise's work.
Moving through various questions in evolutionary biology, these eclectic essays reveal Avise's unique perspectives on major topics in the field. From how to define a species to the folly of faulty applications of cladistics to connections between conservation and evolutionary biology, On Evolution takes the reader on a personal journey into the mind of one of the world's leading evolutionists.
(Spring 2008)
Author(s): John C. Avise
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 200
Contents......Page 6
Publisher’s Note......Page 8
Preface......Page 10
1 Genetic Differentiation during Speciation......Page 14
2 Molecular Variability and Hypothesis Testing: An Ode to Electrophoresis......Page 22
3 The Pocket Gopher......Page 34
4 Gene Trees and Organismal Histories......Page 42
5 Nature’s Family Archives......Page 58
6 Molecular Clones within Organismal Clones......Page 64
7 Aging, Sexual Reproduction, and DNA Repair......Page 78
8 The Real Message from Biosphere 2......Page 96
9 Conservation Genetics and Sea Turtles......Page 100
10 The History and Purview of Phylogeography......Page 108
11 Cladists in Wonderland......Page 116
12 Evolving Genomic Metaphors: A New Look at the Language of DNA......Page 130
13 Genetic Mating Systems and Reproductive Natural Histories of Fishes......Page 136
14 An American Naturalist’s Impressions on Australian Biodiversity......Page 156
15 The Best and the Worst of Times for Evolutionary Biology......Page 162
16 Models, Metaphors, and Machines......Page 184
17 Evolution’s Unanswered Questions......Page 188
Source Articles......Page 192
C......Page 194
F......Page 195
L......Page 196
P......Page 197
S......Page 198
W......Page 199
