40 Years of Evolution: Darwin's Finches on Daphne Major Island
Apr. 2014 · Princeton University Press
E-boek
432
Bladsye
family_home
Geskik
info
Meer oor hierdie e-boek
An important look at a groundbreaking forty-year study of Darwin's finches
Renowned evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant have produced landmark studies of the Galápagos finches first made famous by Charles Darwin. In How and Why Species Multiply, they offered a complete evolutionary history of Darwin's finches since their origin almost three million years ago. Now, in their richly illustrated new book, 40 Years of Evolution, the authors turn their attention to events taking place on a contemporary scale. By continuously tracking finch populations over a period of four decades, they uncover the causes and consequences of significant events leading to evolutionary changes in species.
The authors used a vast and unparalleled range of ecological, behavioral, and genetic data—including song recordings, DNA analyses, and feeding and breeding behavior—to measure changes in finch populations on the small island of Daphne Major in the Galápagos archipelago. They find that natural selection happens repeatedly, that finches hybridize and exchange genes rarely, and that they compete for scarce food in times of drought, with the remarkable result that the finch populations today differ significantly in average beak size and shape from those of forty years ago. The authors' most spectacular discovery is the initiation and establishment of a new lineage that now behaves as a new species, differing from others in size, song, and other characteristics. The authors emphasize the immeasurable value of continuous long-term studies of natural populations and of critical opportunities for detecting and understanding rare but significant events.
By following the fates of finches for several generations, 40 Years of Evolution offers unparalleled insights into ecological and evolutionary changes in natural environments.
Renowned evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant have produced landmark studies of the Galápagos finches first made famous by Charles Darwin. In How and Why Species Multiply, they offered a complete evolutionary history of Darwin's finches since their origin almost three million years ago. Now, in their richly illustrated new book, 40 Years of Evolution, the authors turn their attention to events taking place on a contemporary scale. By continuously tracking finch populations over a period of four decades, they uncover the causes and consequences of significant events leading to evolutionary changes in species.
The authors used a vast and unparalleled range of ecological, behavioral, and genetic data—including song recordings, DNA analyses, and feeding and breeding behavior—to measure changes in finch populations on the small island of Daphne Major in the Galápagos archipelago. They find that natural selection happens repeatedly, that finches hybridize and exchange genes rarely, and that they compete for scarce food in times of drought, with the remarkable result that the finch populations today differ significantly in average beak size and shape from those of forty years ago. The authors' most spectacular discovery is the initiation and establishment of a new lineage that now behaves as a new species, differing from others in size, song, and other characteristics. The authors emphasize the immeasurable value of continuous long-term studies of natural populations and of critical opportunities for detecting and understanding rare but significant events.
By following the fates of finches for several generations, 40 Years of Evolution offers unparalleled insights into ecological and evolutionary changes in natural environments.
Meer oor die skrywer
Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant are both emeritus professors in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. They are the coauthors of How and Why Species Multiply and coeditors of In Search of the Causes of Evolution (both Princeton).
Gradeer hierdie e-boek
Sê vir ons wat jy dink.
Lees inligting
Slimfone en tablette
Installeer die Google Play Boeke-program vir Android en iPad/iPhone. Dit sinkroniseer outomaties met jou rekening en maak dit vir jou moontlik om aanlyn of vanlyn te lees waar jy ook al is.
Skootrekenaars en rekenaars
Jy kan jou rekenaar se webblaaier gebruik om na oudioboeke wat jy op Google Play gekoop het, te luister.
E-lesers en ander toestelle
Om op e-inktoestelle soos Kobo-e-lesers te lees, moet jy ’n lêer aflaai en dit na jou toestel toe oordra. Volg die gedetailleerde hulpsentrumaanwysings om die lêers na ondersteunde e-lesers toe oor te dra.
