Evolutionary Analysis

This book presents evolution as a process, emphasizing the interplay between theory, observation, testing, and interpretation.The book conveys the excitement and logic of evolutionary science through the use of real-world applications.For anyone interested in the dynamic study of evolution.

The third edition ofEvolutionary Analysis,like the previous two, is for undergraduates majoring in the life sciences. We assume that readers have completed much or all of their introductory coursework and are beginning to explore in more detail particular areas of biology that are relevant to their personal and professional lives. We expect our readers to pursue careers in a diversity of fields, including medicine, education, environmental management and conservation, journalism, biotechnology, and research. We therefore attempt throughout the book to demonstrate the relevance of evolution to all of modern biology and to practical real-world problems. Our fundamental goal is to help readers learn to think like scientists. We present evolutionary biology not as a collection of facts but as an ongoing research effort. When exploring an issue, we try always to begin with questions. Where did HIV come from? Has theG6PD-202Aallele, despite its association with hemolytic anemia, been recently favored by selection? How closely related were the Neandertals to modern humans? We use such questions to motivate discussions of background information and theory. These discussions enable us to frame alternative hypotheses, consider how they can be tested, and make predictions. We then present and analyze data, consider its implications, and highlight new questions for future research. We believe that the analytical and technical skills readers learn from this approach will stay with them long after the details of particular examples have faded. Consistent with our presentation of evolutionary biology as a dynamic research enterprise, we have tried to keep our coverage as up-to-date as possible. This has made the third edition as exciting to work on as the first and second. It has sometimes required us to make substantial changes, not always in places we would have predicted, and it has kept us busy as our final deadline approaches. There is something new in every chapter. Among the new examples we are most excited about are these: An estimate of the timing of HIV's jump from chimpanzees to humans, based on a molecular clock (Chapter 1). Data tracking thirty years of directly observed microevolution in a population of Darwin's finches (Chapter 3). Studies of the founder effect in an island-hopping bird and frequency-dependent selection in an orchid (Chapters 5 and 6). A demonstration that selection acts simultaneously on different levels in yeast and their mitochondria (Chapter 9). Documentation of Bateman's principles of sexual selection in wild populations of rough-skinned newts and broad-nosed pipefish (Chapter 10). Data showing that American coots count their eggs to protect themselves against conspecific nest parasitism (Chapter 11). Insights into the molecular mechanisms of aging in worms, fruit flies, and humans (Chapter 12). Startling data on the extent of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria (Chapter 16). A new fossil hominid,Sahelanthropus,that is old enough to have been a close relative of our last common ancestor with the chimpanzees (Chapter 19). We encourage readers to check the literature for new developments that have been reported since the book went to press; there are sure to be many. Much progress in evolutionary biology is being driven by molecular techniques and data. As a result, we no longer have a separate chapter on molecular evolution. Instead, we have incorporated discussions of molecular evolution into chapters throughout the text, ranging from The Evidence for Evolution (Chapter 2) to Human Evolution (Chapter 19). Based on feedback from professors using the book in their courses, we have continued to refine the table of contents. The chapters are now organized into four units: Part I, Introduction,shows that evolution is relevant outside books and classrooms, establish