Evolution and the Diversity of Life: Selected Essays

by Ernst Mayr

Overview

The diversity of living forms and the unity of evolutionary processes are themes that have permeated the research and writing of Ernst Mayr, a Grand Master of evolutionary biology. The essays collected here are among his most valuable and durable: contributions that form the basis for much of the contemporary understanding of evolutionary biology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674271050
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/25/1997
Series:	Selected Essays
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	736
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Ernst Mayr was Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Crafoord Prize for Biology, the National Medal of Science, the Balzan Prize, and the Japan Prize.

Table of Contents

General Introduction

I. EVOLUTION

Introduction: Darwin Vindicated

Basic Concepts of Evolutionary Biology

The Evolution of Living Systems

Typological versus Population Thinking

Accident or Design: The Paradox of Evolution

Selection and Directional Evolution

Population Size and Evolutionary Parameters

From Molecules to Organic Diversity

Sexual Selection and Natural Selection

The Emergence of Evolutionary Novelties

II. SPECIATION

Introduction

Darwin and Isolation

Darwin, Wallace, and the Origin of Isolating Mechanisms

Karl Jordan on Speciation

Sympatric Speciation

Bird Speciation in the Tropics

Change of Environment and Speciation

Geographical Character Gradients and Climatic Adaptation

III. HISTORY OF BIOLOGY

Introduction

Lamarck Revisited

Agassiz, Darwin, and Evolution

The Nature of the Darwinian Revolution

Karl Jordan on the Theory of Systematics and Evolution

Where Are We?

The Recent Historiography of Genetics

IV. PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY

Introduction

Cause and Effect in Biology

Explanatory Models in Biology

Theory Formation in Developmental Biology

Teleological and Teleonomic: A New Analysis

V. THEORY OF SYSTEMATICS

Introduction

The Challenge of Diversity

The Role of Systematics in Biology

Theory of Biological Classification

Cladistic Analysis or Cladistic Classification

VI. THE SPECIES

Introduction

Toward a Modern Species Definition

Karl Jordan and the Biological Species Concept

Species Concepts and Definitions

Sibling or Cryptic Species among Animals

The Biological Meaning of species

VII. MAN

Introduction

Taxonomic Categories in Fossil Hominids

VIII. BIOGEOGRAPHY

Introduction

What Is a Fauna?

History of the North American Bird Fauna

Inferences Concerning the Tertiary North American Bird Faunas

The Origin and History of the Polynesian Bird Fauna

Land Bridges and Dispersal Facilities

Wallace's Line in the Light of Recent Zoogeographic Studies

Fragments of a Papuan Ornithogeography

The Ornithogeography of the Hawaiian Islands

The Nature of Colonization of Birds

IX. BEHAVIOR

Introduction

Behavior and Systematics

Behavior Programs and Evolutionary Strategies

INDEX

What People are Saying About This

Ernst Mayr not only ranks among the great evolutionary biologists of this century; he is also one of the best writers. This collection is of lasting importance.

E. O. Wilson

Ernst Mayr not only ranks among the great evolutionary biologists of this century; he is also one of the best writers. This collection is of lasting importance.

Editorial Reviews

Ernst Mayr not only ranks among the great evolutionary biologists of this century; he is also one of the best writers. This collection is of lasting importance.

Edward O. Wilson

The range of topics covered in these essays is awesome when one realizes that they are the product of a single mind.

Sciences - Francisco J. Ayala

Mayr has shown himself to be a true follower of Darwin, Wallace, and Huxley. His writings are lively and critical, and they provide remarkable insight into the development of the field.

Science - Peter H. Raven

Ernst Mayr not only ranks among the great evolutionary biologists of this century; he is also one of the best writers. This collection is of lasting importance.

E. O. Wilson

The range of topics covered in these essays is awesome when one realizes that they are the product of a single mind.
— Francisco J. Ayala

Sciences

Mayr has shown himself to be a true follower of Darwin, Wallace, and Huxley. His writings are lively and critical, and they provide remarkable insight into the development of the field.
— Peter H. Raven

Science