Homoplasy: The Recurrence of Similarity in Evolution

by Michael J. Sanderson (Editor), Larry Hufford (Editor)

Overview

Why do unrelated organisms sometimes appear almost identical in details of the anatomy, behavior, physiology, and ecology? Homoplasy assembles leaders in evolutionary biology to explore issues of parallelism, convergence, and reversals. This innovative book is certain to provoke discussion of homoplasy compelling evidence for particular theories of evolutionary change

• The first book on this increasingly interesting subject
• Includes authoritative treatments from leading experts expressing a variety of viewpoints

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780080534114
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	10/21/1996
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	339
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Sanderson, Michael J. (UC Davis); Hufford, Larry (Washington State Univ)

The contributors represent the specialties of biology, geology, zoology, statistics, botany, and ecology. Most are from universities in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Switzerland. Institutions prominently represented include Univ of Alaska, Univ of Toronto, Yale, Harvard, Duke, and Cornell.

Table of Contents

D.B. Wake, Foreword.
Implications of Homoplasy:
D.R. Brooks, Explanations of Homoplasy at Different Levels of Biological Organization.
J.J. Doyle, Homoplasy Connections and Disconnections: Genes and Species, Molecules and Morphology.
M.J. Sanderson and M.J. Donoghue, The Relationship between Homoplasy and Confidence in a Phylogenetic Tree.
R.M. Bateman, Nonfloral Homoplasy and Evolutionary Scenarios in Living and Fossil Land Plants.
H.C. Proctor, Behavioral Characters and Homoplasy: Perception versus Practice.
Measures of Homoplasy:
J.W. Archie, Measures of Homoplasy.
J.T. Chang and J. Kim, The Measurement of Homoplasy: A Stochastic View.
Generation of Homoplasy:
D.W. McShea, Complexity and Homoplasy.
W.S. Armbruster, Exaptation, Adaptation, and Homoplasy: Evolution of Ecological Traits in Dalechampia Vines.
S.A. Foster, W.A. Cresko, K.P. Johnson, M.U. Tlusty, and H.E. Willmott, Patterns of Homoplasy in Behavioral Evolution.
L. Hufford, Ontogenetic Evolution, Clade Diversification, and Homoplasy.
P.K. Endress, Homoplasy in Angiosperm Flowers.
Appendix 1: Families and Genera with Completely Trimerous Flowers.
Appendix 2: Families and Genera with Flowers That Are Trimerous except for the Gynoecium.
Appendix 3: Families and Genera with Flowers That Are Trimerous except for the Andorecium, Which is Polymerous.
Appendix 4: Families and Genera with Flowers That Are Trimerous except for the Calyx, Which Is Pentamerous.
M.J. Sanderson and L. Hufford, Homoplasy and the Evolutionary Process: An Afterword.
Chapter References.
Subject Index.

Editorial Reviews

3 Stars from Doody

This is a discussion of homoplasy in evolution, which is the occurrence of similar characteristics in unrelated organisms resulting from convergence or parallel evolution rather than through shared ancestry. Detecting and dealing with homoplasy in phylogenetic systematics is the most common topic. A secondary topic is what homoplasy itself reveals about the process of evolution. "The purpose is to provide an up-to-date discussion of a topic in evolutionary biology that has been recognized since Darwin: homoplasy. The editors state their objectives as exploring homoplasy as an important topic distinct from homology; evaluating homoplasy as an evolutionary process in its own right; and examining the relationship between homoplasy and systematics. "The editors and contributing authors are credible authorities in their fields. The audience for this book is probably limited to faculty and graduate students working in the areas of evolutionary theory and systematics. Clinicians or biomedical researchers would probably not be interested in this book. "The contributions are consistently well written and the book is well edited. There is balanced coverage of theoretical and empirical studies, although there is some bias toward topics in plant phylogenetics and evolution. References at the end of each chapter are current and comprehensive and should be useful to readers. "Researchers in the field of phylogenetic systematics will find this book extremely useful. Botanists may also find this book useful because of several chapters on evolutionary patterns of plants. Libraries that service graduate biology programs in evolution or have evolutionary biologists on their faculty should have thisbook. There is more limited need for this volume for libraries servicing clinical or biomedical researchers only.

Mary V. Ashley

Contributors in evolutionary biology, mainly systematists but also organismal and developmental biologists, investigate the phenomenon of unrelated organisms appearing identical in anatomy, behavior, and physiology, one of evolution's. They explore issues of parallelism, convergence, and reversals in an effort to decide whether the concept of homoplasy can stand alone in evolutionary biology and phylogenetics or whether it is dependent on homology. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Reviewer: Mary V. Ashley, PhD (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Description: This is a discussion of homoplasy in evolution, which is the occurrence of similar characteristics in unrelated organisms resulting from convergence or parallel evolution rather than through shared ancestry. Detecting and dealing with homoplasy in phylogenetic systematics is the most common topic. A secondary topic is what homoplasy itself reveals about the process of evolution.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide an up-to-date discussion of a topic in evolutionary biology that has been recognized since Darwin: homoplasy. The editors state their objectives as exploring homoplasy as an important topic distinct from homology; evaluating homoplasy as an evolutionary process in its own right; and examining the relationship between homoplasy and systematics.
Audience: The editors and contributing authors are credible authorities in their fields. The audience for this book is probably limited to faculty and graduate students working in the areas of evolutionary theory and systematics. Clinicians or biomedical researchers would probably not be interested in this book.
Features: The contributions are consistently well written and the book is well edited. There is balanced coverage of theoretical and empirical studies, although there is some bias toward topics in plant phylogenetics and evolution. References at the end of each chapter are current and comprehensive and should be useful to readers.
Assessment: Researchers in the field of phylogenetic systematics will find this book extremely useful. Botanists may also find this book useful because of several chapters on evolutionary patterns of plants. Libraries that service graduate biology programs in evolution or have evolutionary biologists on their faculty should have this book. There is more limited need for this volume for libraries servicing clinical or biomedical researchers only.

Doody's Review Service