Evolutionary Analysis

by Jon C. Herron, Scott Freeman, Jon C. Freeman, Scott; Herron

Book Overview

For undergraduate courses in Evolution By presenting evolutionary biology as a dynamic, ongoing research effort and organizing discussions around questions, this best-selling text helps you think like... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0132275848
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Benjamin-Cummings Pub Co
• Length: 834 Pages
• Weight: 4.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 1.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

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Great text book

This book is well written and actually not bad as far as text books go.

Top notch evolution text for the undergraduate student

EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSIS (2nd ed) by Freeman and Herron hits the mark for an evolution text for the undergarduate student. It's not so thick that it's intimidating, but the contents cover the basics of evolutionary biology without being watered down.The authors address topics of current interest (e.g., the evolution of HIV in Chapter 1) in drawing the student into the conversation about what evolution is, how it happens, and how you can demonstrate that it is happening. Major sections of the book include the following:1) An introduction to evolution: the HIV story, evidence for evolution, natural selection...2) Mechanisms of evolutionary change: mutation, genetic drift, genetics, etc...3) Adaptation: sexual selection, kin selection, social behavior, life history factors...4) The History of Life: mechanisms of speciation, reconstructing evolutionary trees, origins and evolution of life through human evolution...5) Current Research in Evolutionary Biology: development and evolution (a field that's really gaining momentum these days), molecular evolution, evolution and human health...The authors touch all the important bases in this introductory text on evolution. The organization of material is logical, the tone is professional without being overbearing, there are many understandable examples, and the illustrations are excellent. Because of those factors, this new book appears to be a great text to teach from. There are wonderful reference texts out there about evolution, but most of them are not easy to teach or learn from. This book, however, helps students to learn, and provides ample material for instructors to use. This is now my top choice for a textbook in evolution. This book is definitely worth 5 stars!I hope this review was helpful to you.Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN

Insightful biology textbook

I bought this book because I am taking a biology class at the University I attend currently. This book is our textbook.The first two chapters are about Darwinism and Evolution. I also read the Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner who is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize. His points about Darwinism and Evolution are all in this textbook with many of graphs and pictures. Although it is a textbook, it's easy to comprehend even if you are not a pre-med student. Topics such as natural selection, microevolution, and irony and controversy of the validity of evolution by natural selection are covered. Part II of the book is about Mutation and Mendelian Genetics. The author covers gene duplication and Yule's Numerical examples, analyzing the point of the natural selection being a potent force of evolution. And sexual selection and adaptations are other important topics that are discussed in the part II. Part III of the book is about current research (1998). Various theories in relationships among humans and the extant apes, and sexual selection are covered in great depth. Again, it all comes down to microevolution and macroevolution and their patterns after examing adaptive radiations, punctuated equilibrium, and fossiles. Lastly, the author talks about social behavior of various species. The author concludes that when individuals interact, four outcomes are possible with respect to fitness: cooperation, altruism, selfishness, and spite. Robert Trivers' theory of altrusim is tested and other "outcomes" about animal behavior are studied. From these studies, the author concludes that genetic variance exists for behavioral traits. "Thh field of behavior genetics is devoted to exploring the extent and nature of this variation. Behavioral geneticists use selection and heritability studies to identify traits with significant genetic variance... and can uncover the specific function of loci influencing social behavior." I think this book covers many important topics and is easily comprehensible even for non-biology majors.