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Scientists believe that all forms of life developed from earlier types of living things through a process called evolution. In this intriguing and engaging narrative, readers learn that living organisms must adapt to survive as their surroundings change. By studying the developmental history of everything from single cell organisms to complex vertebrates, readers are presented with the evidence for evolution provided by the fossil record. Charles Darwin and the process of natural selection are discussed. In addition, the work of Gregor Mendel opens a window onto genetics and gets readers thinking about how genes work together to produce specific traits.
*Carrion crows in the Japanese city of Sendai have learned to use passing traffic to crack nuts. *Lizards in Puerto Rico are evolving feet that better grip surfaces like concrete. *Europe’s urban blackbirds sing at a higher pitch than their rural cousins, to be heardover the din of traffic. How is this happening? Menno Schilthuizen is one of a growing number of “urban ecologists” studying how our manmade environments are accelerating and changing the evolution of the animals and plants around us. In Darwin Comes to Town, he takes us around the world for an up-close look at just how stunningly flexible and swift-moving natural selection can be. With human populations growing, we’re having an increasing impact on global ecosystems, and nowhere do these impacts overlap as much as they do in cities. The urban environment is about as extreme as it gets, and the wild animals and plants that live side-by-side with us need to adapt to a whole suite of challenging conditions: they must manage in the city’s hotter climate (the “urban heat island”); they need to be able to live either in the semidesert of the tall, rocky, and cavernous structures we call buildings or in the pocket-like oases of city parks (which pose their own dangers, including smog and free-rangingdogs and cats); traffic causes continuous noise, a mist of fine dust particles, and barriers to movement for any animal that cannot fly or burrow; food sources are mainly human-derived. And yet, as Schilthuizen shows, the wildlife sharing these spaces with us is not just surviving, but evolving ways of thriving. Darwin Comes toTown draws on eye-popping examples of adaptation to share a stunning vision of urban evolution in which humans and wildlife co-exist in a unique harmony. It reveals that evolution can happen far more rapidly than Darwin dreamed, while providing a glimmer of hope that our race toward over population might not take the rest of nature down with us.
*A New York Times Editor's Choice pick *Shortlisted for the 2022 Pacific Northwest Book Awards A beloved natural historian explores how climate change is driving evolution In Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, biologist Thor Hanson tells the remarkable story of how plants and animals are responding to climate change: adjusting, evolving, and sometimes dying out. Anole lizards have grown larger toe pads, to grip more tightly in frequent hurricanes. Warm waters cause the development of Humboldt squid to alter so dramatically that fishermen mistake them for different species. Brown pelicans move north, and long-spined sea urchins south, to find cooler homes. And when coral reefs sicken, they leave no territory worth fighting for, so aggressive butterfly fish transform instantly into pacifists. A story of hope, resilience, and risk, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid is natural history for readers of Bernd Heinrich, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and David Haskell. It is also a reminder of how unpredictable climate change is as it interacts with the messy lattice of life.
"In this intriguing and engaging narrative, readers learn that living organisms must adapt to survive as their surroundings change. Scientists believe that all forms of life developed from earlier types of living things through a process called evolution. By studying the developmental history of everything from single cell organisms to complex vertebrates, readers are presented with the evidence for evolution provided by the fossil record. Charles Darwin and the process of natural selection are discussed. In addition, the work of Gregor Mendel opens a window onto genetics and gets readers thinking about how genes work together to produce specific traits"--
Follow the story of evolution! The illustrated children’s book is a beautiful introduction to the evolution of species over millions of years. What’s made animals survive and naturally go extinct? Why are fish scaled? Why do birds have wings? Find out about the changing animal anatomy discoveries made by Swedish zoologist Charles Linneas. Animals and evolution are fascinating subjects to teach little minds. Discover the ways that animals have adapted to survive and the amazing reasons behind these adaptations. The illustrated guide includes: • Beautiful artwork, perfect for fans of Owen Davey. • Many different animal features (like eyes, scales, claws, hair and many more), as well as feature spreads on topics like fast evolution. • Highly accessible text about a key school subject. Kids age 7 and older will be delighted by the scientific facts in this wildlife book. It’s filled with incredible bits of information that spark a deep curiosity in the natural world, evolution and the animal kingdom. The book highlights that evolution is an ongoing process, and allows kids to look at the world around them and notice the continuing evolution of species. Evolved also features more in-depth explanations of animal body parts, how they work and how they’re different from other species. Children will understand how evolution made certain elements of the natural world unnecessary, and others integral to survival. Explanations of Charles Linneas’ classification system of all living things are included and give kids, adults and educators a fantastic reference to the magnificent living world.
Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas. Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors. This timely and innovative book is the first to offer a much-needed synthesis of recent advances in the exciting field of the evolution and extinction of fossil insular placental mammals. It provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene. The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species. The authors discuss the human factor in past extinction events and loss of insular biodiversity. This accessible and richly illustrated textbook is written for graduate level students and professional researchers in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, biogeography, zoology, and ecology.
The role of parents in shaping the characters of their children, the causes of violence and crime, and the roots of personal unhappiness are central to humanity. Like so many fundamental questions about human existence, these issues all relate to behavioural development. In this lucid and accessible book, eminent biologist Professor Sir Patrick Bateson suggests that the nature/nurture dichotomy we often use to think about questions of development in both humans and animals is misleading. Instead, he argues that we should pay attention to whole systems, rather than to simple causes, when trying to understand the complexity of development. In his wide-ranging approach Bateson discusses why so much behaviour appears to be well-designed. He explores issues such as ‘imprinting’ and its importance to the attachment of offspring to their parents; the mutual benefits that characterise communication between parent and offspring; the importance of play in learning how to choose and control the optimal conditions in which to thrive; and the vital function of adaptability in the interplay between development and evolution. Bateson disputes the idea that a simple link can be found between genetics and behaviour. What an individual human or animal does in its life depends on the reciprocal nature of its relationships with the world about it. This knowledge also points to ways in which an animal’s own behaviour can provide the variation that influences the subsequent course of evolution. This has relevance not only for our scientific approaches to the systems of development and evolution, but also on how humans change institutional rules that have become dysfunctional, or design public health measures when mismatches occur between themselves and their environments. It affects how we think about ourselves and our own capacity for change.
Fitness and adaptation are fundamental characteristics of plant and animal species, enabling them to survive in their environment and to adapt to the inevitable changes in this environment. This is true for both the genetic resources of natural ecosystems as well as those used in agricultural production. Extensive genetic variation exists between varieties/breeds in a species and amongst individuals within breeds. This variation has developed over very long periods of time. A major ongoing challenge is how to best utilize this variation to meet short-term demands whilst also conserving it for longer-term possible use. Many animal breeding programs have led to increased performance for production traits but this has often been accompanied by reduced fitness. In addition, the global use of genetic resources prompts the question whether introduced genotypes are adapted to local production systems. Understanding the genetic nature of fitness and adaptation will enable us to better manage genetic resources allowing us to make efficient and sustainable decisions for the improvement or breeding of these resources. This book had an ambitious goal in bringing together a sample of the world’s leading scientists in animal breeding and evolutionary genetics to exchange knowledge to advance our understanding of these vital issues.
An illustrated tribute to the evolution of species and all the incredible ways that animals have adapted to the world around them. How did fish get scales? Why do some animals have wings? What sea creature still has fingers hidden away in their fins? Journey through the animal kingdom, learning all about the different parts of animals that have evolved over the centuries, the ways that they have adapted to survive and the amazing reasons behind these adaptations. With different spreads on claws, feathers, eyes, hair, defenses and much more, readers will be able to compare the changes seen in different animals and see how incredible nature is at survival.