Prehistoric life [[electronic resource] ] : evolution and the fossil record / / Bruce S. Lieberman and Roger Kaesler

• Autore: Lieberman Bruce S
• Pubblicazione: Chichester, West Sussex, UK ; ; Hoboken, NJ, : Wiley-Blackwell, 2010
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (399 p.)
• Disciplina: 560
• Soggetto topico: Evolutionary paleobiology; Animals, Fossil; Evolution (Biology); Life - Origin
• Soggetto genere / forma: Electronic books.
• Altri autori: KaeslerRoger L
• Note generali: Includes index.
• Nota di contenuto: Prehistoric Life; Contents; Preface; Chapter 1 Introductionto Fossils; History, Science, and Historical Science; Time, Life, and Stratigraphy; What is a Fossil?; How do Fossils Form?; Conclusions: Fossils as Curious Stones; Additional Reading; Chapter 2 The Nature of the Fossil Record; Fossils in Sedimentary Rock; Taphonomy; Time Averaging; Mode of Growth; Colonial Organisms; Trace Fossils; Concluding Remarks; Additional Reading; Chapter 3 Organizing the Fossil Record; History of Ideas on Biological Classification; Applying Linnaeus' Hierarchy ; What is a Species and How Does a Paleontologist Identify Them?Conclusions: the Difference Between Inanimate Atoms and Living Things; Additional Reading; Chapter 4 Introduction to Evolution; Introduction; A Biological Definition of Evolution; The History of Evolutionary Thought; Science and Religion; Darwin and Wallace: Never Ask a Stranger to Present Your Paper at a Meeting You Cannot Attend; Natural Selection; Conclusions: Why was Natural Selection Not Endorsed at Once by Many Scientists?; Additional Reading; Chapter 5 Macroevolution, Progress, and the History of Life; Introduction ; Competition and MacroevolutionDoes Evolution Happen Gradually or Episodically?; Natural Selection Operating Above and Below the Level of the Individual Organism; Progress and the History of Life; Conclusions: Patterns and Processes of Increasing Complexity; Additional Reading; Chapter 6 Extinctions: The Legacy of the Fossil Record; Introduction; Contingency; Boundaries in the Geological Time Scale and the Nature of Extinction; The Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction; How has the Existence of Mass Extinctions Influenced the History of Life?; Were Most Extinctions Caused by Asteroid Impact? ; The Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction-Causes and ConsequencesThe Ordovician-Silurian Mass Extinction; Other Mass Extinction Events: The Late Devonian and the End of the Triassic; Habitat Degradation and Mass Extinctions; The Sixth Great Mass Extinction: The Current Biodiversity Crisis; Conclusions: Lessons from the Past and Future Prospects for Humanity; Additional Reading; Chapter 7 Systematics and the Fossil Record; Introduction; Methods and Approaches in Systematics; The Growth of Molecular Biology and Improvements in DNA Sequencing Technology ; The Spread of Computers and Computer Programs Used to Study Evolutionary RelationshipsSystematics and How to go About Identifying Species in the Fossil Record; Systematics and its Relevance for Identifying Patterns of Mass Extinction; Systematics and the Meaning of Adaptations; Concluding Remarks; Additional Reading; Chapter 8 Principles of Growth and Form: Life, the Universe, and Gothic Cathedrals; Introduction; Galileo's Principle; Galileo's Principle and its Relevance to the Biology of Living Organisms; Galileo's Principle and Constraints on the Evolution of Large Body Size ; Galileo's Principle and its Relevance to Medieval Architecture
• Sommario/riassunto: Prehistoric life is the archive of evolution preserved in the fossil record. This book focuses on the meaning and significance of that archive and is designed for introductory college science students, including non-science majors, enrolled in survey courses emphasizing paleontology, geology and biology.From the origins of animals to the evolution of rap music, from ancient mass extinctions to the current biodiversity crisis, and from the Snowball Earth to present day climate change this book covers it, with an eye towards showing how past life on Earth puts the modern world into its
• Titolo autorizzato: Prehistoric life
• ISBN: 1-283-20479-7; 9786613204790; 1-4443-1864-0
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910458925903321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II