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We have come a long way towards better understanding how new species originate, i.e. speciation, which long remained Darwin’s “mystery of mysteries.” Since speciation is the underlying mechanism for radiations, it is the ultimate causation for the biological diversity of life that surrounds us. Without a doubt, Charles Darwin’s contribution to our understanding of the origin of biodiversity cannot be overestimated. This book is a contribution to both the Darwin Year we celebrated in 2009 and to the Year of Biodiversity and Conservation 2010. The studies and model cases presented show the progress and dynamics of research based on Darwinian theories and sheds light on its implications in the context of current biodiversity crises. The great importance of adaptive (and non-adaptive) radiations for biodiversity is widely accepted, but our understanding of the processes and mechanisms involved is still limited and generalizations need to be based on the accumulation of more evidence from additional case studies. The studies presented in this volume are those urgently needed and focus on a variety of organisms and different aspects of radiations. The scientific results presented therein are excellent examples not only of evolution in action, but also of active research on evolutionary processes and their most apparent outcome – biodiversity.

Evolution (Biology). --- Evolution. --- Natural selection. --- Paleontology. --- Species --- Evolution (Biology) --- Biodiversity --- Adaptation (Biology) --- Evolution --- Biology --- Health & Biological Sciences --- Adaptive radiation (Evolution) --- Species. --- Biodiversity. --- Biological diversification --- Biological diversity --- Biotic diversity --- Diversification, Biological --- Diversity, Biological --- Speciation (Biology) --- Cladogenesis --- Radiation, Adaptive (Evolution) --- Animal evolution --- Animals --- Biological evolution --- Darwinism --- Evolutionary biology --- Evolutionary science --- Origin of species --- Life sciences. --- Evolutionary biology. --- Life Sciences. --- Evolutionary Biology. --- Biocomplexity --- Ecological heterogeneity --- Numbers of species --- Genetics --- Hybridization --- Organisms --- Biological fitness --- Homoplasy --- Natural selection --- Phylogeny --- Berlin

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Humans possess an extraordinary capacity for culture, from the arts and language to science and technology. But how did the human mind-and the uniquely human ability to devise and transmit culture-evolve from its roots in animal behavior? Darwin's Unfinished Symphony presents a captivating new theory of human cognitive evolution. This compelling and accessible book reveals how culture is not just the magnificent end product of an evolutionary process that produced a species unlike all others-it is also the key driving force behind that process. Kevin Laland tells the story of the painstaking fieldwork, the key experiments, the false leads, and the stunning scientific breakthroughs that led to this new understanding of how culture transformed human evolution. It is the story of how Darwin's intellectual descendants picked up where he left off and took up the challenge of providing a scientific account of the evolution of the human mind.

Cognition and culture. --- Human evolution. --- Social evolution. --- Allan Wilson. --- adaptive evolution. --- agriculture. --- alleles. --- animal creativity. --- animal innovation. --- animals. --- arts. --- asocial learning. --- behavioral development. --- behavioral differences. --- behavioral diversity. --- biological evolution. --- brain evolution. --- brain size. --- capuchin monkeys. --- children. --- chimpanzees. --- coevolution. --- cognition. --- communication systems. --- cooperation. --- cooperative mechanisms. --- copying. --- cultural activities. --- cultural drive. --- cultural evolution. --- cultural lineages. --- cultural practices. --- cultural processes. --- cultural production. --- culture. --- cultures. --- cumulative culture. --- dance. --- early language. --- environmental change. --- evolution. --- evolutionary feedback. --- evolved psychology. --- experimental investigation. --- experimental research. --- fish behavior. --- flexible model system. --- gene variants. --- gene-culture coevolution. --- high-fidelity transmission. --- human achievement. --- human civilization. --- human cognitive evolution. --- human culture. --- human evolution. --- human genes. --- human innovation. --- human intellect. --- human mind. --- human society. --- hunter-gatherer society. --- imitation. --- language evolution theories. --- language evolution. --- language generality. --- language. --- large-scale cooperation. --- life history. --- mathematical modeling. --- morality. --- natural selection. --- new behavior patterns. --- novel techniques. --- ratcheting. --- scientific community. --- sexual behavior. --- social learning. --- social life. --- sticklebacks. --- teaching. --- tradition. --- transmission fidelity. --- transmitted behavior.

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This open access book offers the first comprehensive account of the pan-genome concept and its manifold implications. The realization that the genetic repertoire of a biological species always encompasses more than the genome of each individual is one of the earliest examples of big data in biology that opened biology to the unbounded. The study of genetic variation observed within a species challenges existing views and has profound consequences for our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underpinning bacterial biology and evolution. The underlying rationale extends well beyond the initial prokaryotic focus to all kingdoms of life and evolves into similar concepts for metagenomes, phenomes and epigenomes. The book’s respective chapters address a range of topics, from the serendipitous emergence of the pan-genome concept and its impacts on the fields of microbiology, vaccinology and antimicrobial resistance, to the study of microbial communities, bioinformatic applications and mathematical models that tie in with complex systems and economic theory. Given its scope, the book will appeal to a broad readership interested in population dynamics, evolutionary biology and genomics.

Microbial genetics. --- Microbial genomics. --- Evolutionary biology. --- Biomathematics. --- Microbial ecology. --- Human genetics. --- Genetics. --- Microbial Genetics and Genomics. --- Evolutionary Biology. --- Genetics and Population Dynamics. --- Microbial Ecology. --- Human Genetics. --- Genetics and Genomics. --- Biology --- Embryology --- Mendel's law --- Adaptation (Biology) --- Breeding --- Chromosomes --- Heredity --- Mutation (Biology) --- Variation (Biology) --- Genetics --- Heredity, Human --- Human biology --- Physical anthropology --- Environmental microbiology --- Microorganisms --- Ecology --- Microbiology --- Mathematics --- Animal evolution --- Animals --- Biological evolution --- Darwinism --- Evolutionary biology --- Evolutionary science --- Origin of species --- Evolution --- Biological fitness --- Homoplasy --- Natural selection --- Phylogeny --- Genomics --- Microbial genetics --- Genomes --- Biologia molecular --- Biofísica molecular --- Bioquímica molecular --- Biofísica --- Bioquímica --- Histoquímica --- Biologia molecular vegetal --- Codi genètic --- Diagnòstic molecular --- Endocrinologia molecular --- Evolució molecular --- Farmacologia molecular --- Genètica molecular --- Glicòmica --- Metabolòmica --- Microbiologia molecular --- Neurobiologia molecular --- Patologia molecular --- Proteòmica --- Reconeixement molecular --- Biomolècules --- Genoma --- Genoma humà --- Genòmica --- Genomes. --- Genomics. --- Genome research --- Molecular genetics --- Haploidy --- Research --- Microbial Genetics and Genomics --- Evolutionary Biology --- Genetics and Population Dynamics --- Microbial Ecology --- Human Genetics --- Genetics and Genomics --- Comparative genomics --- Metagenomics --- Microbial Population Analysis --- Pangenome Profile --- Supra-Genome Analysis --- Adaptive Evolution --- Computational Tools --- Bioinformatic Genomics --- Core Dispensable Genome --- Selection, Recombination, Composition --- Acquired Resistance --- Bacterial Species Concept --- Genomic Diversity --- Bacterial Ecology, Microevolution --- Open Access --- Pan-metagenomics --- Pan-microbiomics --- Pan-epigenome --- Gene Transfer --- Pan-phenomes --- Microbiology (non-medical) --- Genetics (non-medical) --- Applied mathematics --- Ecological science, the Biosphere --- Medical genetics