Abstract
What forces account for the tremendous diversity and profound biologic adaptations seen in modern vertebrates? Although certain major climatic changes are known to have altered past environments, the evolutionary changes of ancient groups must be inferred largely from genetic changes in living forms. Much of the experimental investigation of evolutionary trends involves insects, especially fruit flies (Drosophila), but generally evolutionary patterns are assumed to apply to all animals.
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Suggested Readings
Cracraft J, and Eldredge N (1979) Phylogenetic analysis and paleontology. Columbia University Press, New York
Grant V (1977) Organismic evolution. Freeman, San Francisco
Johnson C (1976) Introduction to natural selection. University Park Press, Baltimore
Mayr E (1963) Animal species and evolution. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Rensch B (1959) Evolution above the species level. Methuen, London
Simpson GG (1953) The major features of evolution. Columbia University Press, New York
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© 1981 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
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Jameson, E.W. (1981). Mechanics of Evolution. In: Patterns of Vertebrate Biology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8103-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8103-7_2
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-8105-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-8103-7
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