Adaptation and Natural Selection in Caves

Adaptation and Natural Selection in Caves
Author: David C. Culver
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 254
Release: 1995
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780674004252

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Their work reveals the advantages of caves for studying natural selection: the highly simplified habitats found underground serve as a natural laboratory for the evolutionary biologist, and the distinctive morphological features of cave fauna provide a wealth of data on evolutionary history and natural selection.

The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats

The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats
Author: David C. Culver
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2019-04-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0192552767

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The second edition of this widely cited textbook continues to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave and subterranean biology, describing this fascinating habitat and its biodiversity. It covers a range of biological processes including ecosystem function, evolution and adaptation, community ecology, biogeography, and conservation. The authors draw on a global range of examples and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats. One of the barriers to the study of subterranean biology has been the extraordinarily large number of specialized terms used by researchers; the authors explain these terms clearly and minimize the number that they use. This new edition retains the same 10 chapter structure of the original, but the content has been thoroughly revised and updated throughout to reflect the huge increase in publications concerning subterranean biology over the last decade.

Cave Biology

Cave Biology
Author: Aldemaro Romero Díaz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2009-07-23
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0521828465

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A critical examination of current knowledge and ideas on cave biology, with emphasis on evolution, ecology, and conservation.

Cave Vertebrates of America

Cave Vertebrates of America
Author: Carl H. Eigenmann
Publisher:
Total Pages: 334
Release: 1909
Genre: Cave animals
ISBN:

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The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats

The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats
Author: David C. Culver
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2009
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0191551449

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This book offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave ecology. The emphasis is on the organisms that dominate this unique environment, although conservation and management aspects are also considered. The book is intended for both graduate students and professionals and assumes no previous knowledge of cave biology. -;Caves and other subterranean habitats with their often strange (even bizarre) inhabitants have long been objects of fascination, curiosity, and debate. The question of how such organisms have evolved, and the relative roles of natural selection and genetic drift, has engaged subterranean biologists for decades. Indeed, these studies continue to inform the more general question of adaptation and evolution. However, interest in subterranean biology is not limited to questions of. evolutionary biology. Both the distribution and the apparent ancient age of many subterranean species continue to be of significant interest to biogeographers. Subterranean ecosystems generally exhibit little or no primary productivity and, as extreme ecosystems, provide general insights into ecosystem. function. Furthermore, the simplicity of subterranean communities relative to most surface-dwelling communities makes them useful model systems for the study of species interactions such as competition and predation, as well as more general principles of ecosystem function. The rarity of many cave species makes them of special interest in conservation biology. The Biology of Caves and other Subterranean Habitats offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave ecology. Whilst there is an emphasis on the organisms that dominate this unique environment, conservation and management aspects are also considered. The book includes a global range of examples and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats; it also provides a clear explanation of specialized terms used by speleologists. This accessible text will appeal to. researchers new to the field and to the many professional ecologists and conservation practitioners requiring a concise but authoritative overview. Its engaging style will also make it suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in cave and subterranean biology. -

Adaptation and Natural Selection

Adaptation and Natural Selection
Author: George Christopher Williams
Publisher:
Total Pages: 326
Release: 1966
Genre: Adaptation (Biology).
ISBN:

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Biological evolution is a fact--but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. In 1966, simple Darwinism, which holds that evolution functions primarily at the level of the individual organism, was threatened by opposing concepts such as group selection, a popular idea stating that evolution acts to select entire species rather than individuals. George Williams's famous argument in favor of the Darwinists struck a powerful blow to those in opposing camps. His Adaptation and Natural Selection, now a classic of science literature, is a thorough and convincing essay in defense of Darwinism; its suggestions for developing effective principles for dealing with the evolution debate and its relevance to many fields outside biology ensure the timelessness of this critical work.

Cave Ecology

Cave Ecology
Author: Oana Teodora Moldovan
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 545
Release: 2019-01-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319988522

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Cave organisms are the ‘monsters’ of the underground world and studying them invariably raises interesting questions about the ways evolution has equipped them to survive in permanent darkness and low-energy environments. Undertaking ecological studies in caves and other subterranean habitats is not only challenging because they are difficult to access, but also because the domain is so different from what we know from the surface, with no plants at the base of food chains and with a nearly constant microclimate year-round. The research presented here answers key questions such as how a constant environment can produce the enormous biodiversity seen below ground, what adaptations and peculiarities allow subterranean organisms to thrive, and how they are affected by the constraints of their environment. This book is divided into six main parts, which address: the habitats of cave animals; their complex diversity; the environmental factors that support that diversity; individual case studies of cave ecosystems; and of the conservation challenges they face; all of which culminate in proposals for future research directions. Given its breadth of coverage, it offers an essential reference guide for graduate students and established researchers alike.

Cave Vertebrates of America

Cave Vertebrates of America
Author: Carl H. Eigenmann
Publisher:
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2015-07-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781331890140

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Excerpt from Cave Vertebrates of America: A Study in Degenerative Evolution About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Adaptations to Subterranean Environments

Adaptations to Subterranean Environments
Author: Enrico Lunghi
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2024-01-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 2832542905

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Biology of Subterranean Fishes

Biology of Subterranean Fishes
Author: Eleonora Trajano
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2010-05-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1439840482

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In most habitats, adaptations are the single most obvious aspects of an organism's phenotype. However, the most obvious feature of many subterranean animals are losses, not adaptations. Even Darwin saw subterranean animals as degenerates: examples of eyelessness and loss of structure in general. For him, the explanation was a straightforward Lamarc