Rates of Evolution

Originally published in 1987 Rates of Evolution is an edited collection drawn from a symposium convened to bring together palaeontologists, geneticists, molecular biologists and developmental biologists to examine some aspects of the problem of evolutionary rates. The book asks questions surrounding the study of evolution, such as did large morphological changes really occur rapidly at various times in the geological past, or is the fossil record too imperfect to be of value in assessing rates of morphological change? What is the measure of ‘rapid’ change? Is stasis at any taxonomic level established? Is it possible to relate genomic and morphological change? What is the role of regulatory and executive genes in controlling evolutionary change? Does the transfer of genetic material between different taxa provide the possibility of increasing evolutionary rates? Featuring contributions from leading researchers, this book will interest anthropologists, palaeontology and scientists of evolution and genetics.

Preface 1 Major Features of the Fossil Record and Their Implications for Evolutionary Rate Studies, D.M. Raup 2. The Timing of Major Evolutionary Innovations from the Origin of Life to the Origins of the Metaphya and Metazoa: The Geological Evidence, M.R. Walter 3. Rates and Modes of Evolution in the Mollusca, B. Runnegar 4. Rates of Evolution Among Palaeozoic Echinoderms, K.S.W. Campbell and C.R. Marshall 5. The Initial Radiation and Rise to Dominance of the Angiosperms, E.M. Truswell 6. Selection or Constraint?: A Proposal on the Mechanism for Stasis, P.G. Williamson 7. Development Pathways and Evolutionary Rates, D.T. Anderson 8. Population Biology and Evolutionary Change, I.R. Franklin 9. Comparative Rates of Molecular, Chromosomal and Morphological Evolution in Some Australian Vertebrates, P.R. Baverstock and M. Adams 10. Evolution of Gene Structure in Relation to Function, J.A. Thomson 11. Popular Genetics, Evolutionary Rates and Neo-Darwinism, H.L. Carson 12. Genetic Systems and Evolutionary Rates, A.R. Templeton 13. The Origin, Nature and Significance of Genetic Variation in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes, D.C. Reanney 14. Old and New Theories of Evolution, J. Langridge 15. From Genome to Phenotype, G.L.G. Miklos and B. John 16. The New Gene and its Evolution, J.H. Campbell Index