Rules and Exceptions in Biology: from Fundamental Concepts to Applications

This is the first book to cover and explore the rules and exceptions in biology. It presents past and current perspectives on the subject and discusses the various situations of transition from rule to exception and vice versa. In doing so, the book fills a gap in the scientific literature and stimulates useful and valuable discussions among researchers working in biology worldwide. The chapters begin with a theoretical framework, followed by the main topic(s) or question(s), and a summary of previous work on the topic. Examples are discussed, with concluding remarks and suggestions for future research. A section with key concepts is included at the end of each chapter, allowing the reader to jump directly to the most important findings or observations. Each chapter is written to be used as a reference by graduate students and professionals from a variety of scientific disciplines (e.g. behavior, ecology, evolution, and systematics).

Alfredo Vicente Peretti is Principal Researcher of the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la Argentina, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (CONICET-IDEA) and Associate Professor of the Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. His main areas of interest and research are in zoology, with emphasis on invertebrates. He works on behavior, ecology and evolution, especially in the field of reproductive biology using arthropods as models.

Lucia Calbacho-Rosa is an Associate Researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la Argentina, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (CONICET-IDEA). Her main research areas are behavior, reproductive biology, sexual selection and studies of genital morphology using arthropod species as models.

Paola Andrea Olivero is an Assistant Researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la Argentina, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (CONICET-IDEA). and Associate Professor of general biology at the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. Her research is related to the study of the reproductive biology, analyzing courtship behavior and patterns of differential paternity in arthropods.

Mariela Oviedo-Diego is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la Argentina, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (CONICET-IDEA) and a vocational teacher of entomology at the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. Her research has focused on sexual behavior, the study of pre- and postcopulatory characters, and reproductive interference in different arachnid species.

David Eduardo Vrech is Associate Researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la Argentina, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (CONICET-IDEA) and Assistant Professor specializing in invertebrate biology at the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. His primary research areas encompass sexual selection, reproductive biology, and the investigation of sperm competition across arachnid groups.