The Evolution of Senescence in the Tree of Life

The Evolution of Senescence in the Tree of Life
Author: Richard P. Shefferson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2017-02-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1108138608

The existing theories on the evolution of senescence assume that senescence is inevitable in all organisms. However, recent studies have shown that this is not necessarily true. A better understanding of senescence and its underlying mechanisms could have far-reaching consequences for conservation and eco-evolutionary research. This book is the first to offer interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolution of senescence in many species, setting the stage for further developments. It brings together new insights from a wide range of scientific fields and cutting-edge research done on a multitude of different animals (including humans), plants and microbes, giving the reader a complete overview of recent developments and of the controversies currently surrounding the topic. Written by specialists from a variety of disciplines, this book is a valuable source of information for students and researchers interested in ageing and life history traits and populations.

Between Zeus and the Salmon

Between Zeus and the Salmon
Author: Caleb E. Finch
Publisher:
Total Pages: 304
Release: 1997-10-29
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN:

Demographers and public health specialists have been surprised by the rapid increases in life expectancy, especially at the oldest ages, that have occurred since the early 1960s. Some scientists are calling into question the idea of a fixed upper limit for the human life span. There is new evidence about the genetic bases for both humans and other species. There are also new theories and models of the role of mutations accumulating over the life span and the possible evolutionary advantages of survival after the reproductive years. This volume deals with such diverse topics as the role of the elderly in other species and among human societies past and present, the contribution of evolutionary theory to our understanding of human longevity and intergenerational transfers, mathematical models for survival, and the potential for collecting genetic material in household surveys. It will be particularly valuable for promoting communication between the social and life sciences.

Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates

Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates
Author: Reinmar Hager
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 547
Release: 2009-08-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0521864097

Skew theory investigates the genetic and ecological factors causal to the partitioning of reproduction in animal groups and may yield fundamental insights into the evolution of animal sociality. This book brings together new theory and empirical work, mostly in vertebrates, to test assumptions and predictions of skew models.

The Metabolic Ghetto

The Metabolic Ghetto
Author: Jonathan C. K. Wells
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 625
Release: 2016-07-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107009472

A multidisciplinary analysis of the role of nutrition in generating hierarchical societies and cultivating a global epidemic of chronic diseases.

Kinship and Behavior in Primates

Kinship and Behavior in Primates
Author: Bernard Chapais
Publisher: Oxford : Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2004-03-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0195148894

Annotation This book presents a series of review chapters on the various aspects of primate kinship and behavior. The relatively new molecular data allow one to assess directly degrees of genetic relatedness and kinship relations between individuals. A considerable body of data on intergroup variation, based on experimental studies in both free-ranging and captive groups has accumulated. This allows a full and satisfying reconsideration of this broad area of research.

Comparative Biology of Aging

Comparative Biology of Aging
Author: Norman S. Wolf
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2010-01-08
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 904813465X

determined by an inability to move in response to touch. C. elegans develop through four larval stages following hatching and prior to adulthood. Adult C. elegans are reproductive for about the rst week of adulthood followed by approximately two weeks of post-reproductive adulthood prior to death. Life span is most commonly measured in the laboratory by maintaining the worms on the surface of a nutrie- agar medium (Nematode Growth Medium, NGM) with E. coli OP50 as the bacterial food source (REF). Alternative culture conditions have been described in liquid media; however, these are not widely used for longevity studies. Longevity of the commonly used wild type C. elegans hermaphrodite (N2) varies ? from 16 to 23 days under standard laboratory conditions (20 C, NGM agar, E. coli OP50 food source). Life span can be increased by maintaining animals at lower ambient temperatures and shortened by raising the ambient temperature. Use of a killed bacterial food source, rather than live E. coli, increases lifespan by 2–4 days, and growth of adult animals in the absence of bacteria (axenic growth or bac- rial deprivation) increases median life span to 32–38 days [3, 23, 24]. Under both standard laboratory conditions and bacterial deprivation conditions, wild-derived C. elegans hermaphrodites exhibit longevity comparable to N2 animals [25].

Demographic Methods Across the Tree of Life

Demographic Methods Across the Tree of Life
Author: Roberto Salguero-Gomez
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2021
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0198838603

Demography is everywhere in our lives: from birth to death. Indeed, the universal currencies of survival, development, reproduction, and recruitment shape the performance of all species, from microbes to humans. The number of techniques for demographic data acquisition and analyses across the entire tree of life (microbes, fungi, plants, and animals) has drastically increased in recent decades. These developments have been partially facilitated by the advent of technologies such as GIS and drones, as well as analytical methods including Bayesian statistics and high-throughput molecular analyses. However, despite the universality of demography and the significant research potential that could emerge from unifying: (i) questions across taxa, (ii) data collection protocols, and (iii) analytical tools, demographic methods to date have remained taxonomically siloed and methodologically disintegrated. This is the first book to attempt a truly unified approach to demography and population ecology in order to address a wide range of questions in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology across the entire spectrum of life. This novel book provides the reader with the fundamentals of data collection, model construction, analyses, and interpretation across a wide repertoire of demographic techniques and protocols. It introduces the novice demographer to a broad range of demographic methods, including abundance-based models, life tables, matrix population models, integral projection models, integrated population models, individual based models, and more. Through the careful integration of data collection methods, analytical approaches, and applications, clearly guided throughout with fully reproducible R scripts, the book provides an up-to-date and authoritative overview of the most popular and effective demographic tools. Demographic Methods across the Tree of Life is aimed at graduate students and professional researchers in the fields of demography, ecology, animal behaviour, genetics, evolutionary biology, mathematical biology, and wildlife management.

The Princeton Guide to Evolution

The Princeton Guide to Evolution
Author: David A. Baum
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 886
Release: 2017-03-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 069117587X

The essential one-volume reference to evolution The Princeton Guide to Evolution is a comprehensive, concise, and authoritative reference to the major subjects and key concepts in evolutionary biology, from genes to mass extinctions. Edited by a distinguished team of evolutionary biologists, with contributions from leading researchers, the guide contains some 100 clear, accurate, and up-to-date articles on the most important topics in seven major areas: phylogenetics and the history of life; selection and adaptation; evolutionary processes; genes, genomes, and phenotypes; speciation and macroevolution; evolution of behavior, society, and humans; and evolution and modern society. Complete with more than 100 illustrations (including eight pages in color), glossaries of key terms, suggestions for further reading on each topic, and an index, this is an essential volume for undergraduate and graduate students, scientists in related fields, and anyone else with a serious interest in evolution. Explains key topics in some 100 concise and authoritative articles written by a team of leading evolutionary biologists Contains more than 100 illustrations, including eight pages in color Each article includes an outline, glossary, bibliography, and cross-references Covers phylogenetics and the history of life; selection and adaptation; evolutionary processes; genes, genomes, and phenotypes; speciation and macroevolution; evolution of behavior, society, and humans; and evolution and modern society

Life History Evolution

Life History Evolution
Author: Derek A. Roff
Publisher: Sinauer Associates Incorporated
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2002
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780878937561

Life History Evolution represents a synthetic approach to the understanding of the evolution of life history variation using the three types of environment (constant, stochastic, predictable) as the focus under which the theory is developed and tested. First, the author outlines a general framework for the study and analysis of life history variation, bringing together the approaches of quantitative genetic modeling and optimality analysis. Using this framework, he then discusses how life histories evolve in the three different types of environments, each of which presents unique characteristics. The theme of the book is that an understanding of evolutionary change requires analysis at both the genetic and phenotypic levels, and that the environment plays a central role in such analyses. Intended for graduate students and researchers, the book's emphasis is on assumptions and testing of models. Mathematical processes are described, but mathematical derivations are kept to a minimum. Each chapter includes a summary, and boxes provide supplementary material.