ENGLISH

The Evolutionary Biology of Colonizing Species

Book information

Year
1983
ISBN
0521252474, 0511525745, 9780511525742, 9780521252478
LCC
QH371 .P324 1983
Open Library ID
OL3499576M
Language
english
Format
DJVU
Filesize
2 MB (1920427 bytes)
Edition
First Edition
Pages
276\272
Topic
Biology Biophysics
Time added
2011-06-04 13:46:07

Description

Professor Parsons uses the colonizing species as a case study in the dynamics of microevolution at work in living systems. The colonizing species, a lie, and potentially disruptive force in a 'naïve' habitat, is studied primarily as an ecological phenotype and more generally as an ecological behavioural phenotype. Conventional life-history traits and components of fitness, can be incorporated into these phenotypes. Integrating genetic change, natural selection, and the interaction of the species with its environment and other living systems therein, the colonizing species is transformed into a sophisticated and complex source of data for understanding evolutionary biology. Throughout the book it is emphasized that using the organism as the unit of selection is the most direct way of understanding the nature of successful colonizing phenotypes, and, by using specific phenotypic criteria, the prediction of likely successful colonists can be made. Such criteria include tolerance of extreme environments, resource utilization, reproductive capacity, and relative abundance.

Similar books