Evolutionary Theory
A Hierarchical Perspective
- Contents
- Review Quotes
- Awards

Niles Eldredge
Part 1 Hierarchy Theory of Evolution
Linking Section General Principles of Biological Hierarchical Systems
Ilya Tëmkin and Emanuele Serrelli
Chapter 1 Pattern versus Process and Hierarchies: Revisiting Eternal Metaphors in Macroevolutionary Theory
Bruce S. Lieberman
Chapter 2 Lineages and Systems: A Conceptual Discontinuity in Biological Hierarchies
Gustavo Caponi
Chapter 3 Biological Organization from a Hierarchical Perspective: Articulation of Concepts and Interlevel Relation
Jon Umerez
Chapter 4 Hierarchy: The Source of Teleology in Evolution
Daniel W. McShea
Chapter 5 Three Approaches to the Teleological and Normative Aspects of Ecological Functions
Gregory J. Cooper, Charbel N. El-Hani, and Nei F. Nunes-Neto
Part 2 Hierarchical Dynamics: Process Integration across Levels
Linking Section Information and Energy in Biological Hierarchical Systems
Ilya Tëmkin and Emanuele Serrelli
Chapter 6 Why Genomics Needs Multilevel Evolutionary Theory
T. Ryan Gregory, Tyler A. Elliott, and Stefan Linquist
Chapter 7 Revisiting the Phenotypic Hierarchy in Hierarchy Theory
Silvia Caianiello
Chapter 8 Multilevel Selection in a Broader Hierarchical Perspective
Telmo Pievani and Andrea Parravicini
Chapter 9 Systems Emergence: The Origin of Individuals in Biological and Biocultural Evolution
Mihaela Pavličev, Richard O. Prum, Gary Tomlinson, and Günter P. Wagner
Part 3 Biological Hierarchies and Macroevolutionary Patterns
Linking Section Ecology and Evolution: Neither Separate nor Merged
Emanuele Serrelli and Ilya Tëmkin
Chapter 10 Unification of Macroevolutionary Theory: Biologic Hierarchies, Consonance, and the Possibility of Connecting the Dots
William Miller III
Chapter 11 Coming to Terms with Tempo and Mode: Speciation, Anagenesis, and Assessing Relative Frequencies in Macroevolution
Warren D. Allmon
Chapter 12 Niche Conservatism, Tracking, and Ecological Stasis: A Hierarchical Perspective
Carlton E. Brett, Andrew Zaffos, and Arnold I. Miller
Chapter 13 The Stability of Ecological Communities as an Agent of Evolutionary Selection: Evidence from the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction
Peter D. Roopnarine and Kenneth D. Angielczyk
Chapter 14 Hierarchy Theory in the Anthropocene: Biocultural Homogenization, Urban Ecosystems, and Other Emerging Dynamics
Michael L. McKinney
Conclusion Hierarchy Theory and the Extended Synthesis Debate
Telmo Pievani
List of Contributors
Index
"This excellently "integrated" and edited volume of 14 chapters (plus introductory and concluding chapters) is the essential resource for any individual seeking to understand the central role that hierarchical thinking has played over the past several centuries in efforts to understand relationships between and change within and among organisms. With a strong emphasis on speciation and unifying theoretical and philosophical perspectives, these chapters combine the ecological (spatial, system, "niche construction," and dynamic relationships) and genealogical (temporal, lineage, "niche evolution," and emergent properties) aspects of evolution so often studied in isolation. Nested hierarchies of individuals, species, niches, populations, and communities interacting causally with genetic and epigenetic developmental and ecological processes are used to understand dichotomies such as macro and microevolution, tempo and mode, and pattern and process in evolution. Many chapters, including the introduction, highlight these themes in a historical context, an approach that integrates the chapters to reveal just how deeply rooted hierarchical perspectives are in the quest to understand organismal relationships and evolution. Dual categories, such as evolution and development, pattern and process, and nature and nurture begin to fall away in the light of the approach expounded in this illuminating volume. Essential."
Choice Magazine: CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Awards
Won
Biological Sciences: Biology--Systematics | Conservation | Ecology | Evolutionary Biology | Microbiology
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