A core concept of evolutionary theory is Darwin’s prediction that the origin of derived phenotypes are accompanied by periods of increased variability. These "Zones of Variability" are transient in time and tree space. The book will establish an Extended Model of Variability by exploring how biologists perceive the relationship between microevolutionary variation and macroevolutionary patterns. It will support three primary predictions, drawing on examples from animal phylogeny. The book will conclude with an examination of the model’s implications - from systematics to paleontology to developmental biology and beyond.
Changing Perspectives on Variation. Proximate-Ultimate Causation: Historical Trends and Current Expression. Beyond Transmission Genetics - Variation and Development Reconsidered. Extended Zones of Variability and the Origin of Phenotypes. Testing the Model. Polymorphism and Phylogenetic Structure. Four-Dimensional Variability – the Dynamic Nature of Variational Properties. Concentrated Homoplasy and the Origin of Functional Complexes in the Phenotype. Current Concerns and Future Directions. Phylogenetic Instability and the Early History of Clades. Regulatory Networks and the Evolution of Variability. Prospects for Increasing Integration in Variation Studies.
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