This volume follows the successful The Princeton Guide to Ecology (Levin, 2009). The book sits between a textbook and an encyclopedia. Like an encyclopedia, it is multi-authored and each chapter stands alone, but like a textbook, the chapters follow each other providing more detail or addressing specific issues. It can be read from cover to cover (although I admit I have not done so). The 107 chapters are mainly by US academics but there are a reasonable number from other parts of the world. The book is aimed at a wide audience. Some of the chapters address issues that will be mainly of interest to evolutionary biologists, but others like antibiotic-resistant diseases are of more general interest. The interface between evolutionary ideas and techniques with the law, computing or game theory will also interest those outside the field.
The book is divided into eight sections. The first section deals with what evolution is, the theory, the history of evolutionary thought, the traditional evidence and an outline of how DNA makes phenotypes. The second section is on phylogenetics, the origin and history of life and outlines of the evolution of major life forms. Natural selection and adaptation, what might be described as the observable parts of evolution, come next. This is followed by the more theoretical aspects of mutation, inbreeding and recombination by sexual biology. We then go deeper into the molecular level of the gene. The scope then broadens into macroevolution, which is how species come about. The last two sections are of wider interest. The first deals with evolution of behaviour and society especially, but not exclusively, in relation to humans. The last section is about modern society and evolution. Amongst the topics are the origins of agriculture, disease resistance and conservation, which are evolution as it affects humans; further topics in this section cover computing, language and cultural evolution. Specific chapters deal with evolution and religion. The chapters on creationism and intelligent design address a specific US problem. All the sections, except the first, start with a general introduction. The individual chapters have a brief outline followed by a glossary of major concepts discussed. The main text is divided into sections and, where appropriate, the last section looks at possible future actions or developments. The chapter ends with a list of further reading. In many cases, the reference is followed by a very short, but useful, account of the main points covered by the reference. References are not given for specific points, but authors are given in sections of the text that deal with the development of concepts.
Having given a very general overview, I will pick a chapter from each of sections four to eight. The first three sections cover the usual aspects of evolutionary theory, and do so very thoroughly. The later sections cover a variety of topics, and by choosing articles that catch my interest, I hope to show the variety of material that is there.
From Evolutionary Processes I chose the section on selfish genetic elements, thinking of Richard Dawkins’s book, but I found much more. There are transposable elements; bits of DNA that move about the chromosomes and somatic mutations the cause cancers. There are reproductive parasites which include female meiotic drivers where genetic material is preferentially put in to the one of the four cells produced by meiosis which becomes the egg, allelic killers which are alleles that are fatal early on if not immediately after fertilisation. Cytoplasmic distorters come in two sorts. The first is cytoplasmic male sterility factors and the others are bacterial parasites or symbioses. The most well-known is Wolbachia, which live in the genome of arthropods. Having described the various factors, their role in genome evolution and population variation is discussed. The article ends by pointing out the value of these factors in breeding F1 hybrid crops and the possibility of using them in disease vector control.
From Genes, Genomes and Phenotypes, I took epigenetics which, as the author points out, is a concept that covers various factor. The history and development of the idea is discussed. Epigenetics is what happens after fertilisation that affects the phenotype. Much of this is to do with the switching on and off of genes. The process of DNA methylation is the main version of this. The section considers the transmission of various traits from malnourished mother to children. Lamarckism is discussed briefly. The problem is that a given genotype can lead to different phenotypes, and this is an interesting topic; even if it is not greatly significant it is different.
Perhaps slightly perversely, I chose Extinctions from Speciation and Macroevolution. This looks at two ends of what is probably a continuum from extinction of species to mass extinctions. At the single species level, all species become extinct at some point. The mean duration of primate species is one million years, which means we have a while to run as humans, but our mean duration is the lowest in the table of group durations. A point not made is that when a large species goes extinct all its pests, diseases and symbionts go extinct as well. The definition of mass extinctions is discussed, and the question is raised whether the current rate of human-driven extinctions should count as a mass extinction. What happens after mass extinctions is also interesting. In some cases, it took ages before the biomass to return to previous levels, while in other cases, the recovery was fairly rapid.
Game theory and behaviour is what I chose from Evolution of Behavior. This is a short chapter which discusses game theory models, specifically Hawk–Dove and Prisoner’s Dilemma. For biological details, the reader is referred to other sections of the book. The chapter ends by suggesting that a more nuanced approach is required to take the topic forward.
From the last section, I read Linguistics and the Evolution of Human Language. This explores the evidence for the origin of language and places it with the evolution of Homo sapiens, although other authors place it with Homo heidelbergensis. This species would have needed some form of communication to coordinate hunting. The chapter also looks at why language might be worth evolving. It then looks at the evolution of language itself. I went on to read more chapters in this section. I particularly enjoyed the point made in the chapter on agriculture: that ants invented agriculture 45 million years ago. One observation I came upon twice was the evolution of the ability to digest lactose sugar in people who farm milk animals. I have some doubts about the details of this. All new-born mammals can digest lactose but cease to be able when weaned. I drank milk from birth until my fridge broke down when I was in my mid-thirties. I gave up using milk, as I could not keep it fresh. I cannot now digest lactose and have been in this state for a further 30 years. This looks more like an epigenetic effect than a new gene.
I hope the comments above demonstrate how much I found of interest in this book. It will be of great use to students of evolution, from high school to research degree. (I note that, in 2012, they produced a paperback edition of their ecology guide at a much lower price; I hope they do the same with this book). There is, as I have said, much to interest the general reader. For those who teach evolution, this book is a good summary of current knowledge. Those researching specific topics will find here the wider picture into which their research can fit. All in all, a good and useful book.
