Eternal ephemera : adaptation and the Origin of species, from the nineteenth century, through punctuated equilibria and beyond

All Organisms And Species Are Transitory, Yet Life Endures. The Origin, Extinction, And Evolution Of Species - Interconnected In The Web Of Life As Eternal Ephemera - Are The Concern Of Evolutionary Biology. In This Riveting Work, Renowned Paleontologist Niles Eldredge Follows Leading Thinkers As They Have Sought, For More Than Two Hundred Years, To Understand This Paradox, Revitalizing Evolutionary Science With Their Own, More Resilient Findings. Eldgredge Begins In France With The Naturalist Jean-baptiste Lamarck, Who In 1801 First Framed The Overarching Question About The Emergence Of New Species. The Italian Geologist Giambattista Brocchi Followed, Bringing In Geology And Paleontology To Expand The Question. In 1825, At The University Of Edinburgh, Robert Grant And Robert Jameson Introduced The Astounding Ideas Formulated By Lamarck And Brocchi To A Young Medical Student Named Charles Darwin. Who Can Doubt That Darwin Left For His Voyage On The Beagle In 1831 Filled With Thoughts About These Daring New Explanations For The Transmutation Of Species. Eldredge Revisits Darwin's Early Insights Into Evolution In South America And His Later Synthesis Of Knowledge Into A Theory Of The Origin Of Species. He Then Considers The Ideas Of More Recent Evolutionary Thinkers, Such As George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr, And Theodosius Dobzhansky, As Well As The Young And Brash Nilese Eldredge And Stephen Jay Gould Who Set Science Afire With Their Concept Of Punctuated Equilibria. Filled With Insights Into Evolutionary Biology And Told With A Rich Affection For The Scientific Arena, This Book Celebrates The Organic, Vital Relationship Between Scientific Thinking And Its Subjects. -- From Dust Jacket. Introduction : Approaching Adaptation And The Origin Of Species -- Part I. Birth Of Modern Evolutionary Theory. 1 The Advent Of The Modern Fauna : On The Births And Deaths Of Species, 1801-1831 ; 2. Darwin And The Beagle : Experimenting With Transmutation, 1831-1836 ; 3. Enter Adaptation, And The Conflict Between Isolation And Gradual Adaptive Change, 1836-1859 -- Part Ii. Rebellion And Reinvention : The Taxic Perspective, 1935-. 4. Species And Speciation Reconsidered, 1935- ; 5. Punctuated Equilibria : Speciation And Stasis In Paleontology, 1968- ; 6. Speciation And Adaptation : Large-scale Patterns In The Evolution Of Life, 1972-. Niles Eldredge. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 333-366) And Index. All organisms and species are transitory, yet life endures. The origin, extinction, and evolution of species—interconnected in the web of life as "eternal ephemera"—are the concern of evolutionary biology. In this riveting work, renowned paleontologist Niles Eldredge follows leading thinkers as they have wrestled for more than two hundred years with the eternal skein of life composed of ephemeral beings, revitalizing evolutionary science with their own, more resilient findings. Eldredge begins in France with the naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who in 1801 first framed the overarching question about the emergence of new species. The Italian geologist Giambattista Brocchi followed, bringing in geology and paleontology to expand the question. In 1825, at the University of Edinburgh, Robert Grant and Robert Jameson introduced the astounding ideas formulated by Lamarck and Brocchi to a young medical student named Charles Darwin. Who can doubt that Darwin left for his voyage on the Beagle in 1831 filled with thoughts about these daring new explanations for the "transmutation" of species. Eldredge revisits Darwin's early insights into evolution in South America and his later synthesis of knowledge into a theory of the origin of species. He then considers the ideas of more recent evolutionary thinkers, such as George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr, and Theodosius Dobzhansky, as well as the young and brash Niles Eldredge and Steven Jay Gould, who set science afire with their concept of punctuated equilibria. Filled with insights into evolutionary biology and told with a rich affection for the scientific arena, this book celebrates the organic, vital relationship between scientific thinking and its subjects. One of evolution's fundamental questions is how the skein of life on Earth remains unbroken yet is constantly renewed by new species. What accounts for the scientific paradox that all organisms and species are ephemeral, and yet life endures, yielding more advanced players in nature's eternal play? In this riveting work, renowned scientist Niles Eldredge presents a magisterial account of leading thinkers as they wrestle with this paradox over a span of two hundred years. Eldredge begins in France with Jean Baptiste Lamarck, who in 1802 first framed the overarching question about new species. Giambatista Brocchi followed, bringing in geology and paleontology to expand the question. In 1825, at the University of Edinburgh, Robert Grant and Robert Jameson introduce these astounding ideas to a young medical student named Charles Darwin. Who can doubt that Darwin left for his voyage in 1831 filled with these daring, new ideas about the "transmutation" of species, well cultivated by earlier thinkers tilling this rugged and contentious intellectual ground? Eldredge revisits Darwin's early insights in South America and his later synthesis of knowledge into the origin of species. He then considers more recent evolutionary thinkers, such as George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr, and Theodosius Dhobzhansky, concluding with the young, brash graduate students Niles Eldredge and Steven J. Gould, who set science afire with their revolutionary concept of punctuated equilibria and upended accepted evolutionary ideas. Filled with shattering insight into evolutionary biology and told with a rich affection for the tumult of the scientific arena, this new book is destined to become a classic in the field. Stephen J. Gould’s greatest contribution to science is a revised version of the theory of evolution which offers today a useful framework for understanding progress in many evolutionary fields. His intuitions about the conjunction of evolution and development, the role of ecological factors in speciation, the multi-level interpretation of the units of selection, and the interplay between functional pressures and constraints all represent fruitful lines of experimental research. His opposition to the progressive representations of evolution, the gene-centered view of natural history, or the adaptationist “just-so stories” has also left its mark on current biology. In May 2012, at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Venice, an international panel of scientists and philosophers discussed Stephen J. Gould’s legacy, ten years after his death. This book presents a selection of those contributions, chosen for their interest and importance. A broad range of themes are covered: Gould’s contribution to evolutionary theory, including the concept of punctuated equilibria and the importance of his pluralism; the Gouldian view of genome and development; Gould’s legacy in anthropology; and, finally, the significance of his thought for the human sciences. This book provides a fascinating appraisal of the cultural legacy of one of the world’s greatest popular writers in the life sciences. This is the first time that scientists including some of Gould’s personal friends and co-authors of papers of momentous importance such as Niles Eldredge have come together to strike a balanced view of Gould's intellectual heritage. This book follows the development of evolutionary science over the past two hundred years. It highlights the fact that life endures even though all organisms and species are transitory or ephemeral. It goes on to explain that the extinction and evolution of species—interconnected in the web of life as “eternal ephemera”—are key concerns of evolutionary biology. The book begins in France with the naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who in 1801 first framed the overarching question about the emergence of new species. It moves on to the Italian geologist Giambattista Brocchi who brought in ideas from geology and paleontology to expand the question. It details how, in 1825, at the University of Edinburgh, Robert Grant and Robert Jameson introduced the astounding ideas formulated by Lamarck and Brocchi to a young medical student named Charles Darwin and follows Darwin as he sets out on his voyage on the Beagle in 1831. The book revisits Darwin's early insights into evolution in South America and his later synthesis of his knowledge into the theory of the origin of species. It then considers the ideas of more recent evolutionary thinkers, such as George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr and Theodosius Dobzhansky, as well as Niles Eldredge and Steven Jay Gould, who developed the concept of punctuated equilibria. The book provides many insights into evolutionary biology, and celebrates the organic, vital relationship between scientific thinking and its subjects The origin, extinction, and evolution of species—interconnected in the web of life as "eternal ephemera"—are the concern of evolutionary biology. In this riveting work, renowned paleontologist Niles Eldredge follows leading thinkers from Lamarck and Darwin to his younger self, who, with Steven Jay Gould, who revitalized evolutionary science with their concept of punctuated equilibria. Filled with insights into evolutionary biology and told with a rich affection for the scientific arena, this book celebrates the organic, vital relationship between scientific thinking and its subjects. From one of evolutionary biology's major contributors, a compelling work that unravels science’s great “Mystery of Mysteries”: how new species arise. Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Approaching Adaptation and the Origin of Species Part I. Birth of Modern Evolutionary Theory 1. The Advent of the Modern Fauna: On the Births and Deaths of Species, 1801–1831 2. Darwin and the Beagle: Experimenting with Transmutation, 1831–1836 3. Enter Adaptation and the Conflict Between Isolation and Gradual Adaptive Change, 1836–1859 Part II. Rebellion and Reinvention: The Taxic Perspective, 1935– 4. Species and Speciation Reconsidered, 1935– 5. Punctuated Equilibria: Speciation and Stasis in Paleontology, 1968– 6. Speciation and Adaptation: Large-Scale Patterns in the Evolution of Life, 1972– Notes Bibliography Index