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9780198548942

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<br> Asymmetry, Developmental Stability, and Evolution, by Aders P. Moller and John P. Swaddle, is an enthusiasts guide to the idea that subtle deviations from perfect symmetry can indicate the quality of individuals, or of the environments they inhabit. . . . The literature covered is extraordinarily wide ranging and is likely to include some material unfamiliar even to aficionados of these areas. --Evolution<br> This book, and its associated web site (http: //www.oup.co.uk/MS-asymmetry), is concerned with developmental instability and in particular its most frequently measured phenotypic manifestation, fluctuating asymmetry (FA). . . . Throughout the book the authors discuss these topics with authority. Moller in particular is noted for his prodigous [sic] productivity in this field, a fact which may be confirmed by a glance at the Author Index. The work of all the main players in the game is acknowledged and discussed in an even-handed way. The chapters are written as self-contained

Asymmetry, Developmental Stability, and Evolution, by Aders P. Moller and John P. Swaddle, is an enthusiasts guide to the idea that subtle deviations from perfect symmetry can indicate the quality of individuals, or of the environments they inhabit. . . . The literature covered is extraordinarily wide ranging and is likely to include some material unfamiliar even to aficionados of these areas. --Evolution<br> This book, and its associated web site (http: //www.oup.co.uk/MS-asymmetry), is concerned with developmental instability and in particular its most frequently measured phenotypic manifestation, fluctuating asymmetry (FA). . . . Throughout the book the authors discuss these topics with authority. Moller in particular is noted for his prodigous [sic] productivity in this field, a fact which may be confirmed by a glance at the Author Index. The work of all the main players in the game is acknowledged and discussed in an even-handed way. The chapters are written as self-contained units and can be dipped into independently. So if you work on FA keep this book in your laboratory--it cites references which you have not read--or, if you are thinking of incorporating FA into your research, read it before you start. --Heredity<br> Recently, fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and developmental stability have attracted a great deal of interest among population geneticists, as well as developmental and evolutionary biologists. This new book attempts to be a comprehensive treatment of both concepts, including their potential relationships. . . . The book is well organized and produced. There are appropriate original illustrations and tables . . . The style of the work is clearly synthetic, andattempts to bring many different ideas into play. . . . This book . . . should be a valuable contribution to studies of FA and its relationship to other phenomena. New investigators need to go beyond this book, but can do so using the literature cited herein. Established workers will not agree with every position presented here and may, in fact, be stimulated to redouble their efforts to challenge them. If that happens, the book will have contributed a great deal to science. --The Quarterly Review of Biology<br> Subtle deviations from symmetrical development reflect phenotypic quality. This is the central thesis . . . The authors present basically the following argument. Precise development . . . is energetically costly. Since equivalent structures across planes of symmetry . . . develop through the execution of the same genetically determined program and share, more or less, the same environment, deviation from symmetry can be used to measure precision or stability in development. Individuals of high quality . . . are better able to grow symmetrically than their less well-adapted counterparts . . . Asymmetry is then generally related to performance and fitness, and individuals . . . can thus use asymmetry to judge the quality of potential mates. If true, this argument implies that developmental stability plays a very important role in the evolutionary process. The authors' review clearly demonstrates that a large amount of work has been done to support tenets of this theory. --Complexity<br> Moller and Swaddle provide another classic monograph in the same series on a topic that is important for human biologists. This theoretical treatment of a critical marker of good health coupledwith the review by Thornhill and Moller (1997: 498) should be required reading for health professionals. -- Joan C. Stevenson, American Journal of Human Biology, Vol 12, No 5, 2000<br>

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