Overview

The field of developmental instability has generated a large amount of controversy recently, mostly because of fierce disagreement over the genetic basis of fluctuating asymmetry and its role in mate selection. This book is a timely and innovative synthesis of the discussion. With twenty four chapters by leading authorities, the book is an especially thorough and critical treatment of the genetic basis of fluctuating asymmetry, and of its role in animal communication, sexual selection, and plant and animal ecology and evolution. The book features an in-depth examination of the relationship between environmental stress and asymmetry, as well as a critical assessment of the value of asymmetry as a biomarker in ecotoxicology. Up-to-date information from disparate fields within the biological sciences is creatively integrated to examine the molecular and cellular origins of developmental instability and fluctuating asymmetry, and the link between asymmetry and Darwinian fitness. This comprehensive treatment also describes methodology for data analysis and optimization of experimental design, refocuses attention on key problems in the field and identifies new research directions.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michal Polak (Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Canada)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 25.40cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 17.80cm
Weight:   1.057kg
ISBN:  

9780195143454

ISBN 10:   0195143450
Pages:   488
Publication Date:   27 February 2003
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

M. J. West-Eberhard: Foreword Contributors Introduction Part I. Origins 1: H. F. Nijhout and G. Davidowitz: Developmental Perspectives on Phenotypic Variation, Canalization, and Fluctuating Asymmetry 2: Christian Peter Klingenberg: A Developmental Perspective on Developmental Instability: Theory, Models, and Mechanisms 3: John H. Graham, John M. Emlen, and D. Carl Freeman: Nonlinear Dynamics and Developmental Instability 4: John M. Emlen, D. Carl Freeman, and John H. Graham: The Adaptive Basis of Developmental Instability: A Hypothesis and Its Implications 5: Steven W. Gangestad and Randy Thornhill: Fluctuating Asymmetry, Developmental Instability, and Fitness: Toward Model-Based Interpretation 6: Michal Polak et al.: Does an Individual Asymmetry Parameter Exist? A Meta-analysis Part II. Genetic Causes 7: Charles M. Woolf and Therese A. Markow: Genetic Models for Developmental Homeostasis: Historical Perspectives 8: Paul Alibert and Jean-Christophe Auffray: Genomic Coadaptation, Outbreeding Depression, and Developmental Instability 9: John A. McKenzie: The Analysis of the Asymmetry Phenotype: Single Genes and the Environment 10: Larry Leamy: Dominance, Epistasis, and Fluctuating Asymmetry 11: Rebecca C. Fuller and David Houle: Inheritance of Developmental Instability Part III. Fitness Consequences 12: Geoffrey M. Clarke: Developmental Stability--Fitness Relationships in Animals: Some Theoretical Considerations 13: Mary Tracy et al.: Developmental Instability: An Appropriate Indicator of Plant Fitness Components? 14: George W. Uetz and Phillip W. Taylor: Developmental Instability and Animal Communication: Fluctuating Asymmetry as a Signal and as an Influence on the Signaling Process 15: Joseph L. Tomkins and Leigh W. Simmons: Fluctuating Asymmetry and Sexual Selection: Paradigm Shifts, Publication Bias, and Observer Expectation 16: Anders Pape Mqller and José J. Cuervo: Asymmetry, Size, and Sexual Selection: Factors Affecting Heterogeneity in Relationships between Asymmetry and Sexual Selection Part IV. Statistical Tools 17: A. Richard Palmer and Curtis Strobeck: Fluctuating Asymmetry Analyses Revisited 18: Stefan Van Dongen, Luc Lens, and Geert Molenberghs: Recent Developments and Shortcomings in the Analysis of Individual Asymmetry: A Review and Introduction of a Bayesian Statistical Approach 19: Dmitry L. Lajus, John H. Graham, and Alexander V. Kozhara: Developmental Instability and the Stochastic Component of Total Phenotypic Variance Part V. Environmental Stress and Applications 20: D. Carl Freeman et al.: Plant Developmental Instability: New Measures, Applications, and Regulation 21: Ary A. Hoffmann and Richard E. Woods: Associating Environmental Stress with Developmental Stability: Problems and Patterns 22: Vladimir M. Zakharov: Linking Developmental Stability and Environmental Stres: A Whole Organism Approach 23: Brian Leung, Loren Knopper, and Pierre Mineau: A Critical Assessment of the Utility of Fluctuating Asymmetry as a Biomarker of Anthropogenic Stress 24: Christian Peter Klingenberg: Developmental Instability as a Research Tool: Using Patterns of Fluctuating Asymmetry to Infer the Developmental Origins of Morphological Integration Taxonomic Index Subject Index

Reviews

This new edited volume certainly provides a wonderful entrance into the current concepts and controversies in the field. --New Biological Books. Altogether, this book is a pleasure to read. The individual chapters are well written and the book as a whole has clearly been well edited. It is also handsomely produced, with good clear print, decent figures, and very few typographical errors. BioScience

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