Overview

""The lack of discussion of the life histories of modular organisms is the weakness of this book that I most regret. . . . Modular organisms are different. "" S. C. Steams: The Evolution of Life Histories (1992) Life-history theory endeavours to increase our understanding of the processe,s whereby the broad features of the life cycles of organisms, such as the timing and magnitude of reproduction, have evolved. Although reproductive traits have dominated as study objects due to their immediate importance for evolutionary success, much work has also been conducted on patterns of development, growth and senescence, as well as on the shifts in resource allocation related to these processes. The basic axiom of life-history theory is that patterns of life histories, such as reproductive traits, are subject to evolutionary explanation. This idea can be traced back at least as far as Darwin's Origin of Species (1859). In his discussion of plant domestication, Darwin wrote: ""I cannot doubt that the continued selection of slight variations, either in the leaves, the flowers, or the fruit, will produce races differing from each other chiefly in these characters"". Darwin was impressed by the success of plant breeders in moulding the growth and reproductive parameters of cultivated plants, and believed that natural selection could have a similar impact in natural populations.

Full Product Details

Author:   Timo Olavi Vuorisalo ,  P. Mutikainen
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1999
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.557kg
ISBN:  

9781402002793

ISBN 10:   1402002793
Pages:   348
Publication Date:   30 November 2001
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1. Modularity and Plant Life Histories.- 1.1. Modularity: the concept.- 1.2. Life-history concepts and the modular hierarchy.- 1.3. Modularity, the allocation principle, and trade-offs.- 1.4. Modularity and sex.- 1.5. Conclusion.- 1.6. References.- 2. Modelling and Measuring Plant Life Histories.- 2.1. Introduction.- 2.2. Transition matrix models.- 2.3. Importance of demographic parameters in plants.- 2.4. Actual variation in transition rates.- 2.5. Trade-offs.- 2.6. Plant life histories and the environment.- 2.7. Concluding remarks.- 2.8. References.- 3. Fitness Interactions Among Plants: Optimal Defence and Evolutionary Game Theory.- 3.1. Introduction.- 3.2. Interactions between plants.- 3.3. Plant defence theory.- 3.4. Herbivory and interactions between plants.- 3.5. Concluding remarks.- 3.6. References.- 4. Genetic Variation In Life-History Traits: Heritability Estimates within and Genetic Differentiation Among Populations.- 4.1. The scope of this review.- 4.2. Evidence for genetic variation in life-history traits within populations: field and greenhouse experiments.- 4.3. Evidence for genetic differentiation among populations in life-history traits.- 4.4. Suggestions for future research.- 4.5. References.- Appendix 4.1.- Appendix 4.2.- 5. Resource Allocation, Trade-Offs, and Reproductive Effort in Plants.- 5.1. Introduction.- 5.2. The measurement of reproductive effort.- 5.3. Reproductive effort versus reproductive cost.- 5.4. Phenotypic versus genetic variation in reproductive effort.- 5.5. Developmental constraints.- 5.6. Conclusions.- 5.7. References.- 6. Phenological and Developmental Costs of Male Sex Function in Hermaphroditic Plants.- 6.1. Introduction.- 6.2. Why male function may be surprisingly costly in hermaphrodites.- 6.3. Next steps.- 6.4. References.-7. Evolution of Plant Dispersal.- 7.1. Introduction.- 7.2. A brief history of dispersal studies.- 7.3. Selection for dispersal.- 7.4. Patterns of dispersal features.- 7.5. Phylogenetic considerations.- 7.6. Concluding remarks.- 7.7. References.- 8. Senescence in Plants.- 8.1. Introduction.- 8.2. Identifying senescence.- 8.3. Senescence in plants.- 8.4. Necessary conditions for the evolution of senescence.- 8.5. Life-cycle models.- 8.6. Conclusions.- 8.7. References.- 9. Pathogens and Plant Life Histories.- 9.1. Introduction.- 9.2. Interactions between pathogens and plant life histories.- 9.3. Empirical evidence.- 9.4. Conclusions.- 9.5. References.- 10. Impact of Herbivore Tolerance and Resistance on Plant Life Histories.- 10.1. Introduction.- 10.2. Mechanisms of tolerance.- 10.3. Models of tolerance and resistance.- 10.4. Evidence for costs of tolerance and resistance.- 10.5. Discussion.- 10.6. References.

Reviews

'[...] I found this book to be a useful refresher course on aspects of plant life history evolution that I had not considered for a while, and an excellent introduction to some topics about which I knew little. I recommend this book to postgraduate students (in the more affordable paperback edition) and to established researchers. It's a useful resource to allocate to your personal or institutional library.' Plant Systematics and Evolution, 232 (2002)

'[...] I found this book to be a useful refresher course on aspects of plant life history evolution that I had not considered for a while, and an excellent introduction to some topics about which I knew little. I recommend this book to postgraduate students (in the more affordable paperback edition) and to established researchers. It's a useful resource to allocate to your personal or institutional library.' Plant Systematics and Evolution, 232 (2002)

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