In the Light of Evolution

Biodiversity—the genetic variety of life—is an exuberant product of the evolutionary past, a vast human-supportive resource (aesthetic, intellectual, and material) of the present, and a rich legacy to cherish and preserve for the future. Two urgent challenges, and opportunities, for 21st-century science are to gain deeper insights into the evolutionary processes that foster biotic diversity, and to translate that understanding into workable solutions for the regional and global crises that biodiversity currently faces. A grasp of evolutionary principles and processes is important in other societal arenas as well, such as education, medicine, sociology, and other applied fields including agriculture, pharmacology, and biotechnology. The ramifications of evolutionary thought also extend into learned realms traditionally reserved for philosophy and religion.

The central goal of the In the Light of Evolution (ILE) series is to promote the evolutionary sciences through state-of-the-art colloquia—in the series of Arthur M. Sackler colloquia sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences—and their published proceedings. Each installment explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges. This tenth and final edition of the In the Light of Evolution series focuses on recent developments in phylogeographic research and their relevance to past accomplishments and future research directions.

Table of Contents

• Front Matter
• Part I: COMPARATIVE PHYLOGEOGRAPHY IN A SPATIAL SENSE
• 1 Comparative Phylogeography of the Ocean Planet - Brian W. Bowen, Michelle R. Gaither, Joseph D. Di Battista, Matthew Iacchei, Kimberly R. Andrews, W. Stewart Grant, Robert J. Toonen, and John C. Briggs
• 2 Comparative Phylogeography Clarifies the Complexity and Problems of Continental Distribution That Drove A. R. Wallace to Favor Islands - Brett R. Riddle
• 3 Inferring Responses to Climate Dynamics from Historical Demography in Neotropical Forest Lizards - Ivan Prates, Alexander T. Xue, Jason L. Brown, Diego F. Alvarado-Serrano, Miguel T. Rodrigues, Michael J. Hickerson, and Ana C. Carnaval
• 4 Comparative Phylogeography of Oceanic Archipelagos: Hotspots for Inferences of Evolutionary Process - Kerry L. Shaw and Rosemary G. Gillespie
• Part II: COMPARATIVE PHYLOGEOGRAPHY IN A GENOMIC SENSE
• 5 Effects of the Population Pedigree on Genetic Signatures of Historical Demographic Events - John Wakeley, Landra King, and Peter R. Wilton
• 6 The Probability of Monophyly of a Sample of Gene Lineages on a Species Tree - Rohan S. Mehta,...read more...