Simpson / Bunge Why and How

Some Problems and Methods in Historical Biology
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4831-8961-1
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 272 Seiten, Web PDF

Why and How: Some Problems and Methods in Historical Biology discusses an overall approach to the study of fossils combined with paleontology. This book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 consists of a few examples of studies of the fossil record, focusing on its adequacy, and ways of looking at and representing some of its aspects. The most basic aspects of study of the fossil record such as the examination, description, and illustration of the morphology of fossils are described in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 focuses on paleoecology and faunal analysis, while Chapter 4 emphasizes some of the aspects of phylogenetic principles and eclectic taxonomic theory. The essential apparatus for zoological studies that include biometrical statistics both in concepts and in measures are deliberated in Chapter 5. The last chapter deliberates the geographic distribution of organisms. This publication is a good source for paleontologists and biologists interested in historical biology.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Simpson, George Gaylord

Bunge, Mario

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front Cover;1
2;Why and How: Some Problems and Methods in Historical Biology;4
3;Copyright Page;5
4;Table of Contents;6
5;Introduction;8
6;Chapter 1. The Fossil Record;10
6.1;Bias, Adequacy, and Sampling of the Fossil Record;10
6.2;Continuity and Discontinuity in the Fossil Record;22
6.3;History of a Fauna;24
6.4;Periodicity in Vertebrate Evolution;32
7;Chapter 2. Morphology, Homology, and Function;47
7.1;A Problem of Black on Black;47
7.2;"Braincasts";50
7.3;A Way to Look Inside Fossils;56
7.4;A Way to Tell Crocodiles Apart;61
7.5;Ratio Diagrams;66
7.6;The Concept and Definition of Homology;69
7.7;An Exercise in Homology;72
7.8;An Exercise in Functional Inference and Model-making;78
7.9;How a Strange and Ancient Animal Got About;87
8;Chapter 3. Paleoecology and Faunal Analysis;93
8.1;Ecological Analysis of an Ancient Local Fauna;94
8.2;Faunal Analysis, Fades, and an Evolutionary Principle;98
8.3;The Long View;106
9;Chapter 4. Systematics and Taxonomy;119
9.1;Patterns of Cladistic Evolution;121
9.2;Remarks on Vertebrate Phylogeny;129
9.3;Higher Categories in Phylogeny and Taxonomy;135
9.4;Supraspecific Variation and Higher Categories;144
9.5;The Reality of Higher Categories;153
9.6;The Concept of Species;156
9.7;Types, Name-bearers, and Hypodigms in Taxonomy;168
9.8;Taxonomic Linguistics;173
10;Chapter 5. Some Bits of Biometry;183
10.1;An Application of Statistical Thinking and Methods;184
10.2;Range as a Zoological Character;187
10.3;Standardization of Normal Frequency Distributions;195
11;Chapter 6. Biogeography;200
11.1;Approach to a Sampling Problem;201
11.2;A History of an Intercontinental Faunal Resemblance;206
11.3;Measurement of Faunal Resemblance;219
11.4;Migration Routes;224
11.5;An Example of Sweepstakes Dispersal;230
11.6;Probability and Time;238
11.7;Species Density of Recent North American Mammals;242
11.8;Historical Analysis of a Continental Mammalian Fauna;251
12;Index;266