Evolution's Wedge: Competition and the Origins of Diversity

David Pfennig; Karin Pfennig

Published by University of California Press 2012

Evolution's Wedge

Competition and the Origins of Diversity

David Pfennig and Karin Pfennig

Volume 12 in the series Organisms and Environments

https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520954045

Overview
Contents

About this book

Evolutionary biology has long sought to explain how new traits and new species arise. Darwin maintained that competition is key to understanding this biodiversity and held that selection acting to minimize competition causes competitors to become increasingly different, thereby promoting new traits and new species. Despite Darwin’s emphasis, competition’s role in diversification remains controversial and largely underappreciated.

In their synthetic and provocative book, evolutionary ecologists David and Karin Pfennig explore competition's role in generating and maintaining biodiversity. The authors discuss how selection can lessen resource competition or costly reproductive interactions by promoting trait evolution through a process known as character displacement. They further describe character displacement’s underlying genetic and developmental mechanisms. The authors then consider character displacement’s myriad downstream effects, ranging from shaping ecological communities to promoting new traits and new species and even fueling large-scale evolutionary trends. Drawing on numerous studies from natural populations, and written for a broad audience, Evolution’s Wedge seeks to inspire future research into character displacement’s many implications for ecology and evolution.

Author / Editor information

Pfennig David :

David W. Pfennig is Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina.
Karin S. Pfennig is Associate Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. Discovery of a Unifying Principle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Why Character Displacement Occurs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
3. When Character Displacement Occurs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
4. How Character Displacement Unfolds Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
5. Diversity and Novelty Within Species Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
6. Ecological Consequences Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
7. Sexual Selection Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
8. Speciation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
9. Macroevolution Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
10. Major Themes and Unsolved Problems Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291

Language: English
Publisher: University of California Press
Pages
- Main content: 320

eBook

Published: October 25, 2012
ISBN: 9780520954045