Download or read book The Evolutionary Biology of Flies written by David K. Yeates and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2005-06-22 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Flies (Dipteria) have had an important role in deepening scientists'understanding of modern biology and evolution. The study of flies has figured prominently in major advances in the fields of molecular evolution, physiology, genetics, phylogenetics, and ecology over the last century. This volume, with contributions from top scientists and scholars in the field, brings together diverse aspects of research and will be essential reading for entomologists and fly researchers.

Download or read book Specialization Speciation and Radiation written by Kelley Jean Tilmon and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This volume captures the state-of-the-art in the study of insect-plant interactions, and marks the transformation of the field into evolutionary biology. The contributors present integrative reviews of uniformly high quality that will inform and inspire generations of academic and applied biologists. Their presentation together provides an invaluable synthesis of perspectives that is rare in any discipline."--Brian D. Farrell, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University "Tilmon has assembled a truly wonderful and rich volume, with contributions from the lion's share of fine minds in evolution and ecology of herbivorous insects. The topics comprise a fascinating and deep coverage of what has been discovered in the prolific recent decades of research with insects on plants. Fascinating chapters provide deep analyses of some of the most interesting research on these interactions. From insect plant chemistry, behavior, and host shifting to phylogenetics, co-evolution, life-history evolution, and invasive plant-insect interaction, one is hard pressed to name a substantial topic not included. This volume will launch a hundred graduate seminars and find itself on the shelf of everyone who is anyone working in this rich landscape of disciplines."--Donald R. Strong, Professor of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis "Seldom have so many excellent authors been brought together to write so many good chapters on so many important topics in organismic evolutionary biology. Tom Wood, always unassuming and inspired by living nature, would have been amazed and pleased by this tribute."--Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Download or read book Methuselah Flies written by Michael Robertson Rose and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2004 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Methuselah Flies presents a trailblazing project on the biology of aging. It describes research on the first organisms to have their lifespan increased, and their aging slowed, by hereditary manipulation. These organisms are fruit flies from the species Drosophila melanogaster, the great workhorse of genetics. Michael Rose and his colleagues have been able to double the lifespan of these insects, and improved their health in numerous respects as well. The study of these flies with postponed aging is one of the best means we have of understanding, and ultimately achieving, the postponement of aging in humans. As such, the carefully presented detail of this book will be of value to research devoted to the understanding and control of aging.Methuselah Flies: ? is a tightly edited distillation of twenty years of work by many scientists? contains the original publications regarding the longer-lived fruit flies? offers commentaries on each of the topics covered ? new, short essays that put the individual research papers in a wider context? gives full access to the original data ? captures the scientific significance of postponed aging for a wide academic audienc

Download or read book Lords of the Fly written by Robert E. Kohler and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1994-05-02 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One of the most productive of all laboratory animals, Drosophila has been a key tool in genetics research for nearly a century. At the center of Drosophila culture from 1910 to 1940 was the school of Thomas Hunt Morgan and his students Alfred Sturtevant and Calvin Bridges, who, by inbreeding fruit flies, created a model laboratory creature - the 'standard' fly. By examining the material culture and working customs of Morgan's research group, [the author] brings to light essential features of the practice of experimental science. [This book] takes a broad view of experimental work, ranging from how the fly was introducted into the laboratory and how it was physically redesigned for use in genetic mapping, to how the 'Drosophilists' organized an international network for exchanging fly stocks that spread their practices around the world"--Back cover.

Download or read book The Secret Life of Flies written by Erica McAlister and published by Firefly Books. This book was released on 2022-09 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr. McAlister has captured her affection for the Diptera in The Secret Life of Flies, a short, rich book by turns informative and humorous, both a hymn of praise to her favorite creatures and a gleeful attempt to give readers the willies. -- New York Times An enjoyable and informative read. Highly recommended for anyone interested in biology and in particular those intrigued by entomology and zoology. -- Library Journal Stories and science about nature's most complex, crucial and highly adaptive insect. The Secret Life of Flies takes readers into the hidden world of snail killers, con artists, crazy sex and a great many silly names. It dispels common misconceptions about flies and reveals how truly extraordinary, exotic and important are these misunderstood creatures. There are 10 chapters: 1. The immature ones -- Squirmy wormy larvae can be just a bit unnerving. 2. The pollinators -- Those annoying No See Ums, or midge flies, are the only pollinator of the chocolate-producing cacao tree. 3. The detritivores -- These garbage eaters are often fluffy and thus water-repellent, good for a life spent in a sewer. 4. The vegetarians -- Entomological spelunkers, many of these flies prefer plant roots. 5. The fungivores -- The mushroom eaters include the dark-winged fungus gnats. 6. The predators -- Here are the most devious and imaginative methods of luring, capturing and eating prey. 7. The parasites -- Their methods of survival are often disgusting but the evolutionary genius is admirable. 8. The sanguivores -- Exactly why do we have blood-sucking disease-spreading mosquitos? 9. The coprophages -- The champions of dung, detritus and other unpleasant things. 10. The necrophages -- The body eaters without which we would be in a most disagreeable situation. In clear language, McAlister explains Diptera taxonomy and forensic entomology, and describes the potential of flies to transform their relationship with humans from one of disease vector to partner in environmental preservation. She has a wonderful knack for storytelling, deftly transforming what could be dry descriptions of biology, reproduction and morphology into entertainment. She takes readers to piles of poo in Ethiopia by way of underground caves, latrines and backyard gardens, and opens the drawers at the Natural History Museum to rhapsodize over her favorite flies.

Download or read book First in Fly written by Stephanie Elizabeth Mohr and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-09 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A single species of fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been the subject of scientific research for more than one hundred years. Stephanie Elizabeth Mohr explains why this tiny insect merits such intense scrutiny, and how laboratory findings made first in flies have expanded our understanding of human health and disease.

Download or read book The Making of a Fly written by P. A. Lawrence and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 1992-04-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding how a multicellular animal develops from a single cell (the fertilized egg) poses one of the greatest challenges in biology today. Development from egg to adult involves the sequential expression of virtually the whole of an organism's genetic instructions both in the mother as she lays down developmental cues in the egg, and in the embryo itself. Most of our present information on the role of genes in development comes from the invertebrate fruit fly, Drosophila. The two authors of this text (amongst the foremost authorities in the world) follow the developmental process from fertilization through the primitive structural development of the body plan of the fly after cleavage into the differentiation of the variety of tissues, organs and body parts that together define the fly. The developmental processes are fully explained throughout the text in the modern language of molecular biology and genetics. This text represents the vital synthesis of the subject that many have been waiting for and it will enable many specific courses in developmental biology and molecular genetics to focus on it. It will appeali to 2nd and 3rd year students in these disciplines as well as in biochemistry, neurobiology and zoology. It will also have widespread appeal among researchers. Authored by one of the foremost authorities in the world. A unique synthesis of the developmental cycle of Drosophila - our major source of information on the role of genes in development. Designed to provide the basis of new courses in developmental biology and molecular genetics at senior undergraduate level. A lucid explanation in the modern language of the science.

Download or read book Essays in Evolution and Genetics in Honor of Theodosius Dobzhansky written by Max K. Hecht and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is not often that one has the opportunity to send a public birthday greet ing to a friend and colleague of many years, and to congratulate him on having reached the age of reason. In fact it happens only once, and comes then as a surprise. Surely it was only a few years ago that we sat together at an International Genetics Congress in Ithaca, and only yesterday that we became members of the same department. The eighth floor of Schermerhorn Hall had a north end where the flies were and a south end furnished with mice, and in between, a seminar room and laboratory. There the distances were short and the doors open and the coffee pot busy. But it now appears that yesterday has fallen thirty years behind and that we have grown up. I find it interesting and appropriate that Dobzhansky's lifetime spans the period of maturation of the fields to which this volume is devoted. This is true in a chronological sense for his birth occurred in the same year, 1900, in which modern genetics began. The rediscovery of Mendel's princi ples and the interpretation of the nature of heredity and variation to which this event led were necessary prerequisites to the development of evolution ary biology as presented in this collection of essays.

Download or read book Of Flies Mice and Men written by François Jacob and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Tells the story of how the marvelous discoveries of molecular and developmental biology are transforming our understanding of who we are and where we came from. Jacob scrutinizes the place of the scientist in society". -- Jacket.

Download or read book Fly written by Martin Brookes and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2002-10-08 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A short biography of a creature that changed science. There's a buzz in the air, the sound of a billion wings vibrating to the tune of scientific success. For generations, the fruit fly has been defining biology's major landmarks. From genetics to development, behavior to aging, and evolution to the origin of the species, it has been a key and, outside academic circles, an unaccredited player in some of the twentieth century's greatest biological discoveries. In fact, everything from gene therapy to cloning and the Human Genome Project is built on the foundation of fruit fly research. This witty, irreverent biography of the fruit fly provides a broad introduction to biology as well as a glimpse into how one short life has informed scientific views on such things as fundamentals of heredity, battle of the sexes, and memory.

Download or read book Evolutionary Biology of Orthopteroid Insects written by Baccio Baccetti and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 622 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Evolutionary Biology of Parasites MPB 15 Volume 15 written by Peter W. Price and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In spite of the fact that parasites represent more than half of all living species of plants and animals, their role in the evolution of life on earth has been substantially underestimated. Here, for the first time within an evolutionary and ecological framework, Peter Price integrates the biological attributes that characterize parasites ranging from such diverse groups as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, to helminths, mites, insects, and parasitic flowering plants. Synthesizing systematics, ecology, behavioral biology, genetics, and biogeography, the author outlines the success of parasitism as a mode of life, the common features of the wide range of organisms that adopt such a way of life, the reasons for parasites' extraordinary potential for continued adaptive radiation, and their role in molding community structure by means of their impact on the evolution of host species. In demonstrating the importance of parasitic interactions for determining population patterns and geographical distributions, Dr. Price generates further discussion and suggests new areas for research.

Download or read book Fruit Flies Tephritidae written by Martin Aluja and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1999-12-20 with total page 1180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are among the most destructive agricultural pests in the world, eating their way through acres and acres of citrus and other fruits at an alarming rate and forcing food and agriculture agencies to spend millions of dollars in control and management measures. But until now, the study of fruit flies has been traditionally biased towards applied aspects (e.g., management, monitoring, and mass rearing)-understandable, given the tremendous economic impact of this species. This work is the first that comprehensively addresses the study of the phylogeny and the evolution of fruit fly behavior. An international group of highly renowned scientists review the current state of knowledge and include considerable new findings on various aspects of fruit fly behavior, phylogeny and related subjects. In the past, the topics of phylogeny and evolution of behavior were barely addressed, and when so, often superficially. Fruit Flies (Tephritidae): Phylogeny and Evolution of Behavior is a definitive treatment, covering all behaviors in a broad range of tephritids. This volume is divided into eight sections:

Download or read book Frogs Flies and Dandelions written by Menno Schilthuizen and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do new animal and plant species come about? How quickly does it happen? And what are species anyway? Schilthuizen, reputed scientist and journalist, launches into the debate that has baffled biologists ever since Darwin, with tremendous energy and wit. The whole subject leaps to life andits significance for understanding biodiversity comes clear. This is a fascinating read that will appeal equally to the lay reader and to students getting to grips with the fundementals of a complex subject.

Download or read book Drosophila written by Therese A. Markow and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2005-11-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anyone wishing to tap the research potential of the hundreds of Drosophila species in addition to D.melanogaster will finally have a single comprehensive resource for identifying, rearing and using this diverse group of insects. This is the only group of higher eukaryotes for which the genomes of 12 species have been sequenced. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster continues to be one of the greatest sources of information regarding the principles of heredity that apply to all animals, including humans. In reality, however, over a thousand different species of Drosophila exist, each with the potential to make their own unique contributions to the rapidly changing fields of genetics and evolution. This book, by providing basic information on how to identify and breed these other fruitflies, will allow investigators to take advantage, on a large scale, of the valuable qualities of these other Drosophila species and their newly developed genomic resources to address critical scientific questions. * Provides easy to use keys and illustrations to identify different Drosophila species * A guide to the life history differences of hundreds of species * Worldwide distribution maps of hundreds of species * Complete recipes for different Drosophila diets * Offers an analysis on how to account for species differences in designing and conducting experiments * Presents useful ideas of how to collect the many different Drosophila species in the wild

Download or read book Evolution of the Insects written by David Grimaldi and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-05-16 with total page 790 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insects are the most diverse group of organisms in the 3 billion-year history of life on Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. This book chronicles for the first time the complete evolutionary history of insects: their living diversity, relationships and 400 million years of fossils. Whereas other volumes have focused on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. The book is illustrated with 955 photo- and electronmicrographs, drawings, diagrams, and field photos, many in full colour and virtually all of them original. The book will appeal to anyone engaged with insect diversity: professional entomologists and students, insect and fossil collectors, and naturalists.

Download or read book Evolution in Hawaii written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-02-10 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As both individuals and societies, we are making decisions today that will have profound consequences for future generations. From preserving Earth's plants and animals to altering our use of fossil fuels, none of these decisions can be made wisely without a thorough understanding of life's history on our planet through biological evolution. Companion to the best selling title Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, Evolution in Hawaii examines evolution and the nature of science by looking at a specific part of the world. Tracing the evolutionary pathways in Hawaii, we are able to draw powerful conclusions about evolution's occurrence, mechanisms, and courses. This practical book has been specifically designed to give teachers and their students an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of evolution using exercises with real genetic data to explore and investigate speciation and the probable order in which speciation occurred based on the ages of the Hawaiian Islands. By focusing on one set of islands, this book illuminates the general principles of evolutionary biology and demonstrate how ongoing research will continue to expand our knowledge of the natural world.