Understanding Evo-Devo

Understanding Life

by Wallace Arthur

Why do the best-known examples of evolutionary change involve the alteration of one kind of animal into another very similar one, like the evolution of a bigger beak in a bird? Wouldn't it be much more interesting to understand how beaks originated? Most people would agree, but until recently we didn't know much about such origins. That is now changing, with the growth of the interdisciplinary field evo-devo, which deals with the relationship between how embryos develop in the short term and how they (and the adults they grow into) evolve in the long term. One of the key questions can the origins of structures such as beaks, eyes, and shells be explained within a Darwinian framework? The answer seems to be yes, but only by expanding that framework. This book discusses the required expansion, and the current state of play regarding our understanding of evolutionary and developmental origins.

206 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 2021

About the author

Wallace Arthur is a Northern Irish evolutionary biologist, science writer, and Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the University of Galway. Educated at the University of Ulster and the University of Nottingham, he became known for interdisciplinary work linking evolution, ecology, and developmental biology. Arthur was among the founding editors of the journal Evolution & Development and has held visiting positions at Harvard University and Darwin College Cambridge. His research has focused on evo-devo, animal body plans, developmental bias, and arthropod segmentation. In later years he turned toward astrobiology and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, explored in books such as Parallel Worlds: Evolution of Life Across the Cosmos. He supports an expanded evolutionary synthesis incorporating advances in developmental biology.

Reviews

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my Evo Devo seminar. It was alright. The writing can be difficult to follow sometimes and I was left wondering what certain things meant, because they were explained around but not directly. Nonetheless an exciting introduction into a more novel approach to evolution and development. Stunning to me that this connection wasn’t explored in more depth prior to 1980. Can’t wait for my seminar to learn more!

[Eduardo Fernández ortuño · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic introduction or revisit to the field of evo devo. Very lighlty written, but still allowing depth in the concepts of evolution and development, and pointing out the open questions in the field. Always a good thing to regenerate the scientific motivation to read a divulgative text

[Kevin Hendricks · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this book, I have a much better understanding of what Evo-Devo is.

[Nadvornix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evo-devo is an important advancement in evolutionary theory. Author understand it deeply. But cannot write. Often I didn't understand why is he talking about various things.

[Lê Hồng · Rating 5 out of 5]

The narrative is not the best, but the info is interesting enough to make up for it. I have no academic experience with biology, I'm just an enthusiast but even then I am now confident enough to say I understand evo-devo, or at least I'm familiarized enough with many terms and concepts of evo-devo that I can approach the subject with newfound appreciation.