The Coevolutionary Process

Front Cover
University of Chicago Press, Nov 15, 1994 - Nature - 376 pages
Traditional ecological approaches to species evolution have frequently studied too few species, relatively small areas, and relatively short time spans. In The Coevolutionary Process, John N. Thompson advances a new conceptual approach to the evolution of species interactions—the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution. Thompson demonstrates how an integrated study of life histories, genetics, and the geographic structure of populations yields a broader understanding of coevolution, or the development of reciprocal adaptations and specializations in interdependent species.

Using examples of species interactions from an enormous range of taxa, Thompson examines how and when extreme specialization evolves in interdependent species and how geographic differences in specialization, adaptation, and the outcomes of interactions shape coevolution. Through the geographic mosaic theory, Thompson bridges the gap between the study of specialization and coevolution in local communities and the study of broader patterns seen in comparisons of the phylogenies of interacting species.
 

Contents

Overview
xi
Specialization within Darwins Entangled Bank
5
From the Entangled Bank to the Evolutionary Synthesis
21
Specialization and Coevolution since the Evolutionary Synthesis
34
Phylogeny of Specialization
57
Evolutionary Genetics of Specialization
75
Ontogeny of Specialization
100
Why Parasitism Is Special
119
Further Limitations on Specialization in Mutualisms
184
Genetics of Coevolution
201
The Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution
217
Diversifying Coevolution
237
Asymmetries in Specialization and Coevolution
251
Pushing the Limits of Coevolution
274
The Geographic Mosaic in Evolving Interactions
286
Specialization Coevolution and Conservation
290

Choosing among Multiple Victims
132
Coping with Multiple Enemies The Geography of Defense
151
Extreme Specialization in Mutualists
165
Literature Cited
294
Index
339
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 307 - Hawksworth, DL 1988. The variety of fungal-algal symbioses, their evolutionary significance, and the nature of lichens.

About the author (1994)

John N. Thompson is the Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Bibliographic information