Biological Systematics : : Principles and Applications / / Andrew V. Z. Brower, Randall T. Schuh.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Cornell University Press Complete eBook-Package 2021
• VerfasserIn: Brower, Andrew V. Z.,; Schuh, Randall T.,
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, NY : : Cornell University Press, , [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Edition: Third Edition
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (456 p.) :; 22 b&w halftones, 46 b&w line drawings

Understanding the history and philosophy of biological systematics (phylogenetics, taxonomy and classification of living things) is key to successful practice of the discipline. In this thoroughly revised Third Edition of the classic Biological Systematics, Andrew V. Z. Brower and Randall T. Schuh provide an updated account of cladistic principles and techniques, emphasizing their empirical and epistemological clarity. Schuh and Brower cover: -the history and philosophy of systematics -the mechanics and methods of character analysis, phylogenetic inference, and evaluation of results -the practical application of systematic results to: - biological classification, - adaptation and coevolution - biodiversity,and conservation -new chapters on species and molecular clocks Biological Systematics is intended as a textbook for students studying systematic biology and as a desk reference for practicing systematists. Part explication of concepts and methods, part exploration of the underlying epistemology of systematics, Brower and Schuh aim in this third edition to explain why some methods are more empirically sound than others.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface to the First Edition -- Preface to the Second Edition -- Preface to the Third Edition -- Acknowledgments to the First Edition -- Acknowledgments to the Second Edition -- Dedication and Acknowledgments to the Third Edition -- Section I. HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL BACKGROUND FOR SYSTEMATICS -- 1. Introduction to Systematics: First Principles and Practical Tools -- 2. Systematics and the Philosophy of Science -- Section II. CLADISTIC METHODS -- 3. Characters and Character States -- 4. Character Polarity and Inferring Homology -- 5. Tree-Building Algorithms and Philosophies -- 6. Evaluating Results -- Section III. APPLICATION OF CLADISTIC RESULTS -- 7. Species: Concepts, Recognition, and Analytical Problems -- 8. Nomenclature, Classifications, and Systematic Databases -- 9. The Integration of Phylogenetics, Historical Biogeography, and Host-Parasite Coevolution -- 10. Evaluating Hypothetical Scenarios of Evolution, Ecology and Adaptation -- 11. Understanding Molecular Clocks and Time Trees -- 12. Biodiversity and Conservation -- Postscript: Parsimony and the Future of Systematics -- Appendix -- Glossary -- Literature Cited -- Author Index -- Subject Index