The Tree of Life: Evolution and Classification of Living Organisms, (Hardcover)

The past two decades have seen revolutionary progress in our ability to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and classify living things, thanks to improved methods of inference and a wealth of DNA sequencing research. The Tree of Life condenses this knowledge into 44 chapters of the ultimate phylogenetic tree, providing for the first time a comprehensive overview of evolutionary relationships for the main groups of living organisms. Each chapter is authored by experts, and appropriate chapters feature these elements:

*Chapter-opening evolutionary tree for each group of organisms

*Genome characteristics

*Phylogenetic results contrasted with previous classifications

*Evolution of characters

*Evolutionary tendencies

*Biogeography and biodiversity

*Differentiation and speciation

*Open questions

*Basic bibliography

*Basic terms

In addition, 11 more chapters on evolution-influencing factors (e.g., symbiosis, biogeography), systematics, and phylogenetic techniques are included. This indispensable book will serve college and graduate students, university teachers, life science researchers, and other professionals who require classification in an evolutionary framework through which their own comparative biological data can be interpreted.