Ecological Developmental Biology |  | Authors: Scott F. Gilbert, David Epel
Publisher: Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $54.95
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Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 94782
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 375
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7 x 0.9
ISBN: 0878932992
Dewey Decimal Number: 572.865
EAN: 9780878932993
ASIN: 0878932992
Publication Date: December 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When the molecular processes of epigenetics meet the ecological processes of phenotypic plasticity, the result is a revolutionary new field: ecological developmental biology, or eco-devo. This new science studies development in the real world of predators, pathogens, competitors, symbionts, toxic compounds, temperature changes, and nutritional differences. These environmental agents can result in changes to an individual s phenotype, often implemented when signals from the environment elicit epigenetic changes in gene expression. Ecological developmental biology is a truly integrative biology, detailing the interactions between developing organisms and their environmental contexts. Ecological developmental biology also provides a systems approach to the study of pathology, integrating the studies of diabetes, cancers, obesity, and the aging syndrome into the framework of an ecologically sensitive developmental biology. It looks at examples where the environment provides expected cues for normal development and where the organism develops improperly without such cues. Data from research on teratology, endocrine disruptors, and microbial symbioses, when integrated into a developmental context, may have enormous implications for human health as well as the overall health of Earth s ecosystems. The study of epigenetics changes in gene expression that are not the result of changes in a gene s DNA sequence has recently provided startling insights not only into mechanisms of development, but also into the mechanisms and processes of evolution. The notion that epialleles (changes in chromosome structure that alter gene expression) can be induced by environmental agents and transmitted across generations has altered our notions of evolution, as have new experiments documenting the genetic fixation of environmentally induced changes in development. The widespread use of symbiosis in development provides new targets for natural selection. Ecological developmental biology integrates these new ideas into an extended evolutionary synthesis that retains and enriches the notion of evolution by natural selection.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Finally, a book that tells the Whole Story! December 8, 2008
William R. Bates (Kelowna, BC)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Finally we have a truly excellent account of how the environment affects various developmental processes that make plants and animals!
This is a masterpiece in scholarship yet at the same time this book is written in a way that everyone can enjoy.
Gilbert and Epel are world experts in this new field of "Eco-Devo" and they clearly show us how living things, including humans, are intimately affected by changes in the environment. Using beautiful colour images to illustrate their story, they tell us how the same genome can produce different phenotypes (forms) in a wide range of organisms. This book will also be of great interest to readers interested in the history and philosophy of biology as Gilbert and Epel clearly discuss the historical roots of 'eco-devo' along with the philosophical implications of 'eco-devo'. This book is a 'must read' for anyone interested in biology, especially those who are biased in thinking that genetics alone, in the absence of understanding environmental input, explains how living forms arise and evolve. Folks who are interested in conservation biology will want to read this book as the authors discuss many examples of how toxins released into the environment adversely affect fundamental developmental mechanisms leading to the extinction of organisms. What is really wonderful about this book this that we are not burdened with endless technical information and jargon, instead we are given a passionate story about how all things on this planet are inter-connected, reminding me of the ancient Indian "Diamond Net of Indra" metaphor that if you touch (disturb) any part of the net, you actually affect the whole net (the entire planet!). So this book introduces the reader to a new view of science that we might call "Wholistic Biology" in which ecology, development, health science, molecular genetics and evolution are united together as they actually are in the 'real world', instead of being discussed as separate fields of study as they usually are in universities.
What more can I say other than "Ecological Developmental Biology" is most definitely one of the most significant books to be written in the field of science in the last few decades. Please read it! Thank you Scott and David for this Gift to us all!
Wm. Bates
University of British Columbia
Canada
Instructive introduction to development August 6, 2010
Torvid W Kiserud
Excellent paperback on biological development; the text reads well and the figures are instructive. Commendable
 Meaty! and well written January 24, 2010
Archimedes (Seattle)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
We read this book for my evo-devo book group. It's pretty meaty for a group of recreational readers, but we got quite a lot out of it. To give you an idea of where these readers were coming from, we're a mix of professionals, only some of whom are even in the life sciences. We've read books like Sean Carroll's before this one. If you've read Carroll's books and want to take the next step, I do recommend this one. I don't know if it's used as a textbook, but it's certainly beyond most popularizations.
With this perspective, let me say: the whole group really enjoyed this one. We took three sessions to read it, but found the writing clear and the pictures very helpful. The chapter on endocrine disruptors was especially eye-opening.
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