This timely encyclopedia presents an arsenal of evidence for evolution that goes beyond the typical textbook examples. Arguing for Evolution: An Encyclopedia for Understanding Science provides readers with a single source for the scientific evidence supporting evolution. The book shows how scientists have tested the predictions of evolutionary theory and created an unshakeable foundation of evidence supporting its truth. As such, it demonstrates how evolution serves as a case study for understanding the scientific method and presents a logical model for scientific inquiry. The evidence for evolution is presented historically and topically in an accessible, example-rich, and logical format, using an arsenal of examples that goes beyond the typical textbook matter. The chapters are structured around a series of hypotheses that the authors put to the test, amassing evidence on fossils, comparative anatomy, molecules, and evolutionary biology in order to conclude that evolution is scientific fact. Learning about this fascinating field is enhanced through "see for yourself" examples that include original data and figures from key historical and contemporary papers in evolutionary biology.

Table of Contents:
Quick A-Z Guide to the Evidence Acknowledgments Introduction: Evolution as a Predictive Science 1 Understanding the Natural World: Evolution and the Process of Science Definitions of Science and Scientific Theory Definition of Evolution How Evolution Occurs Adaptation and Natural Selection Natural Selection and Fitness Proximate versus Ultimate Causation Products of Evolution Transitional Forms Complexity Extinction Artificial Selection Adaptive Radiation Homologous and Analogous Features Exaptations Vestigial Traits Evolution in Action: The Modern Threat of Antibiotic Resistance Summary 2 Age of Earth Prediction Theories of Earth's Age Scriptural Claims about Earth's Age Using Seas and Salt to Estimate Earth's Age Sedimentation Rates as a Measure of Time Geological Formations as Evidence of Earth's History Earth's Age as a Function of Temperature Radioactivity and Radiometric Dating Radioactivity Radiometric Dating What Isotopes Occur in Nature? Using Radioactivity to Determine the Ages of Rocks Other Radiometric Methods Fission-Track Dating Thermoluminescence Paleomagnetism Creationists' Claims about Radiometric Dating The Age of Earth Summary 3 Fossils Predictions We See Direct Evidence of the History of Life on Earth How and Where Do Fossils Form? Is the Fossil Record Complete? The Fossil Record Can Be Matched with Geologic Evidence to Describe the History of Life on Earth Fossils in the Sediments and Biostratigraphy Creationists' Objections to Biostratigraphy Fossilized Invertebrates Evolutionary Lineages for Vertebrates The Fossil Record, "Sudden Appearance," and the Cambrian Explosion The Fossil Record Includes Transitional Forms Linking Different Groups of Organisms Missing Links Transitional Forms Archaeopteryx: From Dinosaurs to Birds Tiktaalik: From Fish to Land Vertebrates Environmental Changes and Competition Inherent in Natural Selection Produce Extinctions Fossils as Evidence of Extinction Cuvier's Theory of Extinction Background Extinction Mass Extinction The K-T Extinction The Permian-Triassic Extinction Human-Caused Extinction Summary 4 Biogeography Predictions Darwin's Observations of Life's Diversity Life Is Extremely Diverse, and This Diversity Is Influenced by Geologic History Earth's Biodiversity Biogeography Early Theories of Biogeography Species That Are Most Alike Usually Live Near Each Other Geographically, Regardless of Differences in Environment Biogeography in the Age of Exploration Biogeography and Geology Major, Long-term Changes in the Distribution of Life's Diversity Are Influenced by Plate Tectonics Continental Geography Continental Drift Geologic Evidence of Continental Movement Paleomagnetism Radiometric Dating of the Seafloor Pangaea and Biogeography Tectonic Movement and Evolution Different Species in Similar Habitats Often Evolve Similar Adaptations Convergent Evolution Isolated Habitats Such as Oceanic Islands Are Populated by Descendants of Organisms from the Nearest Mainland Continental and Oceanic Islands Colonization of Oceanic Islands Island Species and Mainland Species Adaptive Radiation Unique Features of Island Biogeography Creationists' Explanations for Biogeography Summary 5 Molecular Evidence for Evolution Predictions Common Ancestry Is Revealed by a Common Hereditary Material (DNA or RNA) Related Organisms Reveal Their Genetic Similarity through Protein Similarity Antigen Specificity Protein Relatedness Ubiquitous Proteins Exist in Seemingly Disparate Taxa Ubiquitous Proteins Cytochrome c Hemoglobin Organisms with More Recent Common Ancestry Have More Hereditary Material in Common Than Organisms Further Removed Evolutionarily DNA Hybridization Genetic Sequence Data Genomes and Genetic Timelines Comparing the Coding Regions of Ubiquitous Proteins Confirms Common Ancestry Genes as Evidence of Common Descent Heat-Shock Proteins and Adaptation Organisms with Common Ancestry Share Randomly Generated Transposable Elements and Homologous Genes Transposable Elements and Shared Ancestry Gene Duplication Shared Ancestry Is Inferred through the Occurrence of Vestigial Molecular Elements, or Pseudogenes The Origin of Pseudogenes Pseudogenes as Evidence of Common Inheritance Shared Ancestry Is Revealed within a Lineage Showing Evidence of a Shared Viral Pathogen Endogenous Retroviruses and Common Descent Summary 6 Anatomical Evidence for Evolution Predictions There Are Anatomical Similarities among Related Organisms Comparative Anatomy Homologous Structures Structural Similarities in Plants Analogous Structures and Convergent Evolution Organisms Possess Vestigial Structures That Serve as Evolutionary Baggage Vestigial Structures as Remnants of Ancestral Organisms Creationists' Criticisms of Vestigial Organs as Evidence of Evolution There Are Developmental Similarities among Organisms Developmental Similarities Embryological Similarities Development and Embryology as Evidence of Common Ancestry The Study of Evolutionary Development Homeotic Genes Developmental Variation Eye Development and Animal Evolution Summary 7 Conflict and Cooperation Part I: Behavior Predictions Behavior Organisms Exhibit Behaviors That Increase Their Chances of Survival Tropic or Taxic Behavior Migration Thermoregulation Storage and Retrieval Behavioral Adaptations That Enhance Survival Are Selected over Those That Do Not, Even When a Cost Is Incurred by Other Individuals in the Population Egg Eviction by Birds Conspecific Infanticide Behaviors, Like Other Measurable Adaptations, Can Be Artificially Selected Experimental Manipulation of Behavioral Traits Heritability of Behaviors Individuals Behave Preferentially toward Kin When There Is Likely to Be an Inclusive Fitness Benefit Altruistic Behavior and Kin Selection Helping Alarm Calling Suicide Worker Castes Altruism by Reciprocal Exchange Individuals Exhibit Behaviors That Serve Simply to Acquire Mates Sexual Selection Intrasexual Competition Intersexual Selection and Behavior Theories of Female-Choice Mechanics There Is an Adaptive Advantage in Behaviors That Help Ensure Parentage Competitive Sperm Cooperative Sperm Sperm Competition and Behavior In a Conflict between Individual Survival and Reproductive Potential, Reproductive Potential Wins Destructive Reproductive Behavior in an Evolutionary Context Parents Behave Preferentially toward Those Offspring Most Likely to Augment the Parents' Inclusive Fitness Differential Treatment of Offspring Parental Favoritism of the Sexes Siblicide Summary 8 Conflict and Cooperation Part II: Coevolution Predictions Coevolution Ecological Relevance Prey Species Possess Ecologically Relevant Adaptations against Predation Coloration, Mimicry, and Warning Signals Toxic Emissions and Secretions Influence of Predation Pressure Third-Party Exploitation Predators Possess Ecologically Relevant Adaptations That Allow Them to Conquer Prey Coloration in Predators Odor Used to Attract Prey Selection for Predatory Ability Organisms Exploit Different Ecological Niches to Reduce the Negative Effects of Competition Character Displacement and Niche Partitioning Displacement from Antagonistic Coevolution Diversifying Coevolution Parasites Evolve Strategies That Allow Them to Exploit Host Resources Reciprocal Adaptations Selection-Driven Virulence in Parasites Parasite-Mediated Behavior and Coevolutionary Escalation Host Species Evolve Ways to Minimize the Costs of Being Parasitized Parasite-Host Coevolution in Avian Brood Parasites Specificity of Hosts and Intensity of Reciprocal Adaptations Host Tolerance Host Responses to Parasitism Symbiont Species That Serve a Life-History Function Are Rewarded and Continue Mutualism Obligate Mutualism Mutualism in the Oceans and Atmosphere Rewarded Symbionts Are Penalized for Cheating Penalties in the Cleaner-Fish Symbiosis Penalties in the Yucca-Yucca Moth Symbiosis Summary 9 Human Evolution Predictions Human Evolution: Biogeographic Evidence Sites of Origin Darwin's Prediction: The African Origins of Humans Human Evolution: Fossil Evidence Dart's Discovery of Hominin Fossils Other Hominin Discoveries in Africa Africa as the Birthplace of Humanity Human Evolution: Molecular Evidence Universal Homology, Ubiquitous Proteins, and Human Evolution Fossil Genes in the Human Genome Humans and the MC1R Gene Humans and Endogenous Retroviruses Human Evolution: Anatomical and Developmental Evidence Vestigial Body-Parts Human Development and Evolutionary History Human Behavior from an Evolutionary Perspective Behavior as an Adaptation in Humans Kin Preference in Human Behavior Mating in the Evolved Human Paternity Assurance in the Human Male Parental Favoritism as an Adaptation Human Evolution: Coevolutionary Evidence The Shared Evolution of Humans and Plasmodium Coevolution with Pathogens and HIV Resistance Coevolution with Pathogens and Urban Living Human Exploitation of Third-Party Organisms The Coevolved Human and Mate Choice Human Coevolution and Lactose Tolerance Summary Appendix 1. Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859, first edition), Chapters IV ("Natural Selection") and XIV ("Recapitulation and Conclusion") Appendix 2. The Geologic Timescale Appendix 3. Major Species of Known Hominins Glossary References Index