Tools developed by statistical physicists are of increasing importance in the analysis of complex biological systems. Physics in Molecular Biology, first published in 2005, discusses how physics can ...be used in modeling life. It begins by summarizing important biological concepts, emphasizing how they differ from the systems normally studied in physics. A variety of topics, ranging from the properties of single molecules to the dynamics of macro-evolution, are studied in terms of simple mathematical models. The main focus of the book is on genes and proteins and how they build systems that compute and respond. The discussion develops from simple to complex systems, and from small-scale to large-scale phenomena. This book will inspire advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics to approach biological subjects from a physicist's point of view. It is self-contained, requiring no background knowledge of biology, and only familiarity with basic concepts from physics, such as forces, energy, and entropy.
Biochemical adaptation Hochachka, Pater W; Hochachka, Pater W; Somero, George N
2014., 20140701, 2014, 1984, Volume:
710
eBook
This book discusses biochemical adaptation to environments from freezing polar oceans to boiling hot springs, and under hydrostatic pressures up to 1,000 times that at sea level.
Originally published ...in 1984.
ThePrinceton Legacy Libraryuses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Methods in Stream Ecology, Second Edition, provides a complete series of field and laboratory protocols in stream ecology that are ideal for teaching or conducting research. This updated edition ...reflects recent advances in the technology associated with ecological assessment of streams, including remote sensing. In addition, the relationship between stream flow and alluviation has been added, and a new chapter on riparian zones is also included. The book features exercises in each chapter; detailed instructions, illustrations, formulae, and data sheets for in-field research for students; and taxanomic keys to common stream invertebrates and algae. With a student-friendly price, this book is key for all students and researchers in stream and freshwater ecology, freshwater biology, marine ecology, and river ecology. This text is also supportive as a supplementary text for courses in watershed ecology/science, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, and landscape ecology. * Exercises in each chapter * Detailed instructions, illustrations, formulae, and data sheets for in-field research for students * Taxanomic keys to common stream invertebrates and algae * Link from Chapter 22: FISH COMMUNITY COMPOSITION to an interactive program for assessing and modeling fish numbers
‘Toby Gardner’s excellent book contains many valuable lessons and recommendations on ways to improve forest monitoring, how to promote far better and more ecologically sustainable forest management, ...and approaches to significantly improve biodiversity conservation programmes… Researchers, policy-makers, and forest managers need to read this book.’ David Lindenmayer, Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University
‘This book provides a highly original review of one of the greatest challenges facing today’s conservation and forestry professionals.’
Jeffrey Sayer, Senior Scientific Adviser, Forest Conservation Programme , IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature
‘Toby Gardner’s timely, accessible and much needed book provides a constructive and common sense review of key problems and remedies regarding the future of forest biodiversity. His clear-headed proposals about monitoring and good practice offer a practical guide to improved forest management and conservation. I urge all those concerned with the fate of the world’s forests to read and consider what this book has to say.’
Douglas Sheil, Director, Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Uganda, and Senior Research Associate, Center for International Forestry Research, Indonesia
The fate of much of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity depends upon our ability to improve the management of forest ecosystems that have already been substantially modified by humans. Monitoring is an essential ingredient in meeting this challenge, allowing us to measure the impact of different human activities on biodiversity and identify more responsible ways of managing the environment. The purpose of this book is to examine the factors that make biodiversity monitoring programmes fail or succeed.
The first two sections lay out the context and importance of biodiversity monitoring, and shed light on some of the key challenges that have confounded many efforts to date. The third and main section presents an operational framework for developing monitoring programmes that have the potential to make a meaningful contribution to forest management. Discussion covers the scoping, design and implementation stages of a forest biodiversity monitoring programme, including defining the purpose, goals and objectives of monitoring, indicator selection, and the process of data collection, analysis and interpretation.
Toby Gardner is a NERC Research Fellow in the Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK.
The origin of biological diversity, via the formation of new species, can be inextricably linked to adaptation to the ecological environment. Specifically, ecological processes are central to the ...formation of new species when barriers to gene flow (reproductive isolation) evolve between populations as a result of ecologically based divergent natural selection. This process of ‘ecological speciation’ has seen a large body of focused research in the last ten-fifteen years, and a review and synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature is now timely. The book begins by clarifying what ecological speciation is, its alternatives, and the predictions that can be used to test for it. It then reviews the three components of ecological speciation and discusses the geography and genomic basis of the process. A final chapter highlights future research directions, describing the approaches and experiments which might be used to conduct that future work. The ecological and genetic literature is integrated throughout the text with the goal of shedding new insight into the speciation process, particularly when the empirical data is then further integrated with theory.
The root of the eukaryote tree of life defines some of the most fundamental relationships among species. It is also critical for defining the last eukaryote common ancestor (LECA), the shared ...heritage of all extant species. The unikont-bikont root has been the reigning paradigm for eukaryotes for more than 10 years 1 but is becoming increasingly controversial 2–4. We developed a carefully vetted data set, consisting of 37 nuclear-encoded proteins of close bacterial ancestry (euBacs) and their closest bacterial relatives, augmented by deep sequencing of the Acrasis kona (Heterolobosea, Discoba) transcriptome. Phylogenetic analysis of these data produces a highly robust, fully resolved global phylogeny of eukaryotes. The tree sorts all examined eukaryotes into three megagroups and identifies the Discoba, and potentially its parent taxon Excavata 5, as the sister group to the bulk of known eukaryote diversity, the proposed Neozoa (Amorphea + Stramenopila+Alveolata+Rhizaria+Plantae SARP 6). All major alternative hypotheses are rejected with as little as ∼50% of the data, and this resolution is unaffected by the presence of fast-evolving alignment positions or distant outgroup sequences. This “neozoan-excavate” root revises hypotheses of early eukaryote evolution and highlights the importance of the poorly studied Discoba for understanding the evolution of eukaryotic diversity and basic cellular processes.
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•A new 37-protein data set produces a robust and rooted eukaryote tree•All examined eukaryotes form three megagroups: Amorphea, SARP, and Excavata•A new neozoan-excavate root is proposed with strong statistical support•Discoba (Excavata) has a long, unique, and largely unknown evolutionary history
He et al. developed a novel data set of 37 eukaryotic proteins of bacterial ancestry (euBacs) to explore the major radiations of eukaryotes. A neozoan-excavate root is found, with the little-known Discoba (and potentially its parent taxon Excavata) identified as sister group to the bulk of known eukaryote diversity.
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