The Nature of Diversity

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Darwin recognized that evolution is the result of interactions between the inherited nature of organisms and the nature of their living conditions. Of the two, he proposed that the nature of the organism is paramount. A universal aspect of that nature is retained history, or phylogeny. Daniel R. Brooks and Deborah A. McLennan argue that evolution has been so complex and historically contingent that robust evolutionary explanations must include phylogenetic information. Clearly setting out the conceptual, methodological, and empirical foundations of their research program, they show how scientists can uncover the effects of evolutionary history on all levels of biological organization, from organisms to ecosystems. While illustrating and testing their approach with examples drawn from a wide variety of species and habitats, they adopt the metaphor of a voyage of discovery, because there is still so much to learn about the evolved nature of the biosphere. The argument in "The Nature of Diversity "greatly expands upon and refines the arguments made in the authors' previous book "Phylogeny, Ecology, and Behavior.