San Antonio College Library

Why are most animal signals reliable? This is the central problem for evolutionary biologists interested in signals. The authors disentangle the complex and often confusing terminology that characterises the subject, and then challenge the widely held assumption that there is only one correct explanation for signal reliability. They argue that the reliability of signals is maintained in several ways, relevant in different circumstances, and that biologists...

An alternative view of evolving complexity. Bird argues that randomness means not disorder but infinite order and that complexity arises from the "playing out" of chaotic systems.

Discusses the effect of changing oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere on evolution and mass extinctions, and presents the theory that saurischian dinosaurs were able to weather two mass extinctions because of a new, more efficient respiratory system, which was in turn inherited by their descendants the birds.

Draws on popular examples and sound science to explain our expanding waistlines and to discuss the consequences of being overweight for different demographic groups. Reviews the various studies of human and animal fat use and storage, including those that examine fat deposition and metabolism in men and women; chronicle cultural differences in food procurement, preparation, and consumption; and consider the influence of sedentary occupations and lifestyles....

Publisher's description: Much of the evolutionary biology that has grabbed headlines in recent years has sprung from the efforts of sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists to explain sexual features and behavior--even differences between how men and women think--as evolutionary adaptations. They have looked to the forces of natural selection to explain everything from the mimicry of male mockingbirds to female orgasms among humans. In this...