David BriggsCambridge University PressEdition: 4, 6/30/2016EAN 9781107602229, ISBN10: 110760222XPaperback, 596 pages, 24.6 x 18.9 x 2.8 cmLanguage: EnglishWe are in the midst of a biological revolution. Molecular tools are now providing new means of critically testing hypotheses and models of microevolution in populations of wild, cultivated, weedy and feral plants. They are also offering the opportunity for significant progress in the investigation of long-term evolution of flowering plants, as part of molecular phylogenetic studies of the Tree of Life. This long-awaited fourth edition, fully revised by David Briggs, reflects new insights provided by molecular investigations and advances in computer science. Briggs considers the implications of these for our understanding of the evolution of flowering plants, as well as the potential for future advances. Numerous new sections on important topics such as the evolutionary impact of human activities, taxonomic challenges, gene flow and distribution, hybridisation, speciation and extinction, conservation and the molecular genetic basis of breeding systems will ensure that this remains a classic text for both undergraduate and graduate students in the field.PrefaceAcknowledgementsNote on names of plantsList of abbreviations1. Investigating plant variation and evolution2. From Ray to Darwin3. Early work on biometry4. Early work on the basis of individual variation5. Post-Darwinian ideas about evolution6. DNAtowards an understanding of heredity and molecular evolution7. Breeding systems8. Infraspecific variation and the ecotype concept9. Pattern and process in plant populations10. Pattern and processfactors interacting with natural selection11. Populationsorigins and extinctions12. Species and speciationconcepts and models13. Allopatric speciation and hybridisation14. Abrupt speciation by polyploidy15. The species concept16. Flowering plant evolutionadvances, challenges and prospects17. Historical biogeography18. The evolutionary impact of human activities19. The taxonomic challenge ahead20. Conservationfrom protection to restoration and beyondIndex.
