Cleveland P. Hickman, Jr.,
Washington and Lee University Larry S. Roberts,
Florida International University Susan L. Keen,
University of California, Davis Allan Larson,
Washington University David J. Eisenhour,
Morehead State University
ISBN: 0072528443 Copyright year: 2007
New to this Edition
Major revisions for the fourth edition include:
Scientific method—expanded explanation in Chapter 1.
Evolutionary mechanisms and theory—greater explanation
of the rejection of teleology by Darwinian theory, sorting
versus natural selection, population bottlenecks, roles of
homeobox genes and mutations of large effect in evolution,
and modes of species formation (Chapter 1).
Political controversies—updated coverage of controversies
surrounding animal rights and “intelligent design” creationism
(Chapter 1),and environmental issues (Chapter 2).
Metapopulation dynamics—added coverage of
metapopulation dynamics in ecology (Chapter 2).
Life-history ecology—expanded coverage of life-history
ecology, including general concepts (iteroparity versus semelparity,
Chapter 2), evolution of cnidarian life cycles (Chapter
7), basic life histories of eels and hagfishes (Chapter 16), evidence
for parental care in dinosaurs (Chapter 18), and social
behavior of reproduction in birds (Chapter 19).
Community ecology—topics with expanded coverage
include mutualism, Batesian and Müllerian mimicry, newly discovered
hydrothermal-vent communities, and nutrient pools
(Chapter 2).
Physiological ecology—expanded coverage of physiological
ecology of many groups, particularly hemichordates
(Chapter 14), echinoderms (locomotion and feeding, Chapter
14), tunicates (Chapter 15), fishes (swim bladder, fins, and
osmotic regulation, Chapter 16), snakes (prey-capture strategies,
Chapter 18),and mammals (feeding, Chapter 20).
Biodiversity and extinction—added discussion of animal
diversity and extinction in the context of geological time
(Chapter 2).
Epidemiology—new coverage of environmental epidemiological
topics, including the fish-killing dinoflagellate,
Pfiesteria piscicida (Chapter 5), the mosquito-borne West Nile
virus (Chapter 12), incidence of snakebite in humans (Chapter
18),and declining amphibian populations (Chapter 17).
Body plans—expanded comparisons of major body
plans, including formation of body plans and body cavities
(Chapter 3) and implications of a possible sister-taxon relationship
between annelids and molluscs for evolution of segmentation
(Chapter 11).
Systematic concepts and theory—expanded explanation
of systematic concepts, including species concepts, polytypic
species, and the new taxonomic system PhyloCode as an
alternative to Linnean taxonomy (Chapter 4).
Phylogenetic methodology—expanded explanation of
molecular phylogenetic procedures (Chapter 4) and why evolutionary
relationship of some taxa, such as chaetognaths, are
difficult to discern (Chapter 13).
Phylogeny and classification of animals—updated phylogenies
and taxonomies based largely on new comparative
molecular studies (Chapters 4–20). Major cases include
(1) new hypotheses for major prokaryotic and eukaryotic lineages
and the concept of taxonomic domains above the kingdom
level (Chapters 4–5); (2) phylogenetic position of acoelomorph
flatworms outside all other bilaterians (Chapter 8);
(3) pogonophorans subsumed into annelid class Polychaeta as
clade Siboglinidae (Chapters 11 and 13); (4) paraphyly of
annelid classes Polychaeta and Oligochaeta (Chapter 11);
(5) arthropod taxon Uniramia abandoned in favor of four
extant subphyla: Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Crustacea, and Hexapoda
(Chapter 12); (6) arthropod subphylum Hexapoda
revised to contain classes Entognatha and Insecta (Chapter
12); (7) revised phylogenetic relationships among many
pseudocoelomate and lesser protostome phyla and their
grouping into taxa Lophotrochozoa versus Ecdysozoa
(Chapters 8 and 13); (8) sea daisies (formerly Concentricycloidea)
subsumed into Asteroidea; (9) greatly revised
cladograms and/or classifications for Mollusca (Chapter 10),
Hemichordata (Chapter 14), Aves (Chapter 19), Mammalia
(Chapter 20), and anthropoid apes (Chapters 4 and 20); and
(10) priority of the name Urodela now given to salamanders
(Chapter 14).
New taxa—addition of some newly described taxa,
including a group of carnivorous sponges that lack choanocytes
(Chapter 6) and the pseudocoelomate group Micrognathozoa
(Chapter 9).
Vertebrate origins—expanded coverage of vertebrate
origins, including ecological physiology, role of Hox genes and
developmental changes (Chapter 15).
Paleontology—updated fossil discoveries, especially
those pertaining to vertebrate origins (Chapter 15), sharing of
derived characters between dinosaurs and birds (Chapter 19),
and cynodont mammals and human ancestry (Chapter 20).
Group characteristics—extensive revision of group
characteristics (Chapters 5–20).
Readability—reorganization of many topics to improve
ease of reading; major cases include presentation of systematic
principles (Chapter 4) and of phyla Cnidaria (Chapter 7), Platyhelminthes
(Chapter 8), and Mollusca (Chapter 10).
These revisions include redrawing of many figures and
enlargement of photos to improve clarity of presentation.
An extensively revised glossary includes all bolded key
terms with the exception of those found in the “classification”
boxes of their respective chapters. Additional unbolded terms
that are useful in understanding terms in other definitions are
also included.
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education