Evolution on planet earth : the impact of the physical environment /

Driving evolution forward, the Earth's physical environment has challenged the very survival of organisms and ecosystems throughout the ages. With a fresh new perspective, Evolution on Planet Earth shows how these physical realities and hurdles shaped the primary phases of life on the planet. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Rothschild, Lynn J., Lister, Adrian
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam ; Boston : Academic Press, ©2003.
Subjects:
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Table of Contents:
  • The Physical Setting for Early Life
  • An Evolutionary Perspective of Nitrogen Fixation
  • The Coupled Evolution of Life and Atmospheric Oxygen
  • Chemistry of the Early Oceans
  • The Role of Carbon Dioxide in Plant Evolution
  • Solar Energy and Life
  • Could Life Travel across Interplanetary Space?
  • Genome Evolution and the Impact of the Physical Environment
  • The Impact of Gravity on Life
  • Gravity, the Atmosphere and the Evolution of Animal Locomotion
  • Evolution and Low Temperatures
  • Temperature, Tectonics, and Evolution
  • The Interplay of Physical and Biotic Factors in Macroevolution
  • The Causes of Phanerozoic Extinctions
  • Drifting Continents and Life on Earth
  • Land-Sea Relations and Speciation in the Marine and Terrestrial Realms
  • Tectonics, Climatic Change, and the Evolution of Mammalian Ecosystems
  • Ice Ages, Species Distributions, and Evolution
  • Environmental Variability and Its Impace on Adaptive Evolution, with Special Reference to Human Origins
  • The Younger Dryas, Climatic Change, and the Beginnings of Agriculture
  • The Physical Constraints on Extraterrestrial Life.