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Book Reviews
723
My students will get more than enough phylogenetics,
set in the context of Darwinian theory where it
belongs, from his book. Better yet, the students will
have in a single resource a primer on so many of the
other tools they will need to perform and understand
the research projects in which they find themselves
occupied. Where else would I find a text on evolution
that succinctly covers some basic statistics right next
to the seminal work of the Grants on Darwin’s
finches? Or contains such a pithy piece of the nittygritty as what distinguishes a holotype from a paratype
next to a reproduction of Darwin’s only figure from
the Origin? The richness goes on and on, and it is hard
to know where to stop in trying to express my
happiness at having this book in my library.
But wait, there is more! On the flyleaf, and in many
places in the body of the text, there are invitations to
visit the Evolution, Second Edition website. There,
students and instructors will find an indispensable
resource that includes an online version of the
glossary appearing in the book, a way to generate
flash cards, problem sets pertinent to each chapter,
chapter outlines, and chapter summaries. But for me
there is nothing quite like flipping the pages of the
volume itself, which appropriately comes out in a year
full of Darwin-inspired anniversary celebrations. I am
surprised to say this about a textbook of all things, but
there is carefully selected beauty here of a kind that
could serve to inspire and inform students at so many
levels, including those of us who are students for life.
Not By Design: Retiring Darwin’s
Watchmaker. John O. Reiss.
designer, in which “the achieved result of the evolutionary process is seen as a previously vacant place in
the economy of nature” (p. 353). Cuvier’s principle of
conditions for existence of life, however, avoids this
downfall by rigorously maintaining the connection
between existence and adaptation, whilst Darwin
decoupled the two phenomena, “since without this
separation, the species would have gone extinct before
it could adapt to the new environmental conditions”
(p. 133). Even Alfred Russell Wallace is cited as
initially recognizing and resisting the teleology inherent in Darwin’s language in On the Origin of Species,
although later in his career his refusal to accept
human evolution led him into his own brand of
teleological explanations (Shermer 2002, pp. 229–
231). In contrast, Cuvier’s principle of conditions for
existence states that any organism must already be
satisfying its conditions for existence, by virtue of the
fact that it does indeed exist in order for us to observe
it. Consequently, the idea of organisms being
“selected” for some hypothetically superior state is
unnecessary and misleading.
The issue of teleology in Darwin’s theory has been
the subject of vigorous debate amongst both
scientists and philosophers. Darwin addressed the
issue with his contemporary critics, dismissing
accusations of teleology and anthropomorphism as
“superficial objections,” that took his metaphors too
literally and citing chemists’ discussion of atomic
“affinities” as another example of harmless literary
language in scientific discourse (Darwin 1859 [1872],
Berkeley, CA: UC Press, 2009. 440 pp. ISBN 978-05-2025893-8, $49.95.
Georges Cuvier served as one of the founders of
vertebrate paleontology in the 19th century, and yet
he is often viewed as an example of stubborn
orthodoxy during an era that heralded significant
new milestones and insights regarding evolution and
the history of life on our planet. Frequently lauded
for his anatomical expertise, Cuvier’s holistic view of
organisms as integrated functional systems led to his
legendary ability to predict the form and function of
entire species from extremely meager samples of
fossil remains. Although he was instrumental in
establishing the reality of extinction of species and in
developing the concept of stratigraphy using index
fossils, he strongly resisted the emerging theories of
organic evolution and “transformism,” arguing that
any small, random change in physiology or morphology would disrupt the delicate balance that allowed
an organism to function and, ultimately, to survive
(Rudwick 1997).
Reiss, however, suggested that Cuvier’s principle of
“conditions for existence” has been misunderstood by
generations of evolutionary biologists, including
Darwin himself, and actually forms a critical foundation for an accurate understanding of evolution. He
presented evidence that Darwin’s natural selection is
based upon an unnecessary analogy to an intelligent
Rich Mooi
Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Advance Access publication September 18, 2009
doi:10.1093/icb/icp095
724
in West-Eberhard 2003, p. 443). Reiss’s thesis, however, is that Darwin was unable to completely
eliminate the implication of design from his concept
of natural selection, due to the pervading influence of
19th century British natural theology in his upbringing and professional training. Darwin’s view of
variation as being caused by imperfect adaptedness
resulting from environmental change resulted in the
concept of selective “force” working to “sort out
proper structure and adapt it to change” (Notebook
D, Barrett et al. 1987, pp. 375–376).
In Not by Design, Reiss integrates two longcontentious issues—Cuvier’s role in the development
of evolutionary theory, and inherent teleology in
Darwin’s concept of natural selection—into a wideranging review of the development and progression of
our understanding about both the principles and the
mechanisms of evolution. The unifying theme
throughout the text is that Darwin’s ideas were
heavily influenced by Paley’s teleology, and that
Cuvier’s ideas are a more appropriate, non-purposive
way to view evolution. He supports Darwin’s natural
selection as one mechanism of evolution, but rejects it
as an interpretive principle.
The book is divided into four parts: an overview of
the philosophical background and terminology which
is used to discuss issues of teleology, selection, and
determinism; a comprehensive review of the historical
debate and diverse ideas regarding evolution and
creation, ranging from Epicurean atomists to modern
times; a thorough evaluation of how the development
of mathematical population genetics models during
the Modern Synthesis was also influenced by ambiguity between overall adaptedness and existence; and
an extensive examination of how Cuvier’s principle of
conditions for existence can strengthen the understanding and discourse about a comprehensive list of
topics relating to adaptation and evolution. Reiss
achieves both breadth and depth, as he meticulously
sorts through various definitions of common terms
and concepts that have been interpreted and developed in divergent or conflicting ways within the
scientific community. He suggests in the preface that
some readers may choose to skip the middle chapters
of the book, which center upon the technical details of
various models in population genetics. Those that are
less than mathematically inclined should not be
deterred; Reiss takes care to insert boxes with
summaries of the relevant equations and derivations,
and the overall analysis developed in these chapters
contributes greatly to a full engagement with the ideas
and arguments in later chapters.
The purpose of the book is to build the case that
Cuvier’s principle of conditions for existence is a
Book Reviews
unifying concept in evolutionary biology, and that
Darwin’s and Wallace’s natural selection functions as
a “conservator of adaptedness” (p. 309) by explaining
the persistence of traits within a population, but not
as an active, driven force for change. Reiss differentiates between the concept of natural selection as a
mechanism of evolution, in a probabilistic sense,
versus its use as a “principle of interpretation” for our
understanding of the process of evolution (pp. 280–
284).
In his efforts to root out teleological implications
from evolutionary discourse, Reiss delves into
thought-provoking examinations of a range of
issues. His discussion on the difficulty of assigning
conflicting roles to natural selection and genetic drift
includes an exhaustive overview of the many sources
of random change in populations. There is a thorough
review of the many ways in which the terms “adaptation” and “adaptedness” are used, and Reiss also
builds a case to show that simple functional significance is often misconstrued as selective “force.” He
concludes with a section on conservation, discussing
how our concepts of genetic load, genetic quality, and
fitness have strong implications for management of
declining populations.
Although much attention is devoted to rates of
population growth, Reiss does little to address the
specific mechanisms involved in differential reproductive success. Phenotype can influence reproductive
success in a variety of ways, including sexual selection,
rate of maturation, patterns of fecundity, and other
life-history traits (Cornwallis and Birkhead 2008).
Reiss’s argument would have benefited from a more
inclusive coverage of these phenomena. Instead, he
tends to focus his discussion on the functional
significance of traits related to pure survival, and
most reproductive issues are relegated to mathematical models. Another weakness is that although he
mentions research into the “evolution of evolvability,”
the discussion lacks a review of more current research
in this field (Landry et al. 2007; Wagner 2008).
Not by Design is valuable for its meticulous
coverage of the historical foundations of modern
thought about natural selection, speciation, and a
myriad of topics relevant to research in evolutionary
biology. Reiss does not claim to be promoting a novel
and original idea, but simply to shed light on the need
for clear definitions, vigilance about teleology, and
efficient communication about ideas, both within the
scientific community and with the public at large.
Regardless of whether one agrees with Reiss about
either the degree to which teleology clouds Darwin’s
theory, or the role that Cuvier’s principle of conditions for existence ultimately plays in evolution, this
Book Reviews
volume is a valuable review of both historical and
current evolutionary concepts. Not by Design is an
engaging read and is sure to stimulate much-needed
discussion about the details of current evolutionary
concepts.
725
Rudwick MJS. 1997. Georges Cuvier, fossil bones, and
geological catastrophes: new translations & interpretations
of the primary texts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Shermer M. 2002. In Darwin’s shadow: the life and science of
Alfred Russell Wallace. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wagner A. 2008. Robustness and evolvability: a paradox
resolved. Proc Natl Soc B 275:91–100.
References
Barrett PH, Gautrey PJ, Herbert S, Kohn D, Smith S (eds).
1987. Charles Darwin’s notebooks, 1836–1844. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press.
Cornwallis CK, Birkhead TR. 2008. Plasticity in reproductive
phenotypes reveals status-specific correlations between
behavior, morphology, and physiological sexual traits.
Evolution 62:1149–61.
West-Eberhard MJ.
2003. Developmental plasticity and
evolution. New York: Oxford University Press.
Anne-Marie C. Hodge
Department of Biology and Marine Biology
University of North Carolina-Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403-5904, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Darwin CD. 1859 [1872]. On the origin of species, facsimile
of 6th Edition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Landry CR, Lemos B, Rifkin SA, Dickinson WJ, Hartl D.
2007. Genetic properties influencing the evolvability of gene
expression. Science 317:118–21.
Advance Access publication September 17, 2009
doi:10.1093/icb/icp096
The Rise of Amphibians: 365 Million Years
of Evolution. Robert Carroll.
much detail on the evolutionary morphology of
amphibians and early amniotes. This book presents
a wealth of information in a clear, easily accessible
style of writing. Numerous illustrations and a
comprehensive bibliography further increase the
value of this work.
There exists, as yet, no consensus on whether extant
amphibians
form
a
monophyletic
group,
Lissamphibia, although many phylogenetic analyses
have supported this hypothesis. Carroll has long
argued that the limbless, superficially worm-like
caecilians had an evolutionary origin quite separate
from that of frogs and salamanders.
Carroll’s book employs the traditional concept of
Amphibia to denote a grade encompassing all
nonamniote tetrapods. This usage has been increasingly questioned in recent years, because many
nonamniotes were, at most, distantly related to, and
presumably biologically quite different from, extant
amphibians. Among the Paleozoic and early Mesozoic
nonamniote tetrapods, Carroll maintains the longstanding distinction of two major groups—lepospondyls and labyrinthodonts. The exclusively Paleozoic
lepospondyls comprise a heterogeneous assemblage of
small forms with vertebrae in which all parts are fused
into a single structure. In contrast, most authors now
regard labyrinthodonts, named for the labyrinthine
infolding of the dentine of their teeth, as an artificial
grouping. The majority of “labyrinthodonts” are
referable to the temnospondyls, a very diverse group
that ranged in time from the Early Carboniferous to
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009. xiv þ
360 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-9140-3 (hardcover), $65.00.
Present-day terrestrial ecosystems are home to more
than 6000 named species of amphibians (frogs,
salamanders, and caecilians), a diversity exceeding
that of placental mammals. Scores of new species,
especially of frogs, are still being discovered every
year. Since the 1990s, however, there have been
alarming declines in amphibian populations around
the world, which have been widely publicized as
a harbinger of profound environmental changes.
Despite the abundance of, and general interest in,
amphibians, there has been no introductory book on
the evolutionary history of this group. The classic
Biology of Amphibians by William Duellman and
Linda Trueb (1986; reissued in paperback by The
Johns Hopkins University Press in 1994) remains the
best survey of the diversity and biology of extant
amphibians. As part of a series, Amphibian Biology,
Harold Heatwole and Robert Carroll (2000) edited a
major volume on the fossil record of amphibians and
their relatives, intended primarily for specialists.
Carroll’s new book presents a comprehensive review
of the evolutionary history of amphibians for anyone
seriously interested in these intriguing animals.
Carroll is generally acknowledged as the foremost
student of the early evolution of land vertebrates.
He and his students have studied and published in