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| '''Evolutionary biology''' is a subfield of ] concerned with the origin and descent of ], as well as their change over time. ''See:'' ]. | '''Evolutionary biology''' is a subfield of ] concerned with the origin and descent of ], as well as their change over time. ''See:'' ''']'''. | ||
| Evolutionary biology is a kind of "meta" field because it includes scientists from many "traditional" ]-oriented disciplines. For example, it generally includes scientists who may have a specialist training in particular ]s such as ], ], ] but use those organisms as "systems" to answer general questions in evolution. It also generally includes ] who use ]s to answer questions about the mode and tempo of evolution, as well as theoreticians in areas such as ] and evolutionary theory. In the ] ] made a re-entry into evolutionary biology from it's initial exclusion in the modern synthesis through the study of ]. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| Evolutionary biology as an ] in its own right emerged as a result of the ] in the ] and ]. It was not until the ] and ], however that a significant number of universities had departments that specifically included the term ''evolutionary biology'' in their titles. In the ] as a result of the rapid growth of ] and ], many universities have split (or aggregated) their biology departments into, ''molecular and cell biology''-style departments, and ''ecology and evolutionary biology''-style departments (which often have subsumed older departments in ], ] and the like). | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *Douglas J. Futuyma, ''Evolutionary Biology'', Sinauer Associates, 3rd edition (]) ISBN 0878931899 (textbook) | |||
Revision as of 01:28, 3 January 2004
Evolutionary biology is a subfield of biology concerned with the origin and descent of species, as well as their change over time. See: Evolution.
Evolutionary biology is a kind of "meta" field because it includes scientists from many "traditional" taxonomically-oriented disciplines. For example, it generally includes scientists who may have a specialist training in particular organisms such as mammalogy, ornithology, herpetology but use those organisms as "systems" to answer general questions in evolution. It also generally includes paleontogists who use fossils to answer questions about the mode and tempo of evolution, as well as theoreticians in areas such as population genetics and evolutionary theory. In the 1990s developmental biology made a re-entry into evolutionary biology from it's initial exclusion in the modern synthesis through the study of evolutionary developmental biology.
History
Evolutionary biology as an academic discipline in its own right emerged as a result of the modern evolutionary synthesis in the 1930s and 1940s. It was not until the 1970s and 1980s, however that a significant number of universities had departments that specifically included the term evolutionary biology in their titles. In the United States as a result of the rapid growth of molecular and cell biology, many universities have split (or aggregated) their biology departments into, molecular and cell biology-style departments, and ecology and evolutionary biology-style departments (which often have subsumed older departments in paleontology, zoology and the like).
References
- Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolutionary Biology, Sinauer Associates, 3rd edition (1998) ISBN 0878931899 (textbook)