About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100195369742

ISBN-139780195369748

eBay Product ID (ePID)109173817

Product Key Features

Number of Pages328 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameEvolution's Witness : How Eyes Evolved

SubjectLife Sciences / Anatomy & Physiology (See Also Life Sciences / Human Anatomy & Physiology), Ophthalmology, Life Sciences / Biology

Publication Year2011

TypeTextbook

AuthorIvan R. Schwab

Subject AreaScience, Medical

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.1 in

Item Weight45.9 Oz

Item Length0.1 in

Item Width0.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2011-016413

Dewey Edition23

ReviewsThis book shows what can be achieved by combining insights from sensory physiology with anatomy, phylogeny and the fossil record across the widest range of organisms to document the evolution of a biological system. It demonstrates how the study of living forms can successfully be used to interpret fossil ones, and vice versa. The book''s magnificent sweep is all-encompassing, and remarkably up-to-date for such a cross-disciplinary work. It''s rare for one person to have such a broad background, but Schwab has achieved this, such that the work provides an example for future studies of the kind. -Prof. Jennifer A. Clack, ScD, FRS Professor and Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University Museum of Zoology An astounding erudite and exciting visual description of eye evolution, something every inquisitive biologist, veterinarian, neuroscientist, or ophthalmologist should have in their library. This book contains 400 illustrations that define and refine the text providing a unique look at the how the eye was achieved. It is truly one of a kind. Bruce E. Spivey, M.D., M.S., M.Ed. President, International Council of Ophthalmology Schwab''s lavishly illustrated book documents the amazing proliferation of eyes across the animal kingdom, in all their variations and all their splendour, and it explains the pathways by which these eyes have evolved. Aimed at the non-specialist but intelligent reader, the book begins with the early evolution of life on earth, and sets the scene for the advent of eyes that took place some 500-600 million years ago (mya). By combining fossil evidence with information from extant "primitive" organisms, Schwab explains current ideas about the simple animals that were present during the Ediacaran period (around 600 mya), about the light-detection mechanisms and the genetic machinery that they possessed, and about the split of these primitive animals into two major divisions - comprising on the one hand most invertebrates and on the other hand our own line that led to vertebrates and mammals. (cont''d below) High on the agenda is the invention, around the time of the Cambrian explosion in body forms (more than 500 mya), and the subsequent re-invention, of the two radically different forms of eye: the camera-style eye (as we have) with a single lens, and the compound eye, with multiple repeated units each having its own lens or mirror. Using beautiful images, Schwab charts the myriad variations on these two themes that have been employed by countless species, extinct and extant, over the course of 500 million years of global experimentation, refinement, and rejection. The result is a stunning book that will serve both to introduce non-specialists to the concepts of evolution and eye evolution and also as a reference work for experts. Trevor D Lamb Professor of Neuroscience John Curtin School of Medical Research The Australian National University Canberra, Australia The evolution of the eye was unquestionably one of the most important innovations in the history of life. Ivan Schwab has synthesized a huge array of disparate information to provide us with an indispensable guide through the complexities of visual systems throughout the animal kingdom. Richard Fortey FRS FRSL "Which leads to a just published book -- a most remarkable book -- that needs to be in the library of every school and college, and maybe in every household ...There aren''t many books like this one, transformative books that provide a wondrous experience -- especially for young people -- just by turning the pages of mesmerizing illustrations of the evolution of the eyes that are looking at the book... A deep majestic event: human eyes looking at a book explaining the evolution of human eyes. (The only event that I know of with more majesty is the human brain contemplating its own evolution.)" --Huffington Post, Ivan Schwabs landmark new book,Evolutions Witness, which charts the development of eyes in all major taxa, comes at a propitious time.... it is a comprehensive reference but also a source of inspiration and ideas for new ways to study myriad aspects of vision., In Evolutions witness: how eyes evolved, Ivan R Schwab ventures back nearly 4,000 million years to witness the key events that have shaped the ability to form an image and trace the evolution of an organ that was considered by Charles Darwin to be almost perfect... Any person interested in comparative neurobiology will find this book a must and will marvel at how natural selection has driven adaptational change... this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated text should sit on theshelves of all students, graduates and academics with an interest in evolution, adaptation, neural plasticity and natural history. For those more intimately working in the field of visual neuroscience (including optometrists and ophthalmologists), it provides a unique and holistic perspective thatprovides the context in which we are all working., Amazing color photos on nearly every page ensure a vivid trek through evolution of the eye....Evolution's Witness in whole or part, is an essential mainstay for multiple disciplines, irreplaceable for vision scientists and eye care professionals.

Number of Volumes1 vol.

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal612.8/4

Table Of Content1. The age of first cellular life Archean 3750-2500 million years ago2. The age of complex cellular life3. Eukaryotes organize and metozoans arise4. Early animals prepare the ground5. Vision's big bang blazes the trail6. The age of Arthropods: A major phylum begins7. Vertebrates gain a foothold8. Shelly fauna rule the sea9. The piscine eye develops10. The piscine eye matures Early Devonian Period11. Insects arise to fly Paleozoic Era12. Stealth, Speed and Predation Paleozoic Era13. The age of Tetrapods and Terrestrials Late Devonian Period14. Terrestrial life flourishes Carboniferous 362-299 million years ago15. Reptiles push the ocular envelope The age of reptiles16. March of the Archosaurs Mesozoic Era17. Dinosaurs and their companions Mesozoic Era18. Cephalopods change direction Mesozoic Era19. Snakes arise from the ground Cretaceous (145-65million years ago)20. . The Age of Birds - The eye is taken to great heights Mesozoic Era21. Pollinators Co-Evolve22. Mammalia diversifies23. The Age of Mammals24. Planktonic soup evolves Cenozoic Era25. Mammals return to the sea26. The visual witness and a conscious brain Cenozoic Era

SynopsisWith predation and carnivory as catalysts, the first known eye appeared in a trilobite during the Cambrian explosion approximately 543 million years ago. This period was a crucible of evolution and teemed with anatomic creativity although the journey to formed vision actually began billions of years before that. The Cambrian period, however, spawned nearly all morphologic forms of the eye, followed by descent over hundreds of millions of years providing an unimaginable variety of eyes with at least ten different designs. Some eyes display spectacular creativity with mirror, scanning or telephoto optics. Some of these ocular designs are merely curiosities, while others offer the finest visual potential packed into a small space, limited only by the laws of diffraction or physiological optics. For example, some spiders developed tiny, well-formed eyes with scanning optics and three visual pigments; scallops have 40-100 eyes circling their mantle, each of which has mirror optics and contains two separate retinae per eye; deep ocean fish have eyes shaped like tubes containing yellow lenses to break camouflage; and some birds have vision five times better than ours; but this is only part of the story. Each animal alive today has an eye that fits is niche perfectly demonstrating the intimacy of the evolutionary process as no other organ could. The evolution of the eye is one of the best examples of Darwinian principles. Although few eyes fossilize in any significant manner, many details of this evolution are known and understood. From initial photoreception 3.75 billion years ago to early spatial recognition in the first cupped eyespot in Euglena to fully formed camera style eyes the size of beach balls in ichthyosaurs, animals have processed light to compete and survive in their respective niches. It is evolution's greatest gift and its greatest triumph. This is the story of the evolution of the eye., Evolution's Witness chronicles the evolution of the eye beginning with the initial cellular acquisition of photoreceptive molecules as long as 3.75 billion years ago. This well-illustrated book traces the development of simple, complex compound and camera-style eyes including descriptions of more than ten forms of ocular design. Over time eyes evolved independently perhaps as many as forty times, and these are reviewed in this text. Each of the forty or so independently evolved eyes has adapted to its niche, fitting its owner's ecology perfectly., With predation and carnivory as catalysts, the first known eye appeared in a trilobite during the Cambrian explosion approximately 543 million years ago. This period was a crucible of evolution and teemed with anatomic creativity although the journey to formed vision actually began billions of years before that. The Cambrian period, however, spawned nearly all morphologic forms of the eye, followed by descent over hundreds of millions of years providing an unimaginable variety of eyes with at least ten different designs. Some eyes display spectacular creativity with mirror, scanning or telephoto optics. Some of these ocular designs are merely curiosities, while others offer the finest visual potential packed into a small space, limited only by the laws of diffraction or physiological optics. For example, some spiders developed tiny, well-formed eyes with scanning optics and three visual pigments; scallops have 40-100 eyes circling their mantle, each of which has mirror optics and contains two separate retinae per eye; deep ocean fish have eyes shaped like tubes containing yellow lenses to break camouflage; and some birds have vision five times better than ours; but this is only part of the story. Each animal alive today has an eye that fits is niche perfectly demonstrating the intimacy of the evolutionary process as no other organ could. The evolution of the eye is one of the best examples of Darwinian principles.Although few eyes fossilize in any significant manner, many details of this evolution are known and understood. From initial photoreception 3.75 billion years ago to early spatial recognition in the first cupped eyespot in Euglena to fully formed camera style eyes the size of beach balls in ichthyosaurs, animals have processed light to compete and survive in their respective niches.It is evolution's greatest gift and its greatest triumph. This is the story of the evolution of the eye.

LC Classification NumberQP475.S374 2012