Discover Science discussion

I am fortunate to have an Evolution expert in the family. I asked David for some recommendations and he sent back a very thoughtful letter. Here it is, in two parts.

Notes and Recommendations from Dr. David Orange on topics in Evolution, part 1 :

While a fundamental tenet of biology (and science itself), Evolution remains
misunderstood at best, and controversial and unaccepted at worst to much of the
general public. Therefore, I start with an accepted definition of Evolution:
“The change in gene* frequencies within a population over successive generations**.”
* gene – sometimes you see the word ‘alleles’ which is more specific to genetics
** successive generations – occur through time
population - BIG IDEA – individuals can be selected for, but it is populations that
evolve.
In math terms – a basic exposition of Evolution is:
which gets into population genetics etc.

But the big ideas are CHANGE through time. I highly recommend READING Darwin
(and as you’ll see below, Wallace), Victorian prose and all. The tl;dr executive
summary of Evolution, however, devolves into 3 observations and 2 deductions
that follow from those observations.
O1: Organisms reproduce/multiply rapidly
O2: Species numbers remain relatively constant over time
D1: Struggle for survival/reproduction
O3: Organisms vary
D2: Adaptation & Natural Selection
As you read more in evolution, you would do well to keep this definition and these
observations/deductions in mind as a sort of focus. There are other definitions and
summaries (e.g. VISTA – Variation, Inheritance, Selection, Time, Adaptation) – but
the above is what I learned and how I taught so I present to you as my window into
the topic.
BIG IDEA: Natural Selections ACTS on Evolution, but there can be no Evolution
without VARIATION.
Some quick thought problems:
Bacteria starting off in an environment with unlimited resources – which bacteria
survive when resources become limited? – e.g. able to process other, different
resources or survive with fewer/less resources so they survive until the population
returns once again to a sustainable level

Ocean sunfish can lay up to several million eggs at one time. An elephant generally
has one offspring that gestates for nearly 2 years. In a stable population, which
organism produces the MOST surviving offspring? A: trick question – in a stable
population, each female produces one SURVIVING offspring that lives long enough
to itself reproduce – again, that gets in to population genetics.
Mosquitoes first exposed to a pesticide (e.g. DDT). Those mosquitoes that survive
have resistance to or ignore entirely the pesticide. Previously a minority in the
population, now become the majority (also true of bacteria etc.)
Exaptation - An exaptation is defined as any adaptation that performs a function
different from the function that it originally held.
(also a pre-adaptation) – e.g. VARIATION is the template or building block for
Natural Selection to act on.
Several blue-eyed Europeans settle in an Asian location where the population has
brown eyes and marry locally. Over time (there’s that word again ;) and brown is
dominant over blue) some of the population by the 2 nd new generation will have
blue eyes. On the surface this is neither good or bad (they may also have lighter
skin/hair etc.), but the population has EVOLVED – the gene frequency of eye color
(100% brown) has CHANGED to some lesser percentage of Brown and a greater
than zero percentage of Blue.
BIG IDEA: Evolution itself is not ‘directed’ or ‘goal oriented towards some idealized
notion of ‘perfection.’
Due to the controversy in the lay public about Evolution, some writers/books tend
to be didactic about the ‘evidence’ for Evolution – this is the adaptationist paradigm.
To which I say, ‘yes but…’ – unfortunately more nuanced examples, e.g. Neutral
Theory and Molecular Evolution don’t lend themselves to accessible works. Just
keep it in mind the hierarchy of variation  evolution  Natural Selection.
*** Specific readings per your GoodReads sections plus some other suggestions:
Earth History & Evolution – Chronicle of the Planet
Everyone should know about Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species is well written,
but it’s still Victorian era prose – so anyone not a lit major ;) will likely find it a slog.
The Voyage of the Beagle is some of the finest natural history ever written, but again,
it’s slow going for most folks. I link it here in case anyone wants to dig the original:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+origin...
ks&crid=199BBSTM3OAPR&sprefix=the+origin+of+sp%2Cstripbooks%2C151&ref=
nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_16

https://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Beagle-...-
Darwin/dp/014043268X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3VGTYO07IUJE&keywords=voyage+bea
gle&qid=1672633203&sprefix=voyage+beagle%2Caps%2C206&sr=8-3

Alfred Russel Wallace is the co-discoverer of what we now consider the theory of
Evolution. His forte was what we know study as Biogeography – the distribution
and abundance of living organisms. He collected series of specimens within species,
thus uncovering both natural variation and trends across populations and locations.
His The Malay Archipelago is also a classic, again with Victorian prose. The language
of the time hides his awareness of the needlessly arbitrary class systems of the time.
His later life also found him seriously considering spiritualism and extra terrestrial
life, but the original observations and natural history still stand.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+malay+...
&i=stripbooks&crid=295LHP3HCBG0Y&sprefix=malay+arc%2Cstripbooks%2C173
&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_9
For purposes of an online discussion group, I’d recommend a summary treatise that
considers both individuals in context of each other and the overall
introduction/presentation of Evolutionary theory:
I should at least mention their correspondence and the run-up to their famous 1858
co-presentation:
https://www.amazon.com/Naturally-Sele...-
Letters/dp/1565431952/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CUXARY5CPFAE&keywords=darwin+w
allace+evolution&qid=1672425937&s=books&sprefix=darwin+wallace+evolution%
2Cstripbooks%2C136&sr=1-1
But a cogent summary and contextualization that I recommend for a book group
discussion:
https://www.amazon.com/Evolutionary-L...-
Lane/dp/1565432967/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2LHSXT6OYOFZ2&keywords=darwin+wall
ace+lane&qid=1672426124&s=books&sprefix=darwin+wallace+lane%2Cstripbook
s%2C129&sr=1-2
Here is a nice interview with Jerry Coyne (evolutionary bio prof at UChicago) – it
summarizes some of the controversies and context of works I nominate for your list:
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/evol...
His own book “Why Evolution is True” is definitely in your face – I’d recommend it if
you ‘want more’ – but for a general group, skippable for now.
Stephen Jay Gould was (is?) a well-regarded biology/evolution/science writer. It’s
hard to believe that he passed over two decades ago. He has an extensive
bibliography of popular books:

https://www.bookscrolling.com/ranking...-
bibliography-countdown/
For a general book group, I recommend his first mainstream work: Ever Since
Darwin as well as The Flamingo’s Smile as another accessible work.
Gould also co-popularized the still controversial theory of Punctuated Equilibrium
where after long periods of stasis, most of the dramatic changes in
Evolution/Adaptation/Natural Selection derive from relative bursts of rapid
change/speciation. As with most dichotomies, the ‘answer’ remains nuanced and
‘yes but’ or ‘under specific, but understood, circumstances. Fun fact: Orange (1997)
touches upon these ideas and supposed dichotomies ;)
(it’s the 247 page insomnia cure known as my dissertation :P )
Richard Dawkins writes with the adaptationist paradigm in mind. He can definitely
trend towards the polemic, but he burrows deep as he presents numerous case
studies and examples of evolution. From the Amazon intro:
“…crafts an elegant riposte to show that the complex process of Darwinian natural
selection is unconscious and automatic. If natural selection can be said to play the
role of a watchmaker in nature, it is a blind one―working without foresight or
purpose.”
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Watchmak...-
Universe/dp/0393351491
Earth History & Evolution - Extinction Events

Notes and Recommendations from Dr. David Orange, pt.2 :

Earth History & Evolution - Extinction Events
I’m actually going to recommend an ‘anti-extinction’ treatise about the Cambrian
‘explosion’ which saw the emergence of numerous new and distinct forms. Many of
these creatures went extinct or were no longer present following the first major
extinction event - Ordovician (444 mya):
https://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Life...-
History/dp/039330700X
Coyne and others summarize critiques of Gould’s thesis of the role of contingency
and ‘paths not taken’ (later discoveries show taxa that are plausible descendents of
‘extinct’ Burgess shale forms). But all concede that as descriptive science and an
overview of the scientific process as manifested through paleontology, Wonderful
Life stands as a window into both a time (Cambrian ) and way of thinking.
Earth History & Evolution – Dinosaurs
from suggested readings (no direct knowledge):
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Dino...-
ebook/dp/B0727TN8H6?ref_=ast_sto_dp

Earth History & Evolution – Mammals
from suggested readings (no direct knowledge):
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Reign-Mam...-
ebook/dp/B09FK3FB79?ref_=ast_sto_dp

Earth History & Evolution – Pictorial History of g. Homo
no direct references yet
Earth History & Evolution – Homo sapiens
no direct references yet
These topics may be too specialized for general reading and discussion, but in the
ideal world, they merit consideration in understanding evolution.
Other topics:
Transitions: land to air - I’d also have you consider transitions such as flight – e.g.
leaving the ground and taking to the air. Some of the most diverse groups of animals
have acquired flight:
insects/beetles (the most diverse insects)
birds (among the most diverse vertebrates)
bats (among the most diverse mammals)
Pterosaurs (a flying group of dinosaurs that never went anywhere)
Humans (we cheat and build machines that do our flying with/for us) (not covered
in book)
 e.g. when the exaptations/pre-adaptations for flight exist, they often undergo
very strong natural selection – e.g. flight is advantageous to the point of being a
‘superpower.’ Why fly: migrate – leave unfavorable/go to more favorable, escape
predators, catch prey, exploit new habitats/niches (e.g. nest in trees, etc.)
https://www.amazon.com/Wing-Insects-P...-
Animal/dp/0199996776/ref=sr_1_2?crid=YF2CW6O38C9O&keywords=evolution+
bats&qid=1672431360&sprefix=evolution+bags%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-2
The transition to land (plants, fish/dinosaurs/animals) is also fascinating and
important, but every thing I’ve found on the subject is college level/technical.
coevolution- Coevolution is a very broad topic (e.g. mimicry, symbiosis, parasitism,
predator/prey interactions, etc.)
“The term coevolution is used to describe cases where two (or more) species
reciprocally affect each other's evolution.”

an overview of the topic:
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolut...-
evolution/coevolution/
The Monarch butterfly/Milkweed relationship is one example of coevolution, but
this book lays it out nicely. It also covers mimicry etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Monarchs-Milkw...-
Coevolution/dp/0691166358/ref=sr_1_9?crid=5RMT4HSBK86Z&keywords=coevol
ution&qid=1672508810&s=books&sprefix=coevolution%2Cstripbooks%2C166&sr
=1-9
Phylogenetics – phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary history and
relationships among or within groups of organisms (using physical/morphological
or dna/genomic data).
https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Thinking-...-
Biology/dp/1936221160/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2G1O2J3FSR9VG&keywords=phylogenet
ics&qid=1672527942&sprefix=phylogenetics%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-5
Textbook but appears accessible if you understand basic biological/genetic
principles.
Kuhn – Structure of Scientific Revolutions -
If you read Darwin/Wallace then this seminal work becomes relevant:
https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Scie...-
Kuhn/dp/0226458083/ref=sr_1_2?crid=22TUMII7KL5W9&keywords=kuhn+struct
ure+of+scientific+revolutions&qid=1672508245&s=books&sprefix=kuhn+%2Cstri
pbooks%2C148&sr=1-2
 e.g. Is Evolution a ‘scientific revolution?’ – Why or why not – HOW/WHY does
Evolution fit Kuhn’s model?
Some specialized topics that are heavy in math and/or advanced
techniques/concepts that I present as an awareness of the breadth of what
constitutes evolutionary theory:
neutral theory – The groundbreaking idea that much Evolution (CHANGE in GENE
FREQUENCIES etc.) is NOT affected by Natural Selection – e.g. the ‘wobble effect’ of
the 3 rd base in an amino acid codon, or the mutations still resulting in the same type
of DNA base (purine or pyrimidine etc.). Not an easy read, but even now the Neutral
Theory still serves as a minimum a ‘null hypothesis’ for Natural Selection at the
molecular/genetic level.
https://www.amazon.com/Neutral-Theory...-
Kimura/dp/0521317932/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3HSDC4QM7E6F&keywords=neutral+th

eory&qid=1672509273&sprefix=neutral+theory%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-
3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0
population genetics – Since Evolution occurs as CHANGE over GENERATIONS,
within POPULATIONS, this is a relevant, albeit mathematical topic. No accessible
references that I could find though.
speciation – How/When does a common ancestor split into species. When is
‘change over generations’ sufficient to observe that a population has diverged
enough to warrant its own species designation. There are as many species concepts
as there are scientists to propose/defend such. Orange (1997) provided a pathway
to explore speciation at the molecular level.
But again, no lay accessible works or compendiums.
neo-darwinian synthesis – The integration of Genetics (and later statistics and
population genetics) with Darwin’s original ideas. It stems from the rediscovery of
Mendel’s genetic works and considers most of evolution driven by gene mutations
that are manifested in subsequent generations via natural selection.
No accessible texts found.