Integrative Organismal Biology synthesizes current understanding of the causes and consequences of individual variation at the physiological, behavioral and organismal levels. Emphasizing key topics such as phenotypic plasticity and flexibility, and summarizing emerging areas such as ecological immunology, oxidative stress biology and others, Integrative Organismal Biology pulls together information across a multitude of disciplines to provide a synthetic understanding of the role of the individual in evolution.
Beginning with grounding theory highlighting the role of the individual in evolutionary and ecological processes, Integrative Organismal Biology covers theory and mechanism from both classic and modern perspectives. Chapters explore concepts such as how genetic and epigenetic variation becomes physiological and phenotypic variation, homeostasis, gene regulatory networks, physiological regulatory networks, and integrators. A concluding section illustrates these concepts through a series of case studies of life processes such as aging, reproduction, and immune defense.
Written and edited by leaders in the field who are actively engaged in teaching and research, Integrative Organismal Biology will be an important advanced textbook for students and researchers across the numerous subdisciplines of integrative biology.
- Plasticity, Complexity and the Individual
Cameron K. Ghalambor, Lynn B. Martin and H. Arthur Woods
- The Ecological and Evolutionary Importance of Variation in Life History Reaction Norms
Daniel H. Nussey
- Curve-Thinking: Understanding Reaction Norms and Developmental Trajectories as Traits
Joel Kingsolver, Sarah Diamond, and Richard Gomulkiewicz
- Plasticity and Personality
Kimberley J. Mathot and Niels J. Dingemanse
- Induction and Function of Polyphenic Morphs: Proximate Regulatory Mechanisms and Evolutionary Implications
Anthony J. Zera and Jennifer A. Brisson
- Evolutionary Systems Biology: Shifting Focus to the Context-Dependency of Genetic Effects
Mihaela Pavlic(ev and Günter P. Wagner
- The Role of Ecological Epigenetics in Integrative Biology
Aaron W. Schrey, Joshua Banta, Holly J. Kilvitis, Christina L. Richards
- An Elephant in the Fog: Unifying Concepts of Physiological Stasis and Change
H. Arthur Woods and J. Keaton Wilson
- Physiological Regulatory Networks: The Orchestra of Life?
Lynn B. Martin and Alan A. Cohen
- Integrating Costs of Reproduction Between the Sexes
Robert M. Cox
- Immune Systems: Linking Organisms, Populations, and Evolution Through Disease
James S. Adelman
- Developmental Plasticity of Individual Variation in Stress Responses
Haruka Wada
- A Common Framework for the Regulation of Growth and Size: Stepping Away from the Trees to See the Forest
Goggy Davidowitz and Bryan R. Helm
- Adding Fuel to the “Fire of Life”: Energy Budgets Across Levels of Variation in Ectotherms and Endotherms
Vincent Careau, Shaun S. Killen and Neil B. Metcalfe
- Biological Timekeeping: Individual Variation, Performance, and Fitness
Scott A. MacDougall-Shackleton, Heather E. Watts and Thomas P. Hahn
- Senescence: Integrating Biology from Cradle to the Grave
Mark F. Haussman and Lisa A. Treidel
- Linking Physiology, Climate and Species Distributional Ranges
Francisco Bozinovic and Daniel E. Naya
- Trade-Offs and Biological Diversity: Integrative Answers to Ecological Questions
Paul R. Martin
- Conclusions: The Central Role of the Organism in Biology
H. Arthur Woods, Lynn B. Martin, Cameron K. Ghalambor