Speciation

Menno Schilthuizen, BioEssays Coyne and Orr have done the field a great favour by synthesising so much research so comprehensively. I think the book will serve its purpose of teaching upcoming (and existing) generations of evolutionary biologists of what we do and do not know about speciation. It will literally be the point of reference for the next ten years.

Christopher Wills, Journal of Heredity Coyne and Orr's thorough and thoughtful review of speciation ranges over the entire field and examines it dispassionately. Theirs is a remarkable work of synthesis, and it belongs on every biologist's bookshelf. On the whole, this book is a wonderful resource and a fine example of what happens when clever scientists take a clear and unbiased look at the evidence. It will, I predict, join the pantheon of really important books about evolution.

John C. Avise, Perspectives in Biology and Medicine I highly recommend this deeply insightful book. The field of speciation research was in need of a sagacious update, and this benchmark work will provide a solid foundation for further scientific inquiry into what has been one of evolution's most engaging and enduring mysteries.

Roger K. Butlin, Evolution Coyne and Orr's Speciation has been eagerly awaited. If its messages are heeded, it will bring much-needed order and rigor to the current burst of activity. Systematic and incisive analysis is what makes the book so powerful. Coyne and Orr have done the field a great service by providing such a clear analysis of the status quo. Hopefully, a wide audience will read the book, apply similarly rigorous arguments and direct their research efforts more profitably as a result.

JERRY A. COYNE is Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, USA.H. ALLEN ORR is Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester, USA.

Preface.- Introduction.- Species: Reality and Concepts.- Studying Speciation.- Allopatric and Parapatric Speciation.- Sympatric Speciation.- Ecological Isolation.- Behavioral and Nonecological Isolation.- Postzygotic Isolation.- The Genetics of Postzygotic Isolation.- Polyploidy and Hybrid Speciation.- Reinforcement.- Selection versus Drift.-Speciation and Macroevolution.- Appendix: A Catalogue and Critique of Species Concepts.