The Biology of Reproduction

Giuseppe Fusco is Associate Professor of Zoology at the Department of Biology at the Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy. He is a researcher in evolutionary biology and has edited three volumes in this field. He previously collaborated with Alessandro Minelli on Evolving Pathways (Cambridge, 2008). Alessandro Minelli is a former Full Professor of Zoology and, in retirement, an affiliated senior scientist at the Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy. He has served as vice-president of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology and as specialty editor-in-chief for evolutionary developmental biology of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. He is author of several books on evolutionary biology, including The Development of Animal Form (Cambridge, 2003) and Plant Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Cambridge, 2018).

'Fusco's and Minelli's The Biology of Reproduction is impressive in scope. Rather than adopting a more restricted perspective on reproduction - be it on reproduction in mammals, animals, or plants - this book provides a comprehensive overview of the various similarities and variations of this central biological phenomenon across the whole tree of life. In an easily accessible style and exemplified through a wide range of illustrations, it offers the reader a great stepping stone to more in-depth comparative studies. Its greatest strengths are twofold. First, through its impressive taxonomic coverage it directly counteracts longstanding biases in our understanding of reproduction imposed through the selective use of a few model organisms. Second, the authors nicely link empirical findings with conceptual discussions on biological individuality and the boundaries between reproduction and development. Thus, this book is of use not only for biology students and professors but also for philosophers of biology. Highly recommended.' Jan Baedke, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

• Preface; Figure credits; Introduction; 1. Introductory concepts; 2. Reproduction and life cycle; 3. The natural history of reproduction; 4. Parental investment; 5. Genetics and cytogenetics of reproduction; 6. Determination of sex and mating type; 7. Reproduction – a taxonomic survey; Coda; Appendix – a classification of living organisms; References; Index to taxa; Subject index.