| Preface | XI |
Part 1 | A Theory of Adaptation | |
Chapter 1 | Aptations and Selective Agencies | 3 |
| Natural Selection and Adaptation | 3 |
| The Recognition of Aptations | 7 |
| Effectiveness, Improvement, and Escalation | 10 |
| Environmental Challenges and Pathways of Adaptation | 15 |
| The Ranking of Selective Agencies | 23 |
Chapter 2 | Limits to Adaptation | 26 |
| The Nature of Limitation | 26 |
| Genetic and Developmental Limitation | 27 |
| Ecological Limitation | 30 |
| The Spatial Dimension | 42 |
| Summary of the Theory of Adaptation | 46 |
Chapter 3 | Hypotheses and Their Evaluation in a Historical Science | 49 |
| Predictions from the Theory of Adaptation | 49 |
| The Nature of Historical Inquiry | 53 |
| Artifacts and Resolution in the Fossil Record | 55 |
| Functional Morphology and Ecological Inference in Fossils | 61 |
Part 2 | The Acquisition of Resources | |
Chapter 4 | Mechanisms and History of Competition | 67 |
| Types of Competition | 67 |
| Clones and Colonies | 70 |
| Competition in Plants | 78 |
| Metabolic Rate and Competition | 82 |
| Competition for Mates | 95 |
| Summary | 99 |
Chapter 5 | Safe Places, Anachronistic Aptations, and the Recycling of Resources | 102 |
| The Invasion of Safe Places and Its Consequences | 102 |
| The Identification of Safe Places | 103 |
| Deep Water | 104 |
| Caves and Interstitial Environments | 107 |
| The Infaunal Environment | 108 |
| Bioerosion and the Endolithic Environment | 119 |
| Fresh Water and the Dry Land | 130 |
| Parasitism and Mutualism | 136 |
| Summary | 140 |
Chapter 6 | The Predators of Armored Animals: Functional Morphology and History | 142 |
| Methods of Subjugation | 143 |
| The History of Molluscivory | 173 |
| Summary and Conclusions | 185 |
Part 3 | The Evolution of Armor and Locomotion | |
Chapter 7 | The Functional Morphology and History of Gastropod Armor | 191 |
| The Functions of Armor | 191 |
| The Characteristics of Gastropod Shell Armor | 192 |
| The Effectiveness of Gastropod Armor | 205 |
| The History of Gastropod Armor | 210 |
| The History of Traces of Predation | 227 |
| Summary and Conclusions | 237 |
Chapter 8 | Opportunistic Armor: The Evolution of the Conchicolous Habit | 240 |
| The Conchicolous Habit | 240 |
| Benefits and Risks of the Conchicolous Habit | 243 |
| The Effects of Shell Supply | 246 |
| Improving the Shell Resource | 249 |
| The History of the Conchicolous Habit | 251 |
| Evolutionary Effects of Conchicoles on Shell-Builders | 252 |
| Summary | 254 |
Chapter 9 | Locomotion and the Evolution of Movement in Gastropods | 256 |
| General Features of Locomotion | 256 |
| Locomotion in Gastropods | 262 |
| The History of Gastropod Burrowing | 266 |
| Summary | 268 |
Chapter 10 | Armor and Locomotion in Cephalopods | 271 |
| Adaptational Dilemmas | 271 |
| The History of Cephalopod Armor | 277 |
| Locomotion in Cephalopods | 285 |
| Summary and Conclusions | 288 |
Chapter 11 | Armor and Locomotion in Bivalved Animals | 290 |
| The Bivalve Shell | 290 |
| Vivalve Armor | 292 |
| Patterns of Armor in Space and Time | 301 |
| Traces of Predation | 305 |
| Locomotion in Pelecypods | 311 |
| Summary | 315 |
Chapter 12 | Armor and Locomotion in Articulated Animals | 317 |
| Functional Possibilities and Limitations | 317 |
| Arthropod Molting | 319 |
| Conglobation in Arthropods | 320 |
| The Carapace Form in Arthropods | 326 |
| Size in Land Arthropods | 328 |
| Bamacles | 329 |
| Echinoderms | 332 |
| Armor in Vertebrates | 339 |
| Swimming in Vertebrates | 347 |
| Running in Land Animals | 348 |
| Powered Flight | 354 |
| Summary | 355 |
Part 4 | Escalation, Diversification, and Extinction | |
Chapter 13 | The Dynamics of Escalation | 359 |
| A Review of the Evidence Pertaining to Escalation | 359 |
| A Chronology of Phanerozoic Escalation | 361 |
| The Role of Extrinsic Events | 371 |
| Conditions Favorable to Escalation | 376 |
| Marine Transgressions and Productivity | 378 |
| Climatic Change and Biotic Interchange | 382 |
| Intrinsic Factors: The Importance of Nutrients | 386 |
| Summary and Conclusions | 387 |
Chapter 14 | Extinction | 390 |
| A Theory of Extinction | 390 |
| Timing, Frequency, and Magnitude of Extinction | 396 |
| The Decrease in Extinction Rate | 400 |
| Selectivity | 401 |
| Population Size and Geographical Range | 413 |
| Post-Crisis Conditions | 414 |
| Summary | 416 |
Chapter 15 | Implications, Difficulties, and Future Directions | 418 |
| The Domain of Individual Adaptation | 418 |
| Evolutionary Progress | 419 |
| Objections and Alternative Interpretations | 421 |
| Future Research | 426 |
| Appendix | 431 |
| References | 435 |
| Index | 521 |