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4.
EVOLVING COMPLEXITY
4.1
Overview
Progress
in the evolution of life on Earth is measured by an increase in
biological diversity (biodiversity), by an increase in morphological
disparity, and by progress towards increasing complexity. This are
presumably general principals which apply to any living system and
so studies of the processes that result in these advances should
have universal application. Of the three metrics for evolutionary
progress, complexity is the most difficult to define, measure, and
understand. In this section, biologists and paleontologists attempt
to grapple with this difficult issue by focusing on two outstanding
biological events: The origin of eukaryotes and the radiation of
animals during the "Cambrian Explosion".
| 4.2
Origins of eukaryotes |
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4.2.1
Investigating the prokaryotic sources of eukaryotic genes |
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4.2.2
Origin and evolution of eukaryotic respiratory organelles |
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4.2.3
The fossil record of eukaryotic diversification |
| 4.3
Understanding the assembly of animal body plans in the context
of the Cambrian explosion |
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4.3.1
Ediacaran biodiversity: Prelude to the Cambrian explosion |
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4.3.2 The evolution of mineral
skeletons |
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4.3.3
Role of constraints on animal development through morphometric
studies of Cambrian trilobites |
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4.3.4
Using stem group taxa to order characters important in body
plan evolution |
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Other
research:
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