This text is designed for students and anyone else with an interest in the history of life on our planet. The author describes the biological evolution of Earth's organisms, and reconstructs their adaptations to the life they led, and the ecology and environment in which they functioned. On the grand scale, Earth is a constantly changing planet, continually presenting organisms with challenges. Changing geography, climate, atmosphere, oceanic and land environments set a stage in which organisms interact with their environments and one another, with evolutionary change an inevitable result. The organisms themselves in turn can change global environments: oxygen in our atmosphere is all produced by photosynthesis, for example. The interplay between a changing Earth and its evolving organisms is the underlying theme of the book.
The book has a dedicated website which explores additional enriching information and discussion, and provides or points to the art for the book and many other images useful for teaching. See: www.wiley.com/go/cowen/historyoflife.
eBook - PDF
History of Life
About this book
Trusted by 375,005 students
Access to over 1.5 million titles for a fair monthly price.
Study more efficiently using our study tools.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- About the Companion Website
- ONE: The Origin of Life on Earth
- TWO: Earliest Life on Earth
- THREE: Sex and Nuclei: Eukaryotes
- FOUR: The Evolution of Metazoans
- FIVE: The Metazoan Radiation
- SIX: Changing Life in a Changing World
- SEVEN: The Early Vertebrates
- EIGHT: Leaving the Water
- NINE: Tetrapods and Amniotes
- TEN: Early Amniotes and Thermoregulation
- ELEVEN: The Triassic Takeover
- TWELVE: Dinosaurs
- THIRTEEN: The Evolution of Flight
- FOURTEEN: The Modernization of Land and Sea
- FIFTEEN: The Origin of Mammals
- SIXTEEN: The End of the Dinosaurs
- SEVENTEEN: Cenozoic Mammals
- EIGHTEEN: Geography and Evolution
- NINETEEN: Primates
- TWENTY: Evolving Toward Humans
- TWENTY-ONE: Life in the Ice Age
- Index
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn how to download books offline
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1.5 million books across 990+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn about our mission
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more about Read Aloud
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS and Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app
Yes, you can access History of Life by Richard Cowen in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Physical Sciences & Geology & Earth Sciences. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.