Biology Raup Dm The Role Of Extinction In Evolution [1994]英文电子书.pdf

Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 91, pp. 6758-6763, July 1994 Colloquium Paper Thspaper was presented at a colloquium entled Tempo andMode in Evolution organized by Walter M. Fitch and Francisco J. Ayala, held January 27-29, 1994, by the National Academy of Sciences, in Irvine, CA. The role of extinction in evolution DAVID M. RAuP Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 ABSTRACT The extinction of species is not normally must remember what has already been said on the probable consideed an important element of neodarwinian theory, in wide intervals of time between our consecutive formations; contrast to the opposite phenomenon, specatlon. This is sur- and in these intervals there may have been much slower prising in view of the special importance Darwin attced to extermination. (pp. 321-322) extinction, and because the number of species extinctions in the Like his geologist colleague Charles Lyell, Darwin was history oflife is almost the same as the number of originations; contemptuous ofthose who thought extinctions were caused present-day biodiversity Is the result of a trivial surplus of by great catastrophes. tions, cumulated over millions of years. For an evolu- tionary biologist to ignore extinction is probably as foolhardy ... so profound is our ignorance, and so high our presump- tion, that we marvel when we hear of the extinction of an as for a demographer to ignore mortality. The past decade has organic being; and as we do not see the cause, we invoke seen a resurgence of interest in extinction, yet research on the cataclysms to desolate the world, or invent laws on the topic Is stifl at a reconnaissance leve