New Titles

Plant Reintroduction in a Changing Climate: Promises and Perils. Joyce Maschinski and Kristin E. Haskins, eds. Island Press, 2012. 432 pp., illus. $50.00 (ISBN 9781597268318 paper). such as those explored by Naomi Pierce and Andrew Berry with regard to a nitrogen shortage in the diets of caterpillars. Ants harbor bacteria, including ones that provide nitrogen fixation, which supplements the diet of caterpillars. The caterpillars, in turn, provide amino acids and sugars to ants while also protecting them from parasites. David Queller discusses the evolution of altruism in social insects and addresses the issue of how natural selection could reward altruistic actions. My only reservation with this volume is that it does not address issues that have arisen in studies of molecular evolution, such as neutral mutations or gene duplication; nor does it focus on mutations in genetic regulatory systems or on the integration of developmental processes in evolution (i.e., evo-devo). Finally, efforts have been made to utilize the resources of complex-systems dynamics in order to model and understand evolutionary phenomena, especially those of emergence, but these efforts are not mentioned by any of the contributors. In the Light of Evolution is a handsomely produced volume with copious, apt, and informative color illustrations to supplement a text that has a personal and informal style. The book’s strength lies in its range of specific biological studies that illuminate Dobzhansky’s quotation and exemplify the integration of molecular with organismal and ecological data.