Description: This book examines the origins and subsequent evolution of multicellularity. The transition from unicellular to multicellular life was one of a few major events in the history of life that created new opportunities for more complex biological systems to evolve.
Review Quotes:
The emergence of multicellular organisms is one of the most striking transitions in evolution. This nicely illustrated volume covers this topic from many angles, with 18 chapters by outstanding researchers in this fascinating and productive field. - Richard Lenski, Michigan State University
No major transition was more major than that from single-celled to multicellular life. The editors of and contributors to The Evolution of Multicellularity do a wonderful job walking the reader through that transition. I heartily recommend this book to (multicellular) readers everywhere. - Lee Dugatkin, University of Louisville
The new volume, The Evolution of Multicellularity edited by M.D. Herron et al., pulls together current thought on multicellularity from workers across a constellation of fields. This volume does a wonderful job covering the issues: from how to recognize multicellularity (Chapter 2), multilevel selection (Chapter 3), to multicellularity in fungi (Chapter 14), algae, and plants (Chapters 15 and 16). - Carl Simpson, Trends in Ecology & Evolution