Flaws of Nature: The Limits and Liabilities of Natural Selection

Animals can evolve to become well-adapted to their environments, but this is not always the case. This book explores the self-defeating, ill-made, uneconomical, or downright weird aspects of evolution and how natural selection has favored them. It reveals that animals are always slightly out-of-date, inefficiency tends to increase over time, predators usually lose, and parasites usually win.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 20 April 2023
Publisher: The History Press Ltd

Evolution is the process by which species adapt to their environments over time. While this adaptation is often successful, there are instances where species fail to adapt adequately. For example, elephants do not grow a seventh set of teeth even though wearing down the sixth set will lead to starvation. Similarly, European cuckoos are unable to recognize their own chicks when they are overgrown. Whales, despite being fully aquatic mammals, are unable to breathe underwater millions of years after leaving the land.

This book explores everything in the animal kingdom that is self-defeating, ill-made, uneconomical, or downright weird. It explains how natural selection has favored these traits. In the grand struggle for survival, some surprising patterns emerge. Animals are always slightly out-of-date, inefficiency tends to increase over time, predators usually lose, and parasites usually win.

Andy Dobson, the author of the book, uses equal parts humor and scientific insight to explain the how and why of evolution's limits and liabilities. He provides a fascinating perspective on the complexities of animal behavior and evolution. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the natural world and the forces that shape it.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781803990170