Life cycles that incorporate discrete, morphologically distinct phases predominate among
animals. One explanation for the abundance and long-term persistence of complex life …

Molecular techniques are currently the leading tools for reconstructing phylogenetic
relationships, but our understanding of ancestral, plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters …

Biodiversity studies comprise the systematic examination of the full array of different kinds of
organisms together with the technology by which the diversity can be maintained and used …

Explanations for taxonomic diversity in a particular clade often implicate evolutionary
innovations, possessed by members of the clade, that are thought to have favoured …

This chapter examines the origin and diversification of metazoan larvae and developmental
modes. It discusses the major features of larval evolution, and considers their developmental …

Phylogenetic relationships and the timing of evolutionary events are essential for
understanding evolution on longer time scales. Cheilostome bryozoans are a group of …

We present the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny of bryozoans to date. Our
concatenated alignment of two nuclear ribosomal and five mitochondrial genes includes 95 …

Parental care is considered crucial for the enhanced survival of offspring and evolutionary
success of many metazoan groups. Most bryozoans incubate their young in brood chambers …

Although only a small fraction of the estimated 6000 extant bryozoan species has been
analysed in a molecular phylogenetic context, the resultant trees have increased our …

Scale and hierarchy must be incorporated into any conceptual framework for the study of
macroevolution, ie evolution above the species level. Expansion of temporal and spatial …