Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life

A continuing evolution: This text is the leader in its field and is used by more than two million students. It covers all major topics in general biology with clarity and precision. The book distills main concepts and outlines the research trends in the field. The principles of evolution and energy flow are used as a conceptual framework throughout. Although each edition of Starr/Taggart has undergone a major revision, the Seventh Edition has been improved substantially more than any previous edition. As with every new edition, Starr/Taggart continues to simplify and enliven the writing without sacrificing accuracy. .The authors, by working full-time with more than 1,500 researchers and instructors, have gained a unique, in-depth understanding of each of biology's sub-disciplines. The results can be seen in the currency and accuracy of this 7th Edition..* Self-Contained Topic Spreads: The description of each topic and its reinforcing illustrations are always on the same page or two-page spread. Because each topic is presented in its entirety, students won't have to flip from page to page--all the material is right there in a cohesive, self-contained unit so students can focus easily on one topic at a time. In this 7th edition, the spreads will begin with an A-level head (larger head) instead of some of them starting with subheadings (smaller) and will end with a boxed summary statement so that each spread will be better defined visually. The topic spreads will help students better focus on each topic with all the written and visual material for that topic on one or two page spreads..* Self-Contained Visual Summaries: Annotated visual summaries arranged in a step-by-step sequence allow students to create a mental image of a concept, which reinforces their understanding. Visual summaries also serve as a simple overview of the topic so that when students read about the text, they have a mental picture to which they can add information. In these