Tangled Trees: Phylogeny, Cospeciation, and Coevolution

R. D. M Page (ed.). 2002. Tangled Trees: Phylogeny, Cospeciation, and Coevolution. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 378 pp. ISBN 0-226-64467-7, price (paper), $28.00. Host-parasite associations and the study of their coevolution and cospeciation have long been of strong interest to evolutionary biologists. This book does an excellent job of bringing readers up to date in the field, including both theoretical and empirical reports, the development of novel methodological approaches, and the incorporation of molecular data. The book is divided into 2 sections; the first presents theoretical developments in the field, while the second focuses on experimental results. In the first chapter, Page briefly but thoroughly summarizes the current state of the art and defines cospeciation, noting the problems encountered in jointly reconstructing the evolution of hosts and parasites. In addition, Page provides a historical sketch, in which he highlights the most influential experimental research in host-parasite coevolution …