The seventy great mysteries of the natural world : unlocking the secrets of our planet / edited by Michael J. Benton.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 292-297) and index.

Geological timescale -- Understanding the earth -- Origins : How did the earth form? ; The origins of life ; The origins of multicellular life ; The Cambrian evolutionary 'explosion' ; The biggest mass extinction of all time ; Were the dinosaurs warm-blooded? ; Why did the dinosaurs die out? ; Giant dinosaurs: how did they get so big? ; Why did the dinosaurs die out? ; Why do mammals rule the world? ; The hunt for the earliest human ancestor -- The earth : Why does the compass point north? ; How continents and oceans form ; Is Mount Everest getting higher? ; Where did the oxygen in the atmosphere come from? ; What makes volcanoes explode? ; The formation of diamonds ; Which was the largest volcanic eruption ever? ; The mystery of tsunamis ; Asteroid and comet impacts on earth ; Where does oil come from? -- Evolution : The evidence for evolution ; How did the eye evolve? ; Why do so many people not accept evolution? ; Disentangling the genetic code ; Selfish-gene theory ; Drawing the tree of life ; Human genetic variation ; How do new species form? ; Exploring the links between evolution and development ; Are five fingers essential? -- Biogeography & environments : Numbers of species in the tropics and at the poles ; The evolution of deserts ; How do plants and animals live in the desert? ; Has there always been ice at the poles? ; Why are islands special? ; What do we know about Darwin's finches? ; The origins of Australia's special wildlife ; Breathing sulphur: life on the abyssal black smokers ; Extremophiles and life on other planets -- Plants & animals : Estimating present-day global biodiversity ; Why are insects so diverse? ; Why are some organisms small and some large? ; What is the largest living organism? ; Engineering limits to the body size of land animals ; Running, hopping ; skipping: animal locomotion ; Flying and walking: learning from nature ; How do dogs see the world? ; Why are animals coloured? How do animals adapt to the deep? --

Animal behaviour : Instinct and learning in animal behaviour ; Is an ant colony a superorganism? ; Why are animals nice to each other? ; How do animals navigate? ; Sexual selection ; Why do deer have antlers: fighting or display? ; Invisible signalling: pheromones ; Do animals have emotions? ; The language of honey bees ; Animal consciousness -- Global warming & the future : Global warming ; What will earth's climate be like in the future? ; El Niano: extreme weather on the increase? ; Greenhouse gases and earth's natural rhythms ; Predicting future human population levels ; Flu pandemics and eastern Asia ; Wildlife extinction and conservation ; What will replace liquid hydrocarbon fuels? ; Humanity's ecological footprint ; Human behaviour and saving the planet.

Draws on the perspectives of sixty eminent scientists to discuss what is currently understood about the functioning of the planet as it relates to massive changes in the environment, in an extensively illustrated reference that features such sections as evolution, animal behavior, and global warming.