biology

Steven M. Stanley

Steven M. Stanley is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Steven M. Stanley rather than just read about it. In short: Steven M. Stanley (born November 2, 1941) is an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist at the Florida State University.

Key takeaways

Steven M. Stanley belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Steven M. Stanley to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Steven M. Stanley from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Steven M. Stanley (born November 2, 1941) is an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist at the Florida State University. He is best known for his empirical research documenting the evolutionary process of punctuated equilibrium in the fossil record.

Biography Stanley received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1968. For most of his career he taught geology at Johns Hopkins University (1969-2005). In 1977 Stanley was awarded the Paleontological Society's Charles Schuchert Award which is presented "to a person under 40 whose work reflects excellence and promise in the science of paleontology." In 2007 he was awarded the Society's Paleontological Society Medal, which is "awarded to a person whose eminence is based on advancement of knowledge in paleontology." In 2006 Stanley was awarded the Mary Clark Thompson Medal by the National Academy of Sciences and in 2008 the William H. Twenhofel Medal by the Society for Sedimentary Geology. In 1972 Stanley developed the Predation Hypothesis to explain the evolution of novelties in the Cambrian explosion. Stanley proposed that predation stimulated prey animals to evolve defenses such as shells, rapid swimming, and burrowing. These strategies also opened new avenues of evolution through functional shifts. Hard shells allowed for filter feeding, and deep burrowing allowed animals to gain new access to food resources. Stanley acted as a "personal editor" on several PNAS papers about the controversial Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, starting with the original 2007 paper and continuing even after revelations of misconduct by a key contributor. He admitted to a Nature reporter that "It has been very controversial… It's my view that I should help to get this stuff published." The hypothesis was comprehensively refuted in 2023.

Bibliography Stanley, S. M. (1973). "An Ecological Theory for the Sudden Origin of Multicellular Life in the Late Precambrian." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 70 (May 1): 1486-1489. Stanley, S. M. (1975). "A theory of evolution above the species level." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 72 (Feb 1): 646-650. Stanley, S. M. (1978). "Chronospecies' longevities, the origin of genera, and the punctuational model of evolution." Paleobiology 4 (1): 26-40. Stanley, S. M. (1979). Macroevolution: Pattern and Process. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. Stanley, S. M. (1981). The New Evolutionary Timetable. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-05013-1 Stanley, S. M. (1985). "Rates of evolution." Paleobiology 11 (1): 13-26. Stanley, S. M. (1987). Extinction. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. Stanley, S. M. (1987). "The controversy over punctuational evolution." Geol. Soc. Amer. Abstr. with Progr. 19: 854. Stanley, S. M. (1992). "The Empirical Case for the Punctuational Model of Evolution." In A. Somit and S. Peterson. The Dynamics of Evolution. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Stanley, S. M. (1996). Children of the Ice Age. New York: Harmony Books. Stanley, S. M. (2000). "The past climate change heats up." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 97 (Feb. 15): 1319. Stanley, S. M. (2008). Earth System History. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. Raup, S. M. and S. M. Stanley (1971). Principles of Paleontology. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. Stanley, S. M. and Xiangning Yang (1987) "Approximate evolutionary stasis for bivalve morphology over millions of years." Paleobiology 13: 113-139.

Notes

External links Homepage at the University of Hawaii Curriculum vitae

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Steven M. Stanley

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Steven M. Stanley claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Steven M. Stanley before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Steven M. Stanley ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Steven M. Stanley

In research: Steven M. Stanley appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Steven M. Stanley in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Steven M. Stanley is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 births, American evolutionary biologists, American paleontologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Steven M. Stanley outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Steven M. Stanley in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Steven M. Stanley means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Steven M. Stanley out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Steven M. Stanley in simple terms?

Steven M. Stanley (born November 2, 1941) is an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist at the Florida State University.

Why does Steven M. Stanley matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Steven M. Stanley?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Steven M. Stanley.