Exaptation-A Missing Term in the Science of Form Author(S): Stephen Jay Gould and Elisabeth S
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The Paradox of Genius Recognition That, Although Nature Surely
BOOK REVIEWS recognition that, although nature surely embodies factual truth accessible to The paradox of genius human investigation (radical historians Stephen Jay Gould might even demur at this evident and necessary proposition), science does not and cannot 'progress' by rising above Darwin. By Adrian Desmond and James Moore. Michael Joseph: 1991. Pp. 808. social embeddedness on wings of a time £20. To be published in the United States by Warner Books later this year. less and international 'scientific method'. Science, like all human intellectual activ THE botanist J. D. Hooker, Charles kept throughout his life, especially as a ity, must proceed in a complex social, Darwin's closest friend and confidant, young man setting out to reform the political and psychological context: contributed a short preface to the great entire intellectual world. (These docu greatness must therefore be grasped as 1909 Cambridge Festschrift commemor ments had always been there, but were fruitful use, not as transcendence. ating both the fiftieth anniversary of the ignored and therefore unknown and in Darwin, so often depicted as a posi Origin of Species and the hundredth of visible.) I have lived ever since in the tivist hero, self-exiled at Downe in Kent Darwin's birth. Hooker, at the age of 92, penumbra of this industry as a practising amidst his plants and pigeons, emerges recalled his pleasure in Dar- win's trust and cited the volume of correspondence H.M.S. BEAGLE that he had received from MIDDLE SECTION FORE AND AFT Darwin alone: "upwards of a thousand pages of foolscap, each page containing, on an average, three hundred words." Darwin lived on that pre cious nineteenth-century crux of maximal information for historians - close enough to the present to permit pre r. -
1 "Principles of Phylogenetics: Ecology
"PRINCIPLES OF PHYLOGENETICS: ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION" Integrative Biology 200 Spring 2016 University of California, Berkeley D.D. Ackerly March 7, 2016. Phylogenetics and Adaptation What is to be explained? • What is the evolutionary history of trait x that we see in a lineage (homology) or multiple lineages (homoplasy) - adaptations as states • Is natural selection the primary evolutionary process leading to the ‘fit’ of organisms to their environment? • Why are some traits more prevalent (occur in more species): number of origins vs. trait- dependent diversification rates (speciation – extinction) Some high points in the history of the adaptation debate: 1950s • Modern Synthesis of Genetics (Dobzhansky), Paleontology (Simpson) and Systematics (Mayr, Grant) 1960s • Rise of evolutionary ecology – synthesis of ecology with strong adaptationism via optimality theory, with little to no history; leads to Sociobiology in the 70s • Appearance of cladistics (Hennig) 1972 • Eldredge and Gould – punctuated equilibrium – argue that Modern Synthesis can’t explain pervasive observation of stasis in fossil record; Gould focuses on development and constraint as explanations, Eldredge more on ecology and importance of migration to minimize selective pressure 1979 • Gould and Lewontin – Spandrels – general critique of adaptationist program and call for rigorous hypothesis testing of alternatives for the ‘fit’ between organism and environment 1980’s • Debate on whether macroevolution can be explained by microevolutionary processes • Comparative methods -
Testing Darwin's Hypothesis About The
vol. 193, no. 2 the american naturalist february 2019 Natural History Note Testing Darwin’s Hypothesis about the Wonderful Venus Flytrap: Marginal Spikes Form a “Horrid q1 Prison” for Moderate-Sized Insect Prey Alexander L. Davis,1 Matthew H. Babb,1 Matthew C. Lowe,1 Adam T. Yeh,1 Brandon T. Lee,1 and Christopher H. Martin1,2,* 1. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599; 2. Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Submitted May 8, 2018; Accepted September 24, 2018; Electronically published Month XX, 2018 Dryad data: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h8401kn. abstract: Botanical carnivory is a novel feeding strategy associated providing new ecological opportunities (Wainwright et al. with numerous physiological and morphological adaptations. How- 2012; Maia et al. 2013; Martin and Wainwright 2013; Stroud ever, the benefits of these novel carnivorous traits are rarely tested. and Losos 2016). Despite the importance of these traits, our We used field observations, lab experiments, and a seminatural ex- understanding of the adaptive value of novel structures is of- periment to test prey capture function of the marginal spikes on snap ten assumed and rarely directly tested. Frequently, this is be- traps of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Our field and labora- cause it is difficult or impossible to manipulate the trait with- fi tory results suggested inef cient capture success: fewer than one in four out impairing organismal function in an unintended way; prey encounters led to prey capture. Removing the marginal spikes de- creased the rate of prey capture success for moderate-sized cricket prey however, many carnivorous plant traits do not present this by 90%, but this effect disappeared for larger prey. -
Exapting Exaptation
Spotlight Exapting exaptation 1 2 3 3 Greger Larson , Philip A. Stephens , Jamshid J. Tehrani , and Robert H. Layton 1 Durham Evolution and Ancient DNA, Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK 2 School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK 3 Department of Anthropology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK The term exaptation was introduced to encourage biol- As a result, all adaptations can also be said to be exapta- ogists to consider alternatives to adaptation to explain tions, thus rendering the term redundant [4]. the origins of traits. Here, we discuss why exaptation has proved more successful in technological than biological Technology and the exaptation of exaptation contexts, and propose a revised definition of exaptation Despite failing to catch on in evolutionary biology, exapta- applicable to both genetic and cultural evolution. tion has been adopted with considerable success in studies of the history of technology [5]. Technological innovations frequently involve the use of a process or artefact in a new The rise and fall of biological exaptation context [6]. A classic example is microwave radiation, Last year marked a decade since the death of Stephen Jay which was originally used in the radar magnetron to Gould, and 30 years since the publication of one of his most intercept and reflect off target objects, and was subse- provocative challenges to orthodox evolutionary theory quently exapted as a means to heat food. Similarly, tech- [1,2]. Concerned about a perceived lack of rigour, Gould, nologies that were initially developed as part of NASA’s together with Elizabeth Vrba, introduced a vocabulary space research program were later exploited for new com- intended to undermine the primacy of adaptation for mercial uses. -
The Tempo and Mode of Evolution Reconsidered Stephen Jay Gould
Punctuated Equilibria: The Tempo and Mode of Evolution Reconsidered Stephen Jay Gould; Niles Eldredge Paleobiology, Vol. 3, No. 2. (Spring, 1977), pp. 115-151. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0094-8373%28197721%293%3A2%3C115%3APETTAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H Paleobiology is currently published by Paleontological Society. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/journals/paleo.html. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://www.jstor.org Sun Aug 19 19:30:53 2007 Paleobiology. -
Evolution # 6 Tempoandmode
Bio 1B Lecture Outline (please print and bring along) Fall, 2008 B.D. Mishler, Dept. of Integrative Biology 2-6810, [email protected] Evolution lecture #6 -- Tempo and Mode in Macroevolution -- Nov. 14th, 2008 Reading: pp. 521-531 (ch. 25) 8th ed. pp. 480-488 (ch. 24) 7th ed. • Summary of topics • Define and contrast adaptation and exaptation • Give examples of how adaptive radiations lead to diversity within an evolutionary lineage • Give examples of how convergent evolution shows the action of selection on organisms that are not closely related but have a shared way of life • Contrast punctuated equilibria and gradualism • Describe the features of developmental changes that can lead to evolution ("evo-devo") • Define macroevolution • Adaptation Adaptation: Based on the observation that organism matches environment closely. Darwin & many Darwinians thought that all structures must be adaptive for something. But, this has come under severe challenge in recent years. Not all structures and functions are adaptive. Some matches between organism and environment are accidental, or the causality is reverse (i.e., the structure came first, function much later). • By definition, an adaptation in a formal sense requires fulfillment of four different tests: Engineering. Structure must indeed function in hypothesized sense. Heritability. Differences between organisms must be passed on to offspring. Natural Selection. Difference in fitness must occur because of differences in the hypothesized adaptation. Phylogeny. Hypothesized adaptive state must have evolved in the context of the hypothesized cause. Think in terms of problem (e.g., environmental change) and solution (adaptation). Requires correct phylogenetic polarity (i.e., correct sequence of events on a cladogram). -
Exaptation, Grammaticalization, and Reanalysis
Heiko Narrog Tohoku University Exaptation, Grammaticalization, and Reanalysis Abstract The goal of this paper is to argue that exaptation, as introduced into the study of language change by Lass (1990, 1997), in specific functional domains, is a limited alternative to grammaticalization. Exaptation, similarly to grammaticalization, leads to the formation of grammatical elements. Like grammaticalization, exaptation is based on the mechanism of reanalysis. It decisively differs from grammaticalization, however, as it implies change in the opposite direction, namely from material absorbed in the lexicon back to grammatical material. Two sets of data are presented as evidence for the replicability of this process. One involves the occurrence of exaptation across languages in a specific semantic domain, namely, the evolution of morphological causatives out of lexical verb patterns. The other data pertain to recurrent processes of exaptation in one language, namely in Japanese, where exaptation figures in the development of various morphological categories. In all cases of exaptation, reanalysis is crucially involved. This serves to show that reanalysis may be more fundamental to grammatical change than both grammaticalization and exaptation. Furthermore, it allows for change both with the usual directionality of grammaticalization and against it. 1. Introduction Even detractors of grammaticalization theory do not seriously challenge the fact that in the majority of cases the morphosyntactic and semantic development of grammatical material follows the paths outlined in the standard literature on grammaticalization. The two following California Linguistic Notes Volume XXXII No. 1 Winter, 2007 2 issues, however, potentially pose a critical challenge to the validity of the theory. First, there is the question of the theoretical status of grammaticalization as a coherent and unique concept. -
Darwin's Middle Road∗
Stephen Jay Gould DARWIN'S MIDDLE ROAD∗ "We began to sail up the narrow strait lamenting," narrates Odysseus. "For on the one hand lay Scylla, with twelve feet all dangling down; and six necks exceeding long, and on each a hideous head, and therein three rows of teeth set thick and close, full of black death. And on the other mighty Charybdis sucked down the salt sea water. As often as she belched it forth, like a cauldron on a great fire she would seethe up through all her troubled deeps." Odysseus managed to swerve around Charybdis, but Scylla grabbed six of his finest men and devoured them in his sight-"the most pitiful thing mine eyes have seen of all my travail in searching out the paths of the sea." False lures and dangers often come in pairs in our legends and metaphors—consider the frying pan and the fire, or the devil and the deep blue sea. Prescriptions for avoidance either emphasize a dogged steadiness—the straight and narrow of Christian evangelists—or an averaging between unpleasant alternatives—the golden mean of Aristotle. The idea1 of steering a course between undesirable extremes emerges as a central prescription for a sensible life. The nature of scientific creativity is both a perennial topic of discussion and a prime candidate for seeking a golden mean. The two extreme positions have not been directly competing for allegiance of the unwary. They have, rather, replaced each other sequentially, with one now in the ascendancy, the other eclipsed. The first—inductivism—held that great scientists are primarily great observers and patient accumulators of information. -
Exaptation, Adaptation, and Evolutionary Psychology
Exaptation, Adaptation, and Evolutionary Psychology Armin Schulz Department of Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method London School of Economics and Political Science Houghton St London WC2A 2AE UK [email protected] (0044) 753-105-3158 Abstract One of the most well known methodological criticisms of evolutionary psychology is Gould’s claim that the program pays too much attention to adaptations, and not enough to exaptations. Almost as well known is the standard rebuttal of that criticism: namely, that the study of exaptations in fact depends on the study of adaptations. However, as I try to show in this paper, it is premature to think that this is where this debate ends. First, the notion of exaptation that is commonly used in this debate is different from the one that Gould and Vrba originally defined. Noting this is particularly important, since, second, the standard reply to Gould’s criticism only works if the criticism is framed in terms of the former notion of exaptation, and not the latter. However, third, this ultimately does not change the outcome of the debate much, as evolutionary psychologists can respond to the revamped criticism of their program by claiming that the original notion of exaptation is theoretically and empirically uninteresting. By discussing these issues further, I also seek to determine, more generally, which ways of approaching the adaptationism debate in evolutionary biology are useful, and which not. Exaptation, Adaptation, and Evolutionary Psychology Exaptation, Adaptation, and Evolutionary Psychology I. Introduction From a methodological point of view, one of the most well known accusations of evolutionary psychology – the research program emphasising the importance of appealing to evolutionary considerations in the study of the mind – is the claim that it is overly “adaptationist” (for versions of this accusation, see e.g. -
The Depths of Virus Exaptation Eugene V
The depths of virus exaptation Eugene V. Koonin, Mart Krupovic To cite this version: Eugene V. Koonin, Mart Krupovic. The depths of virus exaptation. Current Opinion in Virology, Elsevier, 2018, Viral evolution, 31, pp.1-8. 10.1016/j.coviro.2018.07.011. pasteur-01977329 HAL Id: pasteur-01977329 https://hal-pasteur.archives-ouvertes.fr/pasteur-01977329 Submitted on 10 Jun 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. 1 The depths of virus exaptation 2 1 2 3 Eugene V.Koonin and Mart Krupovic 4 1 National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894 2 Unité Biologie Moléculaire du Gène chez les Extrêmophiles, Department of Microbiology, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, Paris 75015, France 5 6 7 *For correspondence; e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] 1 8 9 10 Abstract 11 12 Viruses are ubiquitous parasites of cellular life forms and the most abundant biological entities 13 on earth. The relationships between viruses and their hosts involve the continuous arms race but 14 are by no account limited to it. -
The Mystery of Life's Origin
The Mystery of Life’s Origin The Continuing Controversy CHARLES B. THAXTON, WALTER L. BRADLEY, ROGER L. OLSEN, JAMES TOUR, STEPHEN MEYER, JONATHAN WELLS, GUILLERMO GONZALEZ, BRIAN MILLER, DAVID KLINGHOFFER Seattle Discovery Institute Press Description e origin of life from non-life remains one of the most enduring mysteries of modern science. e Mystery of Life’s Origin: e Continuing Controversy investigates how close scientists are to solving that mystery and explores what we are learning about the origin of life from current research in chemistry, physics, astrobiology, biochemistry, and more. e book includes an updated version of the classic text e Mystery of Life’s Origin by Charles axton, Walter Bradley, and Roger Olsen, and new chapters on the current state of the debate by chemist James Tour, physicist Brian Miller, astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, biologist Jonathan Wells, and philosopher of science Stephen C. Meyer. Copyright Notice Copyright © 2020 by Discovery Institute, All Rights Reserved. Library Cataloging Data e Mystery of Life’s Origin: e Continuing Controversy by Charles B. axton, Walter L. Bradley, Roger L, Olsen, James Tour, Stephen Meyer, Jonathan Wells, Guillermo Gonzalez, Brian Miller, and David Klinghoffer 486 pages, 6 x 9 x 1.0 inches & 1.4 lb, 229 x 152 x 25 mm. & 0.65 kg Library of Congress Control Number: 9781936599745 ISBN-13: 978-1-936599-74-5 (paperback), 978-1-936599-75-2 (Kindle), 978-1-936599-76-9 (EPUB) BISAC: SCI013040 SCIENCE / Chemistry / Organic BISAC: SCI013030 SCIENCE / Chemistry / Inorganic BISAC: SCI007000 SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Biochemistry BISAC: SCI075000 SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects Publisher Information Discovery Institute Press, 208 Columbia Street, Seattle, WA 98104 Internet: http://www.discoveryinstitutepress.com/ Published in the United States of America on acid-free paper. -
Exaptation in Human Evolution: How to Test Adaptive Vs Exaptive Evolutionary Hypotheses
doi 10.4436/jass.89015 JASs Invited Reviews Journal of Anthropological Sciences Vol. 89 (2011), pp. 9-23 Exaptation in human evolution: how to test adaptive vs exaptive evolutionary hypotheses Telmo Pievani & Emanuele Serrelli University of Milan Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo, n. 1 - 20126 Milan, Italy e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Summary - Palaeontologists, Stephen J. Gould and Elisabeth Vrba, introduced the term “ex-aptation” with the aim of improving and enlarging the scientific language available to researchers studying the evolution of any useful character, instead of calling it an “adaptation” by default, coming up with what Gould named an “extended taxonomy of fitness” . With the extension to functional co-optations from non-adaptive structures (“spandrels”), the notion of exaptation expanded and revised the neo-Darwinian concept of “pre- adaptation” (which was misleading, for Gould and Vrba, suggesting foreordination). Exaptation is neither a “saltationist” nor an “anti-Darwinian” concept and, since 1982, has been adopted by many researchers in evolutionary and molecular biology, and particularly in human evolution. Exaptation has also been contested. Objections include the “non-operationality objection”.We analyze the possible operationalization of this concept in two recent studies, and identify six directions of empirical research, which are necessary to test “adaptive vs. exaptive” evolutionary hypotheses. We then comment on a comprehensive survey of literature (available online), and on the basis of this we make a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the adoption of the term among scientists who study human evolution. We discuss the epistemic conditions that may have influenced the adoption and appropriate use of exaptation, and comment on the benefits of an “extended taxonomy of fitness” in present and future studies concerning human evolution.