Adaptation as organism design
Author(s) -
Andy Gardner
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
biology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.596
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1744-957X
pISSN - 1744-9561
DOI - 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0674
Subject(s) - adaptation (eye) , biology , natural selection , organism , selection (genetic algorithm) , darwin (adl) , experimental evolution , evolutionary biology , population , natural (archaeology) , ecology , genetics , computer science , neuroscience , sociology , gene , paleontology , demography , software engineering , artificial intelligence
The problem of adaptation is to explain the apparent design of organisms. Darwin solved this problem with the theory of natural selection. However, population geneticists, whose responsibility it is to formalize evolutionary theory, have long neglected the link between natural selection and organismal design. Here, I review the major historical developments in theory of organismal adaptation, clarifying what adaptation is and what it is not, and I point out future avenues for research.
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