Rapid modes of evolution
Encyclopedia
Rapid modes of evolution have been proposed by several notable biologists ever since Charles Darwin
proposed his theory of evolutionary descent
by natural selection
. In his classic volume On the Origin of Species
(1859), Darwin famously and eloquently stressed the gradual nature of descent, writing:
has identified dynamical and physical mechanisms of tissue morphogenesis
that may underlie such abrupt morphological transitions. Consequently, consideration of mechanisms of phylogenetic change that are actually (not just apparently) non-gradual is increasingly common in the field of evolutionary developmental biology
, particularly in studies of the origin of morphological novelty. A description of such mechanisms can be found in the multi-authored volume Origination of Organismal Form
.
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
proposed his theory of evolutionary descent
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
by natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. In his classic volume On the Origin of Species
The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
(1859), Darwin famously and eloquently stressed the gradual nature of descent, writing:
- It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is bad, preserving and adding up all that is good; silently and insensibly working, whenever and wherever opportunity offers, at the improvement of each organic being in relation to its organic and inorganic conditions of life. We see nothing of these slow changes in progress, until the hand of time has marked the long lapses of ages, and then so imperfect is our view into long past geological ages, that we only see that the forms of life are now different from what they formerly were. (1859)
Evolutionary developmental biology
Recent work in developmental biologyDevelopmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
has identified dynamical and physical mechanisms of tissue morphogenesis
Morphogenesis
Morphogenesis , is the biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape...
that may underlie such abrupt morphological transitions. Consequently, consideration of mechanisms of phylogenetic change that are actually (not just apparently) non-gradual is increasingly common in the field of evolutionary developmental biology
Evolutionary developmental biology
Evolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
, particularly in studies of the origin of morphological novelty. A description of such mechanisms can be found in the multi-authored volume Origination of Organismal Form
Origination of Organismal Form
Origination of Organismal Form: Beyond the Gene in Developmental and Evolutionary Biology is a book published in 2003 edited by Gerd B. Müller and Stuart A. Newman. It explores the multiple factors that may have been responsible for the origination of biological form in multicellular life...
.
See also
- EvolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
- Evolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
- Hopeful Monster theory
- Otto SchindewolfOtto SchindewolfOtto Heinrich Schindewolf was a German paleontologist who studied the evolution of corals and cephalopods....
- Punctuated equilibriumPunctuated equilibriumPunctuated equilibrium is a theory in evolutionary biology which proposes that most species will exhibit little net evolutionary change for most of their geological history, remaining in an extended state called stasis...
- Quantum evolutionQuantum evolutionQuantum evolution is a component of George Gaylord Simpson's multi-tempoed theory of evolutionary change, proposed to explain the rapid emergence of higher taxonomic groups. According to Simpson, evolutionary rates differ from group to group and even among closely related lineages...
- Richard GoldschmidtRichard GoldschmidtRichard Benedict Goldschmidt was a German-born American geneticist. He is considered the first to integrate genetics, development, and evolution. He pioneered understanding of reaction norms, genetic assimilation, dynamical genetics, sex determination, and heterochrony...
- SaltationismSaltation (biology)In biology, ""saltation"" is a sudden change from one generation to the next, that is large, or very large, in comparison with the usual variation of an organism...