by Scott F Gilbert and colleagues
In our recent paper published in Biological Theory, we present compelling evidence that the holobiont is a unit of evolutionary selection, and we propose a new mathematical model to help us understand its evolution. But first, what is a holobiont? A holobiont is a large organism (a “macrobiont,” such as an animal, fungus, or plant)
read more
by David Sloan Wilson & Kevin N Laland
These are exciting times for the study of cultural evolution, with important books appearing regularly. One of these is Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony: How Culture Made the Human Mind, by Kevin N Laland, which won the British Psychological Society’s prize for the best academic book of 2017. Kevin has been featured several times on TVOL as a leading
read more
by Jonathan Birch
To coincide with the publication of his latest book, The Philosophy of Social Evolution, philosopher Jonathan Birch is this week’s guest blogger on The Brains Blog. Read his series of posts below. Part 1. Altruism in nature Part 2. Relatedness and altruism Part 3. Relatedness, time and bacteria Part 4. The social organism
read more
by Eduardo Zattara & Armin Moczek
Organisms are mosaics of diverse traits. Some of these, such as eyes, limbs, or light producing organs, attain a remarkable level of complexity: each is comprised of a large number of component parts that relate to each other through often intricate and precise interactions, most if not all of these being required for the trait
read more
by Daniel B Schwab, Sofia Casasa & Armin P Moczek
Understanding the extraordinary fit between organisms and their environments, or the nature of adaptation, is a long-standing focus of evolutionary biology. Traditionally, evolutionary biologists have focused on two routes to adaptation: organisms may adjust their phenotypes developmentally during their lifetimes through phenotypic plasticity, or across generations through evolved genetic changes in phenotype expression. A growing
read more
by Marc W Feldman & Oren Kolodny
There has been growing awareness of the importance of studying the holobiome – the eukaryote organism with its microbiome – for the understanding of eukaryote evolution1-6. The holobiont complex is a system that flexibly self-assembles through reciprocal interactions between the organisms that participate in it, at multiple time scales6-8. To understand the evolutionary forces acting
read more
by Tobias Uller & Heikki Helanterä
Have you ever wondered why there is such intense disagreement over the evolutionary significance of niche construction? If so, you may be helped by a recent paper in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. The paper shows how contention arises from alternative assumptions regarding the causal independence of the processes that generate variation,
read more
by Wim Hordijk
Earlier this year, the inaugural workshop of the EES Project was held at the Konrad Lorenz Institute (KLI) in Austria. The KLI is a private and independent research institute with a focus on the development and evolution of biological and cultural complexity. Housed in a beautiful baroque building in the medieval town of Klosterneuburg, it offers a
read more
by Arlin Stoltzfus
In a critique of various “misconceptions” about evolution, Lynch (2007) states that evo-devo and other fields have not introduced any new population-genetic principles, nor overturned existing ones. That sounds a bit unfair. Advocates of evo-devo typically don’t offer novel population-genetic causes (and if they did, wouldn’t Lynch simply claim them on behalf of population genetics?).
read more
by Alfredo Rago
No modern-day biologist doubts that the development, physiology and behaviour of living beings are influenced by their environment. Plasticity is everywhere and, in many instances, it has clearly been shaped by natural selection. Plastic responses can be sophisticated strategies for survival and reproduction, but the same could be said for every adaptive feature of living
read more