Adaptation through genes without change to the genome: host adaptation via change in its microbiome composition
…microbiomes through time. [download PDF] Kolodny O, Weinberg M, Reshef L, Harten L, Hefetz A, Gophna U, Feldman MW, Yovel Y. 2018. Nat Ecol Evol DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0731-z Blog posts…
read moreUnraveling the evolutionary role of affordances
…sense of our perceptual experience (compared to, say, colours)? Why are they scientifically understudied compared to other perceptual phenomena? The answer is that, despite being so common, affordances have…
read moreSticklebacks, selection shadows, and salinity shifts: phenotypic plasticity in novel environments
…environments and evolutionary innovations – but many questions about its possible role in evolutionary dynamics remain. How common is it? Are some traits or mechanisms of plasticity more likely to…
read moreResearch projects
The research program comprises 22 research projects organised across four interconnected themes. The projects have been designed to produce results that will support or reject the EES claims about constructive…
read moreThe EES in philosophical focus
…& Tobias Uller This project comprises a collaboration between philosophers and biologists focussing on how the conceptual structure of evolutionary theory affects how researchers answer the big questions…
read moreWhy is human niche construction reshaping planet Earth?
…environmental impacts stem from. Cultural traits can evolve extremely fast, especially in comparison to biologically-derived traits, driven by ‘runaway’ sociocultural niche construction and other processes. A primary example of this…
read moreCoral reefs and niche construction: quantifying patterns
…infer growth and fitness metrics by comparing reconstructions of the same reef site through time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMsnYTLcfmQ&feature=youtu.be The study is taking place in Lizard Island (Australia), where…
read moreDevelopmental bias and evolution
…since developmental systems struggle to come up with something distinctively new. Recognizing a positive role for developmental bias in evolution does not change the status of natural selection –…
read moreTalking Evolution workshop report
…up journal club, we dove a little deeper into mechanisms of evolutionary change often ignored or overlooked by traditionally-educated evolutionary biologists. By this we mean, biologists who understand evolution as…
read moreReleased today: Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony
The latest book from Kevin Laland, Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony was released today. The book tells the story of three decades of research that led to a new understanding of…
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