Form and Function in Developmental Evolution

✍ Scribed by Manfred D. Laubichler, Jane Maienschein

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 254
• Series: Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book represents a new effort to understand very old questions about biological form, function, and the relationships between them. The essays collected here reflect the diversity of approaches in evolutionary developmental biology (Evo Devo), including not only studies by prominent scientists whose research focuses on topics concerned with evolution and development, but also historically and conceptually oriented studies that place the scientific work within a larger framework and ask how it can be pushed further. Topics under discussion range from the use of theoretical and empirical biomechanics to understand the evolution of plant form, to detailed studies of the evolution of development and the role of developmental constraints on phenotypic variation. The result is a rich and interdisciplinary volume that will begin a wider conversation about the shape of Evo Devo as it matures as a field.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 5
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
Figures......Page 11
Tables......Page 15
Contributors......Page 17
Journal abbreviations......Page 19
1 Introduction......Page 21
References......Page 27
2 Form and function in Evo Devo: historical and conceptual reflections......Page 30
Form and function in nineteenth-century biology: setting the stage for twenty-first-century Evo Devo......Page 32
Form and function and the multiple origins of twentieth-century Evo Devo......Page 36
Form and function and the main conceptual questions of twenty-first-century Evo Devo......Page 38
The main research programs in Evo Devo and their relation to form and function......Page 40
Research questions of Evo Devo......Page 45
Unifying themes in Evo Devo and their connections to form and function......Page 48
How selecting the right model systems matters for understanding form and function......Page 53
Conclusion: a proposed mechanistic solution to the problem of integrating form and function in Evo Devo......Page 56
References......Page 59
Introduction......Page 67
Simulations of early land plant evolution......Page 70
The early vascular plant morphospace......Page 71
Relative fitness and fitness landscapes......Page 73
Adaptive evolutionary walks......Page 75
Maximization and optimization in stable landscapes......Page 76
Optimization in unstable (shifting) landscapes......Page 80
The scaling of seed plant (spermatophyte) patterns......Page 84
Evidence for a canonical pattern......Page 89
Two hypotheses......Page 95
Functional equivalence and its “latitude”......Page 96
Conclusions and closing remarks......Page 98
References......Page 100
Roles for development in evolution......Page 103
Ontogeny and evolutionary theory......Page 106
Modes of development......Page 108
How did larvae evolve?......Page 110
Experimental study of rapid larval evolution......Page 113
A hybrid strategy to gain insights into regulatory changes in evolution......Page 117
Mechanistic diversity in the evolution of novel larval features......Page 119
Developmental-genetic approaches to echinoderm larval evolution......Page 121
Conclusions......Page 124
References......Page 126
5 A focus on both form and function in examining selection versus constraint......Page 132
Case studies on snail shape and size......Page 134
Case studies on butterfly wings......Page 136
Serially repeated elements and artificial selection experiments on eyespots......Page 137
Some limitations to using artificial selection......Page 142
The evolution of allometry involving butterfly wings......Page 144
References......Page 148
6 Innovation and diversity in functional morphology......Page 152
Innovation......Page 153
Growing the theoretical morphospace......Page 154
Importance of the form–function map......Page 156
Comparative analysis of diversity......Page 158
Morphological diversity......Page 159
Case study: innovation and diversity in the feeding mechanism of parrotfish......Page 161
Conclusions......Page 168
References......Page 169
Introduction......Page 173
Four ways to resolve the conflict......Page 174
Evidence regarding theropod digit identity......Page 177
Evidence regarding the axis shift hypothesis......Page 179
Evidence regarding the frame shift hypothesis......Page 182
Conflict between anatomical and embryological evidence on digit identity in other animals: lo strano caso della Luscengola......Page 185
Facts without the force of evidence......Page 188
References......Page 191
Introduction: pattern and process......Page 196
Functional analysis......Page 197
The cladistic challenge: Cracraft and Wright’s rule......Page 208
The taxic model of evolution......Page 214
Conclusion......Page 218
References......Page 219
Introduction......Page 221
Selection under constraint......Page 222
Constraint selection......Page 226
The hierarchy of constraints......Page 228
Conclusion......Page 230
References......Page 231
Introduction: two distinctions......Page 233
Mechanisms and levels of organization......Page 235
The study of social insect behavior in historical context......Page 237
Levels of development......Page 239
Conclusion, and new directions......Page 241
Future directions......Page 242
References......Page 243
Index......Page 245