Developmental Plasticity and Evolution
Abstract
The first comprehensive synthesis on development and evolution: it applies to all aspects of development, at all levels of organization and in all organisms, taking advantage of modern findings on behavior, genetics, endocrinology, molecular biology, evolutionary theory and phylogenetics to show the connections between developmental mechanisms and evolutionary change. This book solves key problems that have impeded a definitive synthesis in the past. It uses new concepts and specific examples to show how to relate environmentally sensitive development to the genetic theory of adaptive evolution and to explain major patterns of change. In this book development includes not only embryology and the ontogeny of morphology, sometimes portrayed inadequately as governed by "regulatory genes," but also behavioral development and physiological adaptation, where plasticity is mediated by genetically complex mechanisms like hormones and learning. The book shows how the universal qualities of phenotypes--modular organization and plasticity--facilitate both integration and change. Here you will learn why it is wrong to describe organisms as genetically programmed; why environmental induction is likely to be more important in evolution than random mutation; and why it is crucial to consider both selection and developmental mechanism in explanations of adaptive evolution. This book satisfies the need for a truly general book on development, plasticity and evolution that applies to living or…
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Social plasticity can be viewed as major transitions between life history stages, with dramatic changes in behavior, physiology, and gene expression.
“This type of social plasticity can be viewed as major transitions between life history stages, with dramatic changes in behavior, physiology, and gene expression [69,70].”
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- Authors
- West-Eberhard, M. J.
- Venue
- Oxford University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Published
- 2003-03-13
- OpenAlex
- W1540898082
- Cited by
- 6,115
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 205 · 2025: 262 · 2024: 242 · 2023: 247 · 2022: 227 · 2021: 315 · 2020: 354 · 2019: 272 · 2018: 276 · 2017: 274 · 2016: 294 · 2015: 318 · 2014: 343 · 2013: 358 · 2012: 308
- FWCI
- 105.07
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Oxford University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
- Keywords
- developmental plasticity, evolution, environmental induction, adaptive evolution, alternative phenotypes, speciation, radiation, macroevolution, punctuated evolution, gradualism, homology, maintenance of sex, embryology, behavioral development, physiological adaptation, hormonal regulation, learning, genetic programming
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