The purpose of adaptation

Andy Gardner

doi:10.1098/rsfs.2017.0005

The purpose of adaptation

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

A central feature of Darwin’s theory of natural selection is that it explains the purpose of biological adaptation. Here, I: emphasise the scientific importance of understanding what adaptations are for, in terms of facilitating the derivation of empirically-testable predictions; discuss the population genetical basis for Darwin’s theory of the purpose of adaptation, with reference to the “fundamental theorem of natural selection”; and show that a deeper understanding of the purpose of adaptation is achieved in the context of social evolution, with reference to inclusive fitness and superorganisms.

Original language	English
Article number	20170005
Number of pages	7
Journal	Interface Focus
Volume	7
Issue number	5
Early online date	18 Aug 2017
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2017.0005
Publication status	Published - 6 Oct 2017

Keywords

Natural selection
Fundamental theorem
Darwinism
Inclusive fitness
Social evolution
Superorganism

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10.1098/rsfs.2017.0005Licence: CC BY

Gardner-2017-Purpose-adaptation-20170005-CC
& 2017 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
Final published version, 361 KBLicence: CC BY

NERC Fellowship: Understanding major transitions in individuality
Gardner, A. (PI)
NERC
31/03/14 → 30/04/22
Project: Standard

Cite this

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The purpose of adaptation

Abstract

Keywords

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Projects

NERC Fellowship: Understanding major transitions in individuality

Cite this