Development and evolution

Baldwin, James Mark; Morgan, C. Lloyd; Osborn, Henry Fairfield; Poulton, Edward B.; Headley, F. W.; Conn, H. W.

doi:10.5962/bhl.title.53572

Cited by 32 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, there were problems with both positions. The Neo-Lamarckians pointed out the difficulty of explaining Neo-Darwinian adaptation in a new environment, since the chance production of fortuitous variation seemed implausible, while the slow pace of adaptation could not match the rapidity of environmental change [ 6 ]. On the other hand, no less an authority than Romanes had disavowed most of the evidence for the inheritance of acquired characters [ 7 ].…”

Section: A Brief History Of the Baldwin Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, no less an authority than Romanes had disavowed most of the evidence for the inheritance of acquired characters [ 7 ]. It was into this context that a “not-quite-third” position, that of the Organicists (see Appendix A for glossary), was developed, with a synthesis of positions articulated by Baldwin [ 6 ]. The so-called Baldwin effect [ 8 ] has proven to be both prescient ( Appendix B ) and misunderstood ( Appendix C ).…”

Section: A Brief History Of the Baldwin Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Before discussing the Organicist position, it is important to recognize what this position was not: it was not a compromise between Neo-Lamarckism and Neo-Darwinism. It brought Lamarck's first law of use/disuse (and other forms of plasticity) firmly in the camp of Neo-Darwinism, but gutted Neo-Lamarckism in the process (Poulton, quoted in appendix of [ 6 ]). In the points that follow, the primary role of natural selection will be readily apparent; Baldwin's organic selection was a supplement to, not a replacement of, natural selection.…”

Section: A Brief History Of the Baldwin Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Plasticity-Mediated Persistence in New and Changing Environments

Morris

2014

International Journal of Evolutionary Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Baldwin's synthesis of the Organicist position, first published in 1896 and elaborated in 1902, sought to rescue environmentally induced phenotypes from disrepute by showing their Darwinian significance. Of particular interest to Baldwin was plasticity's mediating role during environmental change or colonization—plastic individuals were more likely to successfully survive and reproduce in new environments than were nonplastic individuals. Once a population of plastic individuals had become established, plasticity could further mediate the future course of evolution. The evidence for plasticity-mediated persistence (PMP) is reviewed here with a particular focus on evolutionary rescue experiments, studies on invasive success, and the role of learning in survival. Many PMP studies are methodologically limited, showing that preexistent plasticity has utility in new environments (soft PMP) rather than directly demonstrating that plasticity is responsible for persistence (hard PMP). An ideal PMP study would be able to demonstrate that (1) plasticity preexisted environmental change, (2) plasticity was fortuitously beneficial in the new environment, (3) plasticity was responsible for individual persistence in the new environment, and (4) plasticity was responsible for population persistence in succeeding generations. Although PMP is not ubiquitous, Baldwin's hypotheses have been largely vindicated in theoretical and empirical studies, but much work remains.

show abstract

Section: A Brief History Of the Baldwin Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Brief History Of the Baldwin Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Brief History Of the Baldwin Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Plasticity-Mediated Persistence in New and Changing Environments

Morris

2014

International Journal of Evolutionary Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Regardless of how they derived their ideas, the evolutionary mechanism proposed by Spalding and then Baldwin, Lloyd Morgan, and Osborn was known at the time as “organic selection” and is now frequently termed the “Baldwin effect,” largely because of Baldwin's influential book [ 18 ]. Baldwin was not always consistent in how he thought about the process, and, as a result, modern usage is confused [ 19 ].…”

Section: Epigenetics As a Driver Of Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of the Organism on Its Descendants

Bateson

2012

Genetics Research International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Historically, evolutionary biologists have taken the view that an understanding of development is irrelevant to theories of evolution. However, the integration of several disciplines in recent years suggests that this position is wrong. The capacity of the organism to adapt to challenges from the environment can set up conditions that affect the subsequent evolution of its descendants. Moreover, molecular events arising from epigenetic processes can be transmitted from one generation to the next and influence genetic mutation. This in turn can facilitate evolution in the conditions in which epigenetic change was first initiated.

show abstract

“…The authors' belief that “Baldwinization” of behaviour eliminates learning, and therefore the potential for innovation, is based on a flawed understanding of the extent to which learned behaviour becomes genetically assimilated. The assimilation of adaptive learned behaviour is suggested to occur through two different mechanisms: the “Baldwin Effect” described by Baldwin (1896a; 1902) and Waddington's (1942; 1953) “genetic assimilation” (see West-Eberhard [2003] and papers in Weber & Depew [2003] for detailed discussion about these two mechanisms). “Genetic assimilation” in this commentary refers to both these mechanisms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic assimilation of behaviour does not eliminate learning and innovation

Hunt

Gray

2007

Behav Brain Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Innovation is a key component of most definitions of culture and intelligence. Additionally, innovations may affect a species' ecology and evolution. Nonetheless, conceptual and empirical work on innovation has only recently begun. In particular, largely because the existing operational definition (first occurrence in a population) requires long-term studies of populations, there has been no systematic study of innovation in wild animals. To facilitate such study, we have produced a new definition of innovation: Innovation is the process that generates in an individual a novel learned behavior that is not simply a consequence of social learning or environmental induction. Using this definition, we propose a new operational approach for distinguishing innovations in the field. The operational criteria employ information from the following sources: (1) the behavior's geographic and local prevalence and individual frequency; (2) properties of the behavior, such as the social role of the behavior, the context in which the behavior is exhibited, and its similarity to other behaviors; (3) changes in the occurrence of the behavior over time; and (4) knowledge of spontaneous or experimentally induced behavior in captivity. These criteria do not require long-term studies at a single site, but information from multiple populations of a species will generally be needed. These criteria are systematized into a dichotomous key that can be used to assess whether a behavior observed in the field is likely to be an innovation.

show abstract

Development and evolution

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

Plasticity-Mediated Persistence in New and Changing Environments

Plasticity-Mediated Persistence in New and Changing Environments

The Impact of the Organism on Its Descendants

Genetic assimilation of behaviour does not eliminate learning and innovation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About