Adaptation as organism design.
The problem of adaptation is to explain the apparent design of organisms. Darwin solved this problem with the theory of natural selection. However, population geneticists, whose responsibility it is to formalize evolutionary theory, have long neglected the link between natural selection and organismal design. Here, I review the major historical developments in theory of organismal adaptation, clarifying what adaptation is and what it is not, and I point out future avenues for research.
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. andy.gardner@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Andy
A
Gardner
D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D012641:Selection, Genetic