Darwinian Dynamics: Evolutionary Transitions in Fitness and Individuality

by Richard E. Michod

Overview

The concept of fitness has long been a topic of intense debate among evolutionary biologists and their critics, with its definition and explanatory power coming under attack. In this book, Richard Michod offers a fresh, dynamical interpretation of evolution and fitness concepts. He argues that evolution has no enduring products; what matters is the process of genetic change. Whereas many biologists have focused on competition and aggression as determining factors in survival, Michod, by concentrating on the emergence of individuality at new and more complex levels, finds that cooperation plays even a greater role.


Michod first considers the principles behind the hierarchically nested levels of organization that constitute life: genes, chromosomes, genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, and societies. By examining the evolutionary transitions from the molecular level up to the whole organism, the author explains how cooperation and conflict in a multilevel setting leads to new levels of fitness. He builds a model of fitness drawing on recent developments in ecology and multilevel selection theory and on new explanations of the origin of life. Michod concludes with a discussion of the philosophical implications of his theory of fitness, a theory that addresses the most fundamental and unique concept in all of biology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691223865
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	01/12/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	279
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Richard E. Michod is Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. He is the author of Eros and Evolution: A Natural Philosophy of Sex. Among the volumes he has coedited are Evolution of Sex: An Examination of Current Ideas and The Origin of Values.

Table of Contents

	Preface	xi
	Acknowledgments	xv
Chapter 1	The Language of Selection	3
	Plan of the Book	3
	Darwinian Dynamics	5
	Major Evolutionary Transitions	7
	Cooperation and Conflict	8
	Fisherian Fitness	9
	Deconstructing Fitness	11
	Selection as Fitness Covariance	13
	Mathematical Models	16
	Adequacy Criterion for Understanding Fitness	18
	Definitions of Basic Concepts	18
Chapter 2	Origin of Fitness	19
	Complementarity	19
	Spontaneous Creation	20
	Self-Replication and the Origin of Fitness	20
	Replicator Dynamics	21
	Design Analysis of Molecular Replicator	22
	Life History Evolution	24
	Survival of the Fittest	25
	Survival of Anybody	26
	Overview of the Origin of Fitness	27
Chapter 3	The First Individuals	29
	Origin of Gene Networks	29
	Cooperation and Conflict	32
	Survival of the First	33
	Evolutionary Transitions Are Inherently Nonlinear	35
	Origin of Hypercycles	35
	Quasispecies	37
	Population Structure	39
	Kin Selection in Evolutionary Transitions	40
	Conflict Mediation through Individuality	42
	Further Evolution of the Cell	43
	Heritable Capacities of Single Cells	45
	Reconsidering Adaptedness and Fitness	46
	Early Transitions in Evolution	47
Chapter 4	Evolution of Interactions	49
	Gene Frequency Change	49
	Population Growth	50
	Frequency-Dependent Selection	51
	Constant Selection	51
	Adaptive Topography	52
	Frequency Dependence Decouples Fitness in a Selection Hierarchy	53
	Selection as Covariance	55
	Fisher's Fundamental Theorem	57
	Evolution in Hierarchically Structured Populations	62
	Evolution of Multicellular Organisms	64
	Kin Selection	66
	Game Theory	70
	Modification of Genetic Constraints	71
	Population Dynamics and Natural Selection	72
	Fitness Minima	73
	Prisoner's Dilemma	75
	Spatial Structure and the Evolution of Cooperation	77
	The Problem of Frequency Dependence	80
Chapter 5	Multilevel Selection of the Organism	81
	A Scenario	81
	A Model for the Emergence of Organisms	81
	Recurrence Equations	84
	Within-Organism Mutation Selection Model	86
	Mutation Rate	87
	Covariance Methods	89
	The Risk of Development	90
	Increase of Cooperation	91
	Level of Cooperation among Cells within Organisms	93
	Fitness of Organisms	95
	Effect of Sex and Diploidy on the Emerging Organism	101
	Strengths and Weaknesses of the Model	102
Chapter 6	Rediscovering Individuality	107
	Evolutionary Individuals	107
	Two-Locus Modifier Model	109
	Model Parameters	112
	Equilibria of the System	112
	Evolution of the Germ Line	113
	Evolution of the Mutation Rate	118
	Evolution of Self-Policing	119
	Evolution of Adult Size	121
	Effect of Transition on the Level of Cooperation	122
	Increase of Fitness Covariance at Organism Level	122
	Heritability of Fitness and the Evolution of Individuality	124
	Sex and Individuality	127
	Origin of Multicellular Life	129
	Transitions in Individuality	131
Chapter 7	Fitness Explanations	133
	Overview of Fitness and Natural Selection	133
	Trading Fitness through Cooperation	135
	Kinship and Population Structure	136
	Conflict Mediation	137
	Reconsidering Fitness	137
	The "Tautology Problem"	140
	Surrogates for Natural Selection	142
	Evolution of Selfing	145
	Cost of Sex	146
	Immortality, Death, and the Life Cycle	150
	Kin Selection of Altruism	152
	Heterozygote Superiority	154
	Sickle Cell Anemia	156
	Darwin's Dilemmas	158
Chapter 8	A Philosophy of Fitness	161
	Dynamics of Design	161
	What Makes Biology Different?	163
	Success and Design	164
	Long-Term versus Short-Term Measures of Fitness	166
	Darwinian Dynamics	167
	Natural Selection as a Biological Law	169
	Paradigms for Natural Selection	173
	Fitness in Darwinian Dynamics	174
	The Insufficiency of Individual Fitness	175
	Heritability and Natural Selection	179
	Schema for Natural Selection	181
	The Propensity Interpretation of Fitness	183
	Brandon's Approach	186
	Heritable Capacities as Components of Design	189
	Overall Adaptedness of Organisms	191
	Masking of Adaptiveness	194
	Are Adaptation Concepts Necessary?	196
	F-Fitness and Evolutionary Explanations	197
	Explaining Fitness	200
Appendix A	Supporting Analyses	203
	Statistics of Fitness and Selection	203
	Equilibria for Modifier Model (G = 0)	217
	Cost of Sex in Diploids	218
Appendix B	Fitness Phrases	222
Appendix C	Notation	226
	Notes	233
	References	237
	Index	253

Editorial Reviews

"Darwinian Dynamics is an excellent and masterful synthesis of the current understanding about how evolutionary principles work at the various levels of biological organization.... Much like Einstein's theories of relativity extended classical mechanics, Michod's multi-selection theory is an extension of classical selection theory.... Well produced and current.... Michod has written what should be a classic for decades to come."—-Norman A. Johnson, Bioscience

"Individuality and fitness, two of the most fundamental concepts in evolutionary theory, are anything but simple. Theoretical biologist Richard Michod reviews and extends the state of the art for these subjects in Darwinian Dynamics.... [These are] some of the most exciting advances in modern biology from one of its most able practitioners."—-David Sloan Wilson, Human Biology

From the Publisher

Individuality and fitness, two of the most fundamental concepts in evolutionary theory, are anything but simple. Theoretical biologist Richard Michod reviews and extends the state of the art for these subjects in Darwinian Dynamics.... [These are] some of the most exciting advances in modern biology from one of its most able practitioners.

Human Biology - David Sloan Wilson

Darwinian Dynamics is an excellent and masterful synthesis of the current understanding about how evolutionary principles work at the various levels of biological organization.... Much like Einstein's theories of relativity extended classical mechanics, Michod's multi-selection theory is an extension of classical selection theory.... Well produced and current.... Michod has written what should be a classic for decades to come.

Bioscience - Norman A. Johnson

Individuality and fitness, two of the most fundamental concepts in evolutionary theory, are anything but simple. Theoretical biologist Richard Michod reviews and extends the state of the art for these subjects in Darwinian Dynamics.... [These are] some of the most exciting advances in modern biology from one of its most able practitioners.
— David Sloan Wilson

Human Biology

Darwinian Dynamics is an excellent and masterful synthesis of the current understanding about how evolutionary principles work at the various levels of biological organization.... Much like Einstein's theories of relativity extended classical mechanics, Michod's multi-selection theory is an extension of classical selection theory.... Well produced and current.... Michod has written what should be a classic for decades to come.
— Norman A. Johnson

Bioscience