In viewing the history of life, there does appear to be a general trend towards increasing complexity. However, if one examines particular lineages, such as parasitic worms, which presumably evolved from free-living forms, the trend is in the opposite direction, towards degeneracy (for temporary lack of a better word). Yet extant species appear to be well-adapted to their environments. The problem with the word "progress" is that it seems to imply that, over time, adaptations will tend to become better or more perfect. Selection works with the material at hand, and a look at all the jury-rigged, imperfect adaptations that organisms exhibit shows that they work well enough, but are hardly the ideal solution that an engineer would come up with.
Tom Culliney USDA-APHIS, PPQ Center for Plant Health Science and Technology Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory 1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 300 Raleigh, NC 27606 U.S.A. (919) 855-7506 (919) 855-7595 (Fax) [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris B. Edge Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 10:04 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Discussion Panel Topic Suggestions Hello all, I have spent some time thinking about this topic over the last several years. As a relatively 'green' evolutionary ecologist I rarely enter these debates in public forums. My opinion's are heavily influenced by Jared Diamond's writing on the topic. In not as eloquent words 'progress' implies that there is a goal or target that evolution is moving towards. Of course we can define the goal or target post hoc, complexity, invasion of terrestrial habitats, etc. and conclude that evolution has made progress. However non of these goals/targets apply to all organisms or habitats, and non of them can be defined a priori. 'Progress' may capture the essence of the message we want to get across it is not a good word to use to describe major evolutionary trajectories unless the statement it is used in also includes the axis or scale progress is to be measured on. Instead major trajectories should be described as they are, observed trajectories/trends. For example, consider these two statements; 1) 'evolution has resulted in a trend of increasing complexity', and 2) 'evolution has made progress towards increasing complexity'. The two statements convey the same message, but statement 2 implies that complexity is always good. In my opinion statement 1 is much better. Regards, Chris Edge This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
