scholarly journals The evolution of multicellular complexity: the role of relatedness and environmental constraints

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
RM Fisher ◽  
JZ Shik ◽  
JJ Boomsma
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Environmental Constraints ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Slime Moulds ◽  
The Many ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractA major challenge in evolutionary biology has been to explain the variation in multicellularity across the many independently evolved multicellular lineages, from slime moulds to humans. Social evolution theory has highlighted the key role of relatedness in determining multicellular complexity and obligateness, however there is a need to extend this to a broader perspective incorporating the role of the environment. In this paper, we formally test Bonner’s 1998 hypothesis that the environment is crucial in determining the course of multicellular evolution, with aggregative multicellularity evolving more frequently on land and clonal multicellularity more frequently in water. Using a combination of scaling theory and phylogenetic comparative analyses, we describe multicellular organisational complexity across 139 species spanning 14 independent transitions to multicellularity and investigate the role of the environment in determining multicellular group formation and in imposing constraints on multicellular evolution. Our results, showing that the physical environment has impacted the way in which multicellular groups form, could shed light on the role of the environment for other major evolutionary transitions.

scholarly journals The evolution of multicellular complexity: the role of relatedness and environmental constraints

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1931) ◽  
pp. 20192963
Author(s):  
R. M. Fisher ◽  
J. Z. Shik ◽  
J. J. Boomsma
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Environmental Constraints ◽  
Evolutionary Transition ◽  
Organizational Complexity ◽  
Slime Moulds ◽  
The Many

A major challenge in evolutionary biology has been to explain the variation in multicellularity across the many independently evolved multicellular lineages, from slime moulds to vertebrates. Social evolution theory has highlighted the key role of relatedness in determining multicellular complexity and obligateness; however, there is a need to extend this to a broader perspective incorporating the role of the environment. In this paper, we formally test Bonner's 1998 hypothesis that the environment is crucial in determining the course of multicellular evolution, with aggregative multicellularity evolving more frequently on land and clonal multicellularity more frequently in water. Using a combination of scaling theory and phylogenetic comparative analyses, we describe multicellular organizational complexity across 139 species spanning 14 independent transitions to multicellularity and investigate the role of the environment in determining multicellular group formation and in imposing constraints on multicellular evolution. Our results, showing that the physical environment has impacted the way in which multicellular groups form, highlight that environmental conditions might have affected the major evolutionary transition to obligate multicellularity.

scholarly journals Kin and multilevel selection in social evolution: a never-ending controversy?

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jos Kramer ◽  
Joël Meunier
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Multilevel Selection ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

Kin selection and multilevel selection are two major frameworks in evolutionary biology that aim at explaining the evolution of social behaviors. However, the relationship between these two theories has been plagued by controversy for almost half a century and debates about their relevance and usefulness in explaining social evolution seem to rekindle at regular intervals. Here, we first provide a concise introduction into the kin selection and multilevel selection theories and shed light onto the roots of the controversy surrounding them. We then review two major aspects of the current debate: the presumed formal equivalency of the two theories and the question whether group selection can lead to group adaptation. We conclude by arguing that the two theories can offer complementary approaches to the study of social evolution: kin selection approaches usually focus on the identification of optimal phenotypes and thus on the endresult of a selection process, whereas multilevel selection approaches focus on the ongoing selection process itself. The two theories thus provide different perspectives that might be fruitfully combined to promote our understanding of the evolution in group-structured populations.

scholarly journals Geohelminths: public health significance

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (01) ◽  
pp. 005-016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suvash Chandra Ojha ◽  
Chayannan Jaide ◽  
Natini Jinawath ◽  
Porpon Rotjanapan ◽  
Pankaj Baral
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Host Immune System ◽  
Developing Regions ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Stunted Growth ◽  
Ancylostoma Duodenale ◽  
Health Significance ◽  
Shed Light

The worldwide prevalence of geohelminths and their unique place in evolutionary biology have attracted research focus. These major soil-transmitted intestinal nematodes that cause human diseases are the nematode roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and the two hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), often collectively referred as geohelminths. Studies of geohelminthiasis in poorly nourished children in developing regions report that geohelminths contribute to stunted growth and cognitive impairment. Insights into immunology have shed light on the modulatory role of the parasite on the host immune system and have defined the role of T cells in controlling geohelminthic infection. Recent molecular biological techniques have created an opportunity to analyse the interaction between parasites and their hosts at the molecular level. This paper is a review of the recent literature that examined the prevalence of geohelminthiasis in developing countries, the association between geohelminths in relation to public health, parasitological/diagnostic features, and therapeutic and preventive aspects of these major soil-transmitted helminth (STH) pathogens in humans.

scholarly journals Parasites and altruism: converging roads

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 20130367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene Zuk ◽  
Mark E. Borrello
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Historical Approach

W.D. Hamilton was most known for his work on two topics: social evolution and parasites. Although at first glance these seem to be disparate interests, they share many attributes and have logical connections within evolutionary biology. Nevertheless, Hamilton's contributions in these areas met with very different receptions, with his place in the field of social evolution assured, but his work on the role of parasites perceived as more specialized. We take an historical approach to examine the reasons for this difference.

scholarly journals The Past and its Possibilities in Nahḍa Scholarship

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 265-287
Author(s):  
Feras Krimsti ◽  
John-Paul Ghobrial
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Heritage ◽  
The Many ◽  
Historical Reflection ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract This introduction to the special issue “The Past and its Possibilities in Nahḍa Scholarship” reflects on the role of the past in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century nahḍa discourse. It argues that historical reflection played a pivotal role in a number of scholarly disciplines besides the discipline of history, notably philosophy and logic, grammar and lexicography, linguistics, philology, and adab. Nahḍawīs reflected on continuities with the past, the genealogies of their present, and the role of history in determining their future. The introduction of print gave new impulses to the engagement with the historical heritage. We argue for a history of the nahḍa as a de-centred history of possibilities that recovers a wider circle of scholars and intellectuals and their multiple and overlapping local and global audiences. Such a history can also shed light on the many ways in which historical reflection, record-keeping practices, and confessional, sectarian, or communalist agendas are entwined.

scholarly journals The role of standing variation in geographic convergent adaptation

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter L. Ralph ◽  
Graham Coop
Keyword(s):  
G6pd Deficiency ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Environment Change ◽  
Geographic Scale ◽  
Standing Variation ◽  
Limited Dispersal ◽  
The Many ◽  
Genetic Responses

The extent to which populations experiencing shared selective pressures adapt through a shared genetic response is relevant to many questions in evolutionary biology. In a number of well studied traits and species, it appears that convergent evolution within species is common. In this paper, we explore how standing, genetic variation contributes to convergent genetic responses in a geographically spread population, extending our previous work on the topic. Geographically limited dispersal slows the spread of each selected allele, hence allowing other alleles – newly arisen mutants or present as standing variation – to spread before any one comes to dominate the population. When such alleles meet, their progress is substantially slowed – if the alleles are selectively equivalent, they mix slowly, dividing the species range into a random tessellation, which can be well understood by analogy to a Poisson process model of crystallization. In this framework, we derive the geographic scale over which a typical allele is expected to dominate, the time it takes the species to adapt as a whole, and the proportion of adaptive alleles that arise from standing variation. Finally, we explore how negative pleiotropic effects of alleles before an environment change can bias the subset of alleles that contribute to the species' adaptive response. We apply the results to the many geographically localized G6PD deficiency alleles thought to confer resistance to malaria, where the large mutational target size makes it a likely candidate for adaptation from standing variation, despite the selective cost of G6PD deficiency alleles in the absence of malaria. We find the numbers and geographic spread of these alleles matches our predictions reasonably well, consistent with the view that they arose from a combination of standing variation and new mutations since the advent of malaria. Our results suggest that much of adaptation may be geographically local even when selection pressures are homogeneous. Therefore, we argue that caution must be exercised when arguing that strongly geographically restricted alleles are necessarily the outcome of local adaptation. We close by discussing the implications of these results for ideas of species coherence and the nature of divergence between species.

The Court of Henry III

Henry III ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 349-413
Author(s):  
David Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Gift Giving ◽  
Actual Structure ◽  
Food And Drink ◽  
The Many

This chapter assesses the court of Henry III. King Henry III was keen to impress with the magnificence of his entourage and person. Yet in one key respect his court was fundamentally different from that of his predecessors. Henry travelled far less often and remained stationary for far longer periods than his father. The many courtiers who worked across the reigns thus had a far easier time, in terms of travel, under Henry than under John, yet they would have noticed little change in the actual structure of the court. The chapter begins with Henry's itinerary and the homes in which he lived, the court's physical environment. It then looks at the chancery, the wardrobe, the food and drink departments, the stewards, the household knights, and the place of the queen. The chapter also discusses the role of liveries, the rituals of gift-giving, and the question of access to the king and the power of his presence. The court was a highly political place, but it was also a place for pleasure. The chapter concludes by looking at the pleasure Henry had from books, jokes, jesters, and falconry.

scholarly journals Fact and Fiction: The Contribution of Archives to the Study of Literary Translation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 165-176
Author(s):  
Mary Wardle
Keyword(s):  
American Literature ◽  
Literary Translation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Great Gatsby ◽  
The Great Gatsby ◽  
Digital Material ◽  
Fascist Regime ◽  
The Many ◽  
Shed Light

This paper examines the role of traditional physical archives within Translation Studies research, investigating the contribution that such resources can add, providing information that otherwise would not be available in existing scholarly volumes, academic journals and digital material. The question is illustrated with the specific case of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) and its first two translations into Italian, carried out respectively in 1936 by Cesare Giardini and 1950 by Fernanda Pivano. Both translations were published by Mondadori, Italy’s largest publishing company, as part of two different series, I romanzi della palma and the later Medusa collection.Adopting a microhistory approach, the study of these translations, through the resource-rich archives of the Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori in Milan, can shed light on a number of issues that the text alone cannot provide: documentation, including the other books published in the same series, highlights the target audience that Mondadori were seeking to address; the paratextual elements of the books themselves are revealing of the prominence (or otherwise) of American literature in general and Fitzgerald in particular within the Italian literary polysystem at the time of their publication; in the case of the first translation, readers’ reports on the novel indicate how the censors of the Fascist regime might receive the somewhat racy themes contained in the book, while, in the case of the 1950 translation, correspondence between the publisher, literary agents and the translator herself highlight the many issues surrounding the ultimate publication of the volume.

Rural Industrialization and Population Change

1973 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfram Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Population Change ◽  
Vicious Circle ◽  
Exact Results ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Rural Industrialization ◽  
The Many ◽  
Shed Light

Amongst the many problems economic historians have been studying recently in the context of industrialization, the interaction of rural industrialization and population change in a period preceding and accompanying the Industrial Revolution proper is one of the most exciting and promising ones. It is exciting because it enables us to shed light on one of the crucial questions in the whole complex of industrialization: why did some regions industrialize early and successfully and others did not? It is promising because here is a field where the employment of new methods and assiduous labor can lead to fairly exact results. Perhaps this is a point where finally a breakthrough may be accomplished which cuts the vicious circle in which much of the debate about the role of population change in the Industrial Revolution was caught for so long. Was it a precondition or a consequence, or both, and if either, in what respect?

scholarly journals Evolutionary transitions toward pair living in nonhuman primates as stepping stones toward more complex societies

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaay1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Kappeler ◽  
Luca Pozzi
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Complex Societies ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Social Classification ◽  
The Social ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Hypotheses

Nonhuman primate societies vary tremendously in size and composition, but how and why evolutionary transitions among different states occurred remains highly controversial. In particular, how many times pair living evolved and the social states of the ancestors of pair- and group-living species remains contentious. We examined evolutionary transitions in primate social evolution by using new, independent categorizations of sociality and different phylogenetic hypotheses with a vastly expanded dataset. Using Bayesian phylogenetic comparative methods, we consistently found the strongest support for a model that invokes frequent transitions between solitary ancestors and pair-living descendants, with the latter giving rise to group-living species. This result was robust to systematic variation in social classification, sample size, and phylogeny. Our analyses therefore indicate that pair living was a stepping stone in the evolution of structurally more complex primate societies, a result that bolsters the role of kin selection in social evolution.

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