Die Grundlagen der Evolutionären Biologie

Auf dem Blog „Why Evolution is true“ werden die Grundlagen der Evolutionären Biologie kurz zusammengefasst: (zu einer Zusammenfassung von mir)

1.Evolutionary biology is ruled by handful of logical principles, each of which has repeatedly withstood rigorous empirical and observational testing.

2. The rules of evolutionary biology apply to all levels of resolution, be it DNA or morphology.

3. New methods merely allow more rapid collection or better analysis of data; they do not affect the evolutionary principles.

4. The only mandatory attribute of the evolutionary processes is a change in allele frequencies.

5. All novelty in evolution starts as a single mutation arising in a single individual at a single time point.

6. Mutations create equivalence more often than improvement, and functionlessness more often than functionality.

7. The fate of mutations that do not affect fitness is determined by random genetic drift; that of mutations that do affect fitness by the combination of selection and random genetic drift.

8. Evolution occurs at the population level; individuals do not evolve. An individual can only make an evolutionary contribution by producing offspring or dying childless.

9. The efficacy of selection depends on the effective population size, an historical construct that is different from the census population size, which is a snapshot of the present.

10. Evolution cannot create something out of nothing; there is no true novelty in evolution.

11. Evolution does not give rise to “intelligently designed” perfection. From an engineering point of view, most products of evolution work in a manner that is suboptimal.

12. Homo sapiens does not occupy a privileged position in the grand evolutionary scheme.

Natürlich alles relativ generell. Dennoch wichtig für das Verständnis. Welche findet ihr unklar oder würdet ihr anders sehen?