Full body: the importance of the phenotype in evolution

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Theoretical biology
• Complexity science

Background:

• Evolutionary complexity is often viewed as an emergent property of biological systems.
• Existing models of natural selection may not fully account for the generation of novel functions and complexity.
• The role of the phenotype in driving evolutionary innovation requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a phenotype-based model for the evolution of complexity.
• To define and operationalize the measurement of evolutionary complexity.
• To explore the sufficiency of natural selection and identify constraints on complexity growth.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual framework development based on causality and mechanism.
• Analysis of natural selection's role in task generation versus adaptation.
• Exploration of environmental and ecological constraints, including niche construction.
• Hypothesis testing through the FATINT agent-based modeling system.

Main Results:

• Evolutionary complexity is functional and requires a dynamically structured, plasticity-bound phenotype.
• Natural selection adapts existing mechanisms but does not generate new tasks; competition avoidance is crucial for complexity emergence.
• Phenotype plasticity, influenced by ecological structure and niche construction, constrains complexity growth.
• Agent-based modeling (FATINT) demonstrates that full-body phenotypes are sufficient for functional evolution.

Conclusions:

• A rich, functional phenotype is a necessary condition for complexity evolution.
• Agent-based modeling provides a relevant framework for studying evolutionary complexity.
• Rethinking evolutionary mechanisms beyond adaptation is needed to explain complexity.