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The importance of understanding function and evolution.
Ton G G Groothuis1, Nele Zickert1, Bernd Riedstra1
1Behavioural Biology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Laterality
|April 13, 2021
Summary
The eco-evolutionary approach to laterality research needs more attention to understand why organisms are lateralized. Studying lateralization
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Behavioral ecology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The field of laterality research requires a forward-looking perspective, integrating current knowledge from both animal and human studies.
- Existing research on laterality encompasses various approaches, but the eco-evolutionary perspective remains underexplored.
- Understanding the ultimate reasons for lateralization, particularly its contribution to Darwinian fitness, is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of the eco-evolutionary approach in laterality research.
- To propose that laterality can be analyzed along four distinct dimensions, each necessitating unique evolutionary explanations.
- To advocate for ecologically relevant experimental designs and fitness-based assessments in laterality studies.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of laterality research, emphasizing the need for an eco-evolutionary framework.
- Argument for distinguishing laterality along four dimensions, requiring specific ultimate explanations.
- Proposal for developing ecologically relevant tests and experimental manipulations of laterality in natural or semi-natural conditions.
Main Results:
- Laterality can be understood through multiple dimensions, each with distinct evolutionary underpinnings.
- Ecologically relevant studies and experimental manipulations are essential for understanding the fitness consequences of lateralization.
- Further research into the developmental plasticity of lateralization is needed to bridge evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) and ecological evolutionary developmental biology (eco-evo-devo).
Conclusions:
- An eco-evolutionary approach is vital for a comprehensive understanding of why organisms exhibit lateralization.
- The study of laterality should integrate functional, evolutionary, and ecological perspectives, moving towards eco-evo-devo.
- Biological minorities in lateralization patterns should be viewed as potential adaptations rather than pathologies, possibly explained by frequency-dependent selection.
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