Related Experiment Videos
Darwinian Daisyworld
1Department of Geography, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia.
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|November 6, 1998
Summary
Organisms can regulate the global environment through collective, non-conscious behavior, demonstrating the feasibility of the Gaia hypothesis. Adaptive evolution in Daisyworld reveals a trade-off between environmental regulation and genotypic adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Earth System Science
- Evolutionary Biology
- Theoretical Ecology
Background:
- The Gaia hypothesis proposes that life collectively regulates Earth's environment.
- The Daisyworld model simulates this by modeling interactions between vegetation and climate.
- Previous models did not fully account for evolutionary adaptation of organisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of adaptive evolution on the Daisyworld model's homeostatic capabilities.
- To determine if evolving organisms enhance or diminish the planet's self-regulation.
- To explore the interplay between collective environmental regulation and individual organism adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Simulated Daisyworld with adaptive evolution.
- Allowed daisy populations to evolve their optimal growth temperatures in response to prevailing climate.
- Analyzed the model's stability and regulatory capacity under evolving conditions.
Main Results:
- Adaptive evolution of daisies influences the model's homeostatic stability.
- A trade-off exists between the collective ability of organisms to regulate the environment and the adaptive capacity of evolving genotypes.
- Evolving optimal temperatures can impact the long-term stability of the Daisyworld system.
Conclusions:
- Organisms can collectively regulate global environments without conscious intent, supporting Gaia theory.
- Evolutionary adaptation presents a dynamic constraint on the extent of environmental regulation achievable by life.
- Understanding this trade-off is crucial for predicting planetary habitability and climate dynamics.