overspecialization
overspecialization An old theory which held that straight-line evolution or orthogenetic trends might proceed to the point at which the lineage was at an adaptive disadvantage. Overspecialization was therefore considered as one of the causes of extinction. There is no reason to believe, however, that natural selection would permit evolution to proceed beyond maximum adaptation. More recently the term has been applied to highly specialized organisms which have proved incapable of responding to environmental change and so have become extinct.
overspecialization
overspecialization An old theory which held that straight-line evolution or orthogenetic trends (see orthogenesis) might proceed to the point at which the lineage was at an adaptive disadvantage. Overspecialization was therefore considered as one of the causes of extinction. There is no reason to believe, however, that natural selection would permit evolution to proceed beyond maximum adaptation (see runaway hypothesis). More recently, the term has been applied to highly specialized organisms which have proved incapable of responding to environmental change and so have become extinct.
overspecialization
overspecialization An old theory which held that straight-line evolution or orthogenetic trends (see ORTHOGENESIS) might proceed to the point at which the lineage was at an adaptive disadvantage. Overspecialization was therefore considered as one of the causes of extinction. There is no reason to believe, however, that natural selection would permit evolution to proceed beyond maximum adaptation. More recently the term has been applied to highly specialized organisms which have proved incapable of responding to environmental change and so have become extinct.
overspecialization
overspecialization An old theory which held that straight-line evolution or orthogenetic trends might proceed to the point at which the lineage was at an adaptive disadvantage. Overspecialization was therefore considered as one of the causes of extinction. There is no reason to believe, however, that natural selection would permit evolution to proceed beyond maximum adaptation. More recently, the term has been applied to highly specialized organisms which have proved incapable of responding to environmental change and so have become extinct.
More From encyclopedia.com
neutrality theory of evolution , neutrality theory of evolution(neutral mutation theory) A theory proposed in 1983 by the Japanese geneticist MotooKimura, which asserts that many gen… explosive evolution , explosive evolution A sudden diversification or adaptive radiation of a group. The term is an old one, rarely used nowadays. Phases of explosive evol… Henry Fairfield Osborn , Although Osborn is best remembered as the outspoken president of the American Museum of Natural History, one of his consuming scientific pursuits was… Evolution , The International Darwin Centennial Convention (Chicago 1959) defined evolution as an irreversible process of developmental change in time, which dur… Catastrophic Evolution , catastrophic evolution (catastrophic speciation) A theory proposing that environmental stress might lead to the sudden rearrangement of chromosomes,… Adaptive Radiation , adaptive radiation
1. A burst of evolution, with rapid divergence from a single ancestral form, that results from the exploitation of an array of hab…
About this article
overspecialization
All Sources -
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
overspecialization