The Evolution of Evolvability

Catalog description

In evolutionary theory, the standard 'fitness' considers the operation of selection over a single generation. Some researchers use a poorly-quantified term, 'evolvability', to describe the latent ability of organisms to evolve over multiple generations. Does evolvability itself evolve? Can we tease apart the concepts of short-term fitness and long-term evolvability? Can we quantitatively define a 'long-term fitness' that is as general and practical as the standard fitness? What entities (individuals? genotypes? species?) can be said to possess evolvability? This seminar will debate these questions as we study papers ranging from theoretical biology, to concepts in "evo-devo", to recent experimental work in microbiology and in silico models.This course has an optional lab component. The lab involves modifying mostly-prewritten code to see 'indirect selection' in action. 1 unit without lab, 2 units with lab.