Cave animals can serve as excellent models to study the relationships between the environment, evolution, adaptation, and development because of the relative simplicity of their habitat. A model organism is a species that is studied extensively with anticipation that the results can be applied to biological phenomena in general. One of the reasons is that there are only a few suitable model organisms that can shed light on this topic. The environment acts to promote evolutionary change through changes in development, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Adaptation is a key evolutionary process in which the fitness of traits and species are adjusted by natural selection to become better suited for survival in specific ecological habitats. Evolutionary modification of traits occurs when variation is introduced into a population by gene mutation or genetic recombination or is removed by natural selection or genetic drift.
Jeffery, in Encyclopedia of Caves (Second Edition), 2012 Evolution, Adaptation, and Model Organismsīiological evolution is the change in inherited traits over successive generations in populations of organisms. In this article, we describe the characid fish Astyanax mexicanus, as a vertebrate model system for studying the developmental basis of evolution and adaptation to the cave environment. Troglomorphic (cave-related) traits, including elongated appendages, lowered metabolism, specialized sensory systems, and loss of eyes and pigmentation have evolved as a response to the effects of perpetual darkness.
Cave animals can serve as excellent models to study the relationships between the environment, evolution, adaptation, and development. A model organism is a species that is studied extensively in the laboratory with anticipation that the results can be applied to biological phenomena in general. Therefore, determining how developmental changes are mediated is critical for understanding the mechanisms of evolution.īiological processes are often studied in model organisms. The environment acts to promote evolution through changes in development. Adaptation is a key evolutionary process in which variation in the fitness of traits and species are adjusted by natural selection to become better suited for survival in specific ecological habitats. Jeffery, in Encyclopedia of Caves (Third Edition), 2019 Evolution, adaptation, and model organismsīiological evolution is the change in inherited traits over successive generations in populations of organisms.
0 kommentar(er)
