Evo-Devo’s Contributions to the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis

Abstract

Evo-devo is not only a field of empirical research but its results also have significant consequences for evolutionary theory. Predominantly, these address the evolution of the phenotype, a topic sidelined by population theoretical accounts of evolution. Original contributions to this domain concern the generative principles of phenotypic variation, the development-environment interaction, the construction of organismal complexity, and the origination of novelty. The theoretical corollaries of evo-devo have become part of an ongoing reform project in evolutionary theory, a particular version of which is termed the “extended evolutionary synthesis.” The logical structure of this revised evolutionary framework differs from the classical population-theoretical account, opening up new kinds of questions and establishing a distinct set of empirically testable predictions. Beyond improving our understanding of evolvability, evo-devo’s contribution to the extended synthesis can be epitomized in the principle of inherency, the notion that physical development, both in its material properties and its dynamical processes, guides phenotypic evolution.