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Biological adaptation and the mathematical theory of information

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Abstract

Adaptation is viewed as a tendency maximizing the Shannon entropy of an ecosystem, where the ecosystem is considered as two interacting subsystems, namely, the biota and its environment. We derive theadapted structures starting from three fundamental hypotheses and we apply this result to an ecological topic: the cryptic and aposematic behaviour.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpt. Física Fundamental, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 649, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    J. Wagensberg

  2. Dpt. Tecnologia dels Computadors, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Zona Universitaria Pedralbes, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    J. Valls

  3. Dpt. Ciències Fisiològiques Humanes i de la Nutrició, Universitat de Barcelona, Zona Universitaria Pedralbes, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    J. Bermudez

Authors
  1. J. Wagensberg
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  2. J. Valls
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  3. J. Bermudez
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Wagensberg, J., Valls, J. & Bermudez, J. Biological adaptation and the mathematical theory of information. Bltn Mathcal Biology 50, 445–464 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02458846

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02458846

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