Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In evolutionary biology, punctuated equilibrium (also called punctuated equilibria) is a theory that proposes that once a species appears in the fossil record, the population will become stable, showing little evolutionary change for most of its geological history. [1] This state of little or no morphological change is called stasis.
Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed punctuated equilibria in 1972. Punctuated equilibrium is a refinement to evolutionary theory. It describes patterns of descent taking place in "fits and starts" separated by long periods of stability. Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision of evolutionary and ecological systems. Around this ...
Sample of Bak–Sneppen model evolution: on the x-axis the population status, on the y-axis (from top to the bottom) the history of the population. Each discontinuity represents an evolution. The color codes the age of the species.
According to Gould, punctuated equilibrium revised a key pillar "in the central logic of Darwinian theory." [17] Some evolutionary biologists have argued that while punctuated equilibrium was "of great interest to biology generally," [42] it merely modified neo-Darwinism in a manner that was fully compatible with what had been known before. [43]
Jonathan Weiner's The Beak of the Finch describes this very process." (p. 96) Sterelny notes that despite the fact that the fossil record represents, for several reasons, a biased sample, "the consensus seems to be shifting Gould's way: the punctuated equilibrium pattern is common, perhaps even predominant".
Kuhn's ideas influenced paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, who introduced the idea of punctuated equilibrium in the field of evolutionary biology in 1972. [19] Gould's initial work on punctuated equilibrium was coauthored with Niles Eldredge .
Pages in category "Punctuated equilibrium" The following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. D. Robert M. W. Dixon; E.
Evolutionary biology portal; This article is part of WikiProject Evolutionary biology, an attempt at building a useful set of articles on evolutionary biology and its associated subfields such as population genetics, quantitative genetics, molecular evolution, phylogenetics, and evolutionary developmental biology.