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When is a trait an adaptation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2003

Sergio M. Pellis
Sergio M. Pellis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta 3M4 T1K, Canada pellis@uleth.ca
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Abstract

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The authors outline research strategies that may identify the possible adaptive value of a trait. But this does not solve the problem of how to decide which characteristics of living organisms require an adaptive explanation. I suggest that knowledge of the ontogenetic and phylogenetic construction of a trait facilitates the identification of features that may have been acted on by natural selection.

Information

Type
Brief Report
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , August 2002, pp. 524
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press