Abstract
There exists discordance between different levels of evolution because the whole often differs from the sum of the parts. Yet, it is not obvious that the new term 'stoch-aptation' clarifies these differences between evolutionary levels, especially when this term seems largely equivalent to stochastic drift, to mega-evolution, and maybe even to phenotypic plasticity with extreme environments. But this new term forces us to carefully examine what evolutionary biologists mean by randomness, drift, selection, plasticity, and mega-evolution.
Highlights
Alejandro Martínez-Abraín (2015) argues that many seemingly adaptive traits are random in nature, being the result of which species randomly managed to survived mass extinctions
He argues that some selection is deterministic, at least during normal times, while some selection is stochastic, at least during geological catastrophes that cause mass extinctions
Instead of only talking about how species are affected by geological catastrophes, he repeatedly talked about how “species [are] successful when faced with massive extinction” (Martínez-Abraín 2015:42), e.g. when species and individuals are faced with fewer competitors, with fewer food sources, and with fewer mutualists
Summary
There exists discordance between different levels of evolution because the whole often differs from the sum of the parts. It is not obvious that the new term ‘stoch-aptation’ clarifies these differences between evolutionary levels, especially when this term seems largely equivalent to stochastic drift, to mega-evolution, and maybe even to phenotypic plasticity with extreme environments. This new term forces us to carefully examine what evolutionary biologists mean by randomness, drift, selection, plasticity, and mega-evolution
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