Coevolution Theory Research Articles

Coevolution of cyberinfrastructure development and scientific progress

Many nations have been investing significant funds in cyberinfrastructure for sciences (commonly known as “CI” or “e-science”) in the last few decades. The purpose of these investments has been to advance scientific progress in the supported scientific disciplines such as biodiversity and ecological research. However, there is scare research on how these CI investments impact scientific progress. We conducted a longitudinal case study of CI development and scientific progress based on the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program in the United States. We contribute to filling in the research gap by finding CI investments result in impacts both internal and external to the particular discipline of biodiversity. We also find a feedback effect from the discipline to CI development, such that the science and its supporting CI coevolve. The coevolution of CI development and the scientific discipline hinges on the “linking-pin” of data infrastructure. The large-scale data sharing within the discipline and across disciplines, in turn, is contingent on CI governance and how data are structured. The identification of the synergistic coevolution of CI and science enriches coevolutionary theories as well as CI development research. Accordingly, further research and policy changes relating to why and how to fund CI development for sciences, are necessary.

Indigenous Knowledge on Health care among the Ovahimba Community of Oukongo Village in Kunene Region of Namibia

The purpose of this study was to explore the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants for treating common illnesses among the Ovahimba of Oukongo village in the Kunene region of Namibia. The coevolutionary theory of sustainable development informed this study as it promotes the anti-hegemonic ecology of knowledge and synchronises traditional knowledge with the modern world. The interview data were analysed using the inductive approach and content analysis. The results show that the Ovahimba community of Oukongo village use plant-based remedies such as roots, leaves, bark, fruits and flowers for the treatment of ailments such as headaches and diarrhoea, high blood pressure, chest pain and syphilis. The remedy preparation follows the process of harvesting parts of a plant, cleaning and breaking it into small pieces or crushing it into powder and then mixing with water or some form of liquid. The process also includes chewing roots, leaves and burning flowers into ashes. The study recommends further research to document indigenous health care practices of the Ovahimba. It also recommends the adoption of the co-evolutionary theory of sustainable development as the basis for the synchronisation of indigenous knowledge with modern health care and thus promote future generations’ access to the rich heritage of ancestral knowledge on health care.

Why Did Memetics Fail? Comparative Case Study

Although the theory of memetics appeared highly promising at the beginning, it is no longer considered a scientific theory among contemporary evolutionary scholars. This study aims to compare the genealogy of memetics with the historically more successful gene-culture coevolution theory. This comparison is made in order to determine the constraints that emerged during the internal development of the memetics theory that could bias memeticists to work on the ontology of meme units as opposed to hypotheses testing, which was adopted by the gene-culture scholars. I trace this problem back to the diachronic development of memetics to its origin in the gene-centered anti-group-selectionist argument of George C. Williams and Richard Dawkins. The strict adoption of this argument predisposed memeticists with the a priori idea that there is no evolution without discrete units of selection, which in turn, made them dependent on the principal separation of biological and memetic fitness. This separation thus prevented memeticists from accepting an adaptationist view of culture which, on the contrary, allowed gene-culture theorists to attract more scientists to test the hypotheses, creating the historical success of the gene-culture coevolution theory.

Mind and Matter: The Coevolution of Technology and Institutional Logic in Field Transformation

Research examining field level transformation is generally fragmented into literature either focusing on patterns of change in the socio-cognitive evolution of institutional logic or in the materiality of technological innovations. We seek to bridge these growing, but largely independent streams of inquiry by developing a co-evolutionary model where logic construction and technological innovation interact to escalate or constrain field level transformation. We first synthesize institutional logic and technological transition literatures into a compatible framework with complementary stages across de-institutionalization and re-institutionalization. Drawing on several historical examples, we then build propositions to explain how socio-cognitive and technological change pathways interact with each other enable or constrain field transformation. Our co-evolutionary theory of field transformation bridges disparate literatures examining a common phenomenon and advances understanding of factors driving the pace and scope of field transformation.

Strategic Choice Under Institutional Uncertainties: How Do MNCs Interact with Weak Institutions?

Although the role of the institutions is to reduce uncertainty, a weak institutional environment can have the opposite effect, increasing uncertainty for a multinational company (MNC). Therefore, MNCs adapt their strategies in a weak institutional environment. However, according to co-evolutionary theory, they also can influence those institutions. Our research focuses on how MNCs adapt their strategy to uncertainty caused by weak institutions and how they can build influence them. We conducted an inductive multiple case study of seven companies, leaders in their global and national markets, in four industries in Brazil: automotive, beverage, cosmetics, and tobacco. Our findings suggest that high levels of institutional uncertainty not only affects MNCs directly, but that it also serves as a source of relational uncertainty by affecting their suppliers and markets. They also reveal how greater uncertainty can result in internal resource improvement through an exploitation strategy, causing an MNC to have a major influence over its partners and their institutional environments. Finally, they show how market composition can determine channels of influence over institutions, directly by an MNC or indirectly by industry associations. Our study contributes to understanding the role of weak institutions as a source of uncertainty that influences operational strategy definition.

An experimental test of parasite adaptation to common versus rare host genotypes

A core hypothesis in coevolutionary theory proposes that parasites adapt to specifically infect common host genotypes. Under this hypothesis, parasites function as agents of negative frequency-dependent selection, favouring rare host genotypes. This parasite-mediated advantage of rarity is key to the idea that parasites maintain genetic variation and select for outcrossing in host populations. Here, we report the results of an experimental test of parasite adaptation to common versus rare host genotypes. We selected the bacterial parasite Serratia marcescens to kill Caenorhabdiis elegans hosts in uneven mixtures of host genotypes. To examine the effect of commonness itself, independent of host identity, each of four host genotypes was represented as common or rare in experimental host mixtures. After experimental selection, we evaluated a parasite line's change in virulence—the selected fitness trait—on its rare and common host genotypes. Our results were consistent with a slight advantage for rare host genotypes: on average, parasites lost virulence against rare genotypes but not against common genotypes. The response varied substantially, however, with distinct patterns across host genotype mixtures. These findings support the potential for parasites to impose negative frequency-dependent selection, while emphasizing that the cost of being common may vary with host genotype.

The geographic mosaic in parallel: Matching patterns of newt tetrodotoxin levels and snake resistance in multiple predator-prey pairs.

The Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution predicts that coevolutionary arms races will vary over time and space because of the diverse ecological settings and population histories of interacting species across the landscape. Thus, understanding coevolution may require investigating broad sets of populations sampled across the range of the interaction. In addition, comparing coevolutionary dynamics between similar systems may reveal the importance of specific factors that structure coevolution. Here, we examine geographic patterns of prey traits and predator traits in the relatively unstudied interaction between the Sierra garter snake (Thamnophis couchii) and sympatric prey, the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa), Sierra newt (Ta. sierrae) and California newt (Ta. torosa). This system parallels, in space and phenotypes, a classic example of coevolution between predatory common garter snakes (Th. sirtalis) and their toxic newt prey exhibiting hotspots of newt tetrodotoxin (TTX) levels and matching snake TTX resistance. We quantified prey and predator traits from hundreds of individuals across their distributions, and functional trait matching at sympatric sites. We show strong regional patterns of trait covariation across the shared ranges of Th. couchii and newt prey. Traits differ significantly among localities, with lower newt TTX levels and snake TTX resistance at the northern latitudes, and higher TTX levels and snake resistance at southern latitudes. Newts and snakes in northern populations show the highest degree of functional trait matching despite possessing the least extreme traits. Conversely, newts and snakes in southern populations show the greatest mismatch despite possessing exaggerated traits, with some snakes so resistant to TTX they would be unaffected by any sympatric newt. Nevertheless, individual variation was substantial, and appears to offer the opportunity for continued reciprocal selection in most populations. Overall, the three species of newts appear to be engaged in a TTX-mediated arms race with Th. couchii. These patterns are congruent with those seen between newts and Th. sirtalis, including the same latitudinal gradient in trait covariation, and the potential 'escape' from the arms race by snake predators. Such concordance in broad scale patterns across two distinct systems suggests common phenomena might structure geographic mosaics in similar ways.

Correlation between equi-partition of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and amino-acid biosynthesis pathways.

The partition of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) into two classes of equal size and the correlated amino acid distribution is a puzzling still unexplained observation. We propose that the time scale of the amino-acid synthesis, assumed to be proportional to the number of reaction steps (NE) involved in the biosynthesis pathway, is one of the parameters that controlled the timescale of aaRSs appearance. Because all pathways are branched at fructose-6-phosphate on the metabolic pathway, this product is defined as the common origin for the NE comparison. For each amino-acid, the NE value, counted from the origin to the final product, provides a timescale for the pathways to be established. An archeological approach based on NE reveals that aaRSs of the two classes are generated in pair along this timescale. The results support the coevolution theory for the origin of the genetic code with an earlier appearance of class II aaRSs.

Co-evolution path and its innovative design of China's export cross-border e-commerce: a case study

Cross-border e-commerce (CBE) is a new mode of trade and has recently become a major new growth point in China's e-business market, in which export cross-border e-commerce (ECBE) has created significant advantages for China's cross-border trade. Within ECBE's rapid development, issues such as information asymmetry between buyers and sellers, and an inefficiency of professional logistics remain unsolved. This is mainly attributable to the numerous participants ECBE has attracted, who prefer to enhance their competitiveness to maximise their self-interest, without considering long-term development on a 'win-win' basis. The CBE ecosystem is composed of participants and its existing environmental factors. Essentially, the main dynamic of an ecosystem is co-evolution. This article analyses the path of co-evolution of China's ECBE, based on the theory of co-evolution and stakeholder theory. By studying four cases of e-commerce enterprises, this paper proposes an innovative interest coordination mechanism for promoting the quick, sustainable development of ECBE.

No universals in the cultural evolution of kinship terminology.

Kinship terminologies are the semantic systems of language that express kinship relations between individuals: in English, 'aunt' denotes a parent's sister. Theoretical models of kinship terminology diversity reduce over 10 billion possible organisations to six key types, each of which are hypothesised to be aligned with particular cultural norms of descent, marriage or residence patterns (Murdock, 1949). Often, terminological type is used to infer social patterns in past societies based on these putative relationships between kinship terminologies and social structure, and these associations are staples of 'Anthropology 101'. However, these relationships have not been scrutinised using modern comparative methods. Here we show that kinship terminologies vertically track language phylogeny in Austronesian, Bantu, and Uto-Aztecan, three languages families of different time-depths and environments. We find no unidirectional or universal models of evolution in kinship terminology. Of 18 existing anthropological coevolutionary theories regarding kinship terminology and cultural practices across 176 societies, we find only patchy support, and no evidence for putative universal drivers of evolution in kinship terminologies.

Revealing Hidden Substructures in the MBH–σ Diagram, and Refining the Bend in the L–σ Relation

Abstract Using 145 early- and late-type galaxies (ETGs and LTGs) with directly measured supermassive black hole masses, M BH, we build upon our previous discoveries that: (i) LTGs, most of which have been alleged to contain a pseudobulge, follow the relation M BH ∝ M * , sph 2.16 ± 0.32 ; and (ii) the ETG relation M BH ∝ M * , sph 1.27 ± 0.07 is an artifact of ETGs with/without disks following parallel M BH ∝ M * , sph 1.9 ± 0.2 relations that are offset by an order of magnitude in the M BH direction. Here, we searched for substructure in the diagram of M BH versus central velocity dispersion σ, using our recently published multi-component galaxy decompositions, by investigating divisions based on the presence of a depleted stellar core (major dry merger), a disk (minor wet/dry merger, gas accretion), or a bar (evolved unstable disk). The Sérsic and core-Sérsic galaxies define two distinct relations: M BH ∝ σ 5.75 ± 0.34 and M BH ∝ σ 8.64 ± 1.10 , with Δ rms ∣ BH = 0.55 and 0.46 dex, respectively. We also report on the consistency with the slopes and bends in the galaxy luminosity (L)–σ relation due to Sérsic and core-Sérsic ETGs, and LTGs that all have Sérsic light profiles. Two distinct relations (superficially) reappear in the M BH–σ diagram upon separating galaxies with/without a disk (primarily for the ETG sample), while we find no significant offset between barred and non-barred galaxies, nor between galaxies with/without active galactic nuclei. We also address selection biases purported to affect the scaling relations for dynamically measured M BH samples. Our new M BH–σ relations, dependent on morphological type, more precisely estimate M BH in other galaxies, and hold implications for galaxy/black hole coevolution theories, simulations, feedback, the pursuit of a black-hole fundamental plane, and calibration of virial f-factors for reverberation mapping.

The Roots of Human Creativity: Fire-Talks and “Hammocking” in the Runaway Species

Abstract Humans are neophile, curious, and explorative animals with impressive capabilities for creative problem-solving. I discuss some of the ultimate roots behind human creativity while reviewing two books on creativity and problem-solving. To E. O. Wilson, the driv­ing force behind creativity is our instinctive love of novelty, and creativity’s ultimate goal is “self-understanding.” I elaborate on and question this assumption. The theories of inclu­sive fitness and group selection are discussed, with Wilson in favor of the latter. Finally, the theory of gene-culture coevolution is introduced as fundamental to the unity of science and the humanities and to closing the gap between these two cultures. Eagleman and Brandt’s volume is more of an entertaining history of design and human inventiveness than a study in creativity as such. We hear about the three main operations of creative process: bending, blending, and breaking, and these operations are the primary means by which all ideas evolve, according to the authors.

Index to Titles and Authors/Editors of Books Reviewed

Index to Titles and Authors/Editors of Books Reviewed

Local Adaptation of Bacterial Symbionts within a Geographic Mosaic of Antibiotic Coevolution.

The geographic mosaic theory of coevolution (GMC) posits that coevolutionary dynamics go beyond local coevolution and are comprised of the following three components: geographic selection mosaics, coevolutionary hot spots, and trait remixing. It is unclear whether the GMC applies to bacteria, as horizontal gene transfer and cosmopolitan dispersal may violate theoretical assumptions. Here, we test key GMC predictions in an antibiotic-producing bacterial symbiont (genus Pseudonocardia) that protects the crops of neotropical fungus-farming ants (Apterostigma dentigerum) from a specialized pathogen (genus Escovopsis). We found that Pseudonocardia antibiotic inhibition of common Escovopsis pathogens was elevated in A. dentigerum colonies from Panama compared to those from Costa Rica. Furthermore, a Panama Canal Zone population of Pseudonocardia on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) was locally adapted, whereas two neighboring populations were not, consistent with a GMC-predicted selection mosaic and a hot spot of adaptation surrounded by areas of maladaptation. Maladaptation was shaped by incongruent Pseudonocardia-Escovopsis population genetic structure, whereas local adaptation was facilitated by geographic isolation on BCI after the flooding of the Panama Canal. Genomic assessments of antibiotic potential of 29 Pseudonocardia strains identified diverse and unique biosynthetic gene clusters in BCI strains despite low genetic diversity in the core genome. The strength of antibiotic inhibition was not correlated with the presence/absence of individual biosynthetic gene clusters or with parasite location. Rather, biosynthetic gene clusters have undergone selective sweeps, suggesting that the trait remixing dynamics conferring the long-term maintenance of antibiotic potency rely on evolutionary genetic changes within already-present biosynthetic gene clusters and not simply on the horizontal acquisition of novel genetic elements or pathways.IMPORTANCE Recently, coevolutionary theory in macroorganisms has been advanced by the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution (GMC), which considers how geography and local adaptation shape coevolutionary dynamics. Here, we test GMC in an ancient symbiosis in which the ant Apterostigma dentigerum cultivates fungi in an agricultural system analogous to human farming. The cultivars are parasitized by the fungus Escovopsis The ants maintain symbiotic actinobacteria with antibiotic properties that help combat Escovopsis infection. This antibiotic symbiosis has persisted for tens of millions of years, raising the question of how antibiotic potency is maintained over these time scales. Our study tests the GMC in a bacterial defensive symbiosis and in a multipartite symbiosis framework. Our results show that this multipartite symbiotic system conforms to the GMC and demonstrate that this theory is applicable in both microbes and indirect symbiont-symbiont interactions.

Explaining Fairness : Results from an Experiment in Guinea.

Fairness is undoubtedly an essential normative concept in humans and promotes cooperation in human societies. The fact that fairness exists is puzzling, however, because it works against the short-term interest of individuals. Theories of genetic evolution, cultural evolution, and gene-culture coevolution identify plausible mechanisms for the evolution of fairness in humans. Such mechanisms include kin selection, the support of group-beneficial moral norms through ethnic markers, free partner choice with equal outside options, and free partner choice with reputation as well as spite in small populations. Here, we present the results of a common-pool resource game experiment on sharing. Based on data from 37 multiethnic villages in a subsistence agricultural population in Foutah Djallon, Guinea, we show that fair behavior in our experiment increased with increasing ethnic homogeneity and market integration. Group size and kinship had the opposite effect. Overall, fair behavior was not conditional on reputation. Instead, the ability of the different village populations to support individuals' fairness in situations lacking the opportunity to build a positive reputation varied significantly. Our results suggest that evolutionary theory provides a useful framework for the analysis of fairness in humans.

The geographical and seasonal mosaic in a plant-herbivore interaction: patterns of defences and herbivory by a specialist and a non-specialist

In order to evaluate the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution, it is crucial to investigate geographical variation on the outcome of ecological interactions and the functional traits which dictate these outcomes. Plant populations are attacked by specialist and non-specialist herbivores and may have different types of chemical and biotic defences. We investigated geographical and seasonal variation in the interaction between the plant Crotalaria pallida and its two major herbivores (the specialist Utetheisa ornatrix and the non-specialist Etiella zinckenella). We first showed that attack by the two herbivores and a chemical and a biotic defence vary greatly in time and space. Second, we performed a common garden experiment that revealed genetic variation among populations in herbivore resistance and a chemical defence, but no genetic variation in a biotic defence. Third, we sampled 20 populations on a much larger geographical scale and showed great variation in attack rates by the two herbivores and a chemical defence. Finally, we showed that herbivory is not correlated with a chemical defence in the 20 field populations. Our study shows that to understand the evolution of ecological interactions it is crucial to investigate how the outcome of the interaction and the important species traits vary geographically and seasonally.

Phytochemical defences and performance of specialist and generalist herbivores: a meta‐analysis

1. Phytochemical coevolution theory, a long‐standing paradigm in plant–insect interactions, predicts that specialist herbivores are less negatively affected by the allelochemicals of their host plants than are generalist herbivores. Although this theory is prevalent in plant–insect science, it is not always supported by empirical studies measuring the performance of specialist and generalist insects in response to allelochemicals.2. The present study aimed to investigate: (i) whether there a difference between specialist and generalist performance in response to allelochemicals and (ii) whether the effect of allelochemicals on specialists and generalists depend upon allelochemical class or insect order.3. A meta‐analysis was conducted incorporating 76 effect sizes drawn from studies that directly compared the performance of specialist and generalist insects in response to treatment and control diets. Most of the effect sizes were related to the performance metric growth, the insect order Lepidoptera, and the allelochemical class nitrogen‐containing compounds.4. As predicted by phytochemical coevolution theory, specialist insects responded less negatively to allelochemicals of their hosts than generalist insects in terms of growth. There were no significant differences in terms of fecundity or survival, or among allelochemical classes or insect orders.5. These results support the prediction of phytochemical coevolution theory that specialist insects respond less negatively to allelochemicals of their hosts than generalists, although only in terms of growth.

Vertical transmission of sponge microbiota is inconsistent and unfaithful.

Co-evolutionary theory predicts that if beneficial microbial symbionts improve host fitness, they should be faithfully transmitted to offspring. More recently, the hologenome theory of evolution predicts resemblance between parent and offspring microbiomes and high partner fidelity between host species and their vertically transmitted microbes. Here, we test these ideas in multiple coexisting host species with highly diverse microbiota, leveraging known parent-offspring pairs sampled from eight species of wild marine sponges (Porifera). We found that the processes governing vertical transmission were both neutral and selective. A neutral model was a better fit to larval (R2 = 0.66) than to the adult microbiota (R2 = 0.27), suggesting that the importance of non-neutral processes increases as the sponge host matures. Microbes that are enriched above neutral expectations in adults were disproportionately transferred to offspring. Patterns of vertical transmission were, however, incomplete: larval sponges shared, on average, 44.8% of microbes with their parents, which was not higher than the fraction they shared with nearby non-parental adults. Vertical transmission was also inconsistent across siblings, as larval sponges from the same parent shared only 17% of microbes. Finally, we found no evidence that vertically transmitted microbes are faithful to a single sponge host species. Surprisingly, larvae were as likely to share vertically transmitted microbes with larvae from other sponge species as they were with their own species. Our study demonstrates that common predictions of vertical transmission that stem from species-poor systems are not necessarily true when scaling up to diverse and complex microbiomes.

Assessing Specialized Metabolite Diversity in the Cosmopolitan Plant Genus Euphorbia L.

Coevolutionary theory suggests that an arms race between plants and herbivores yields increased plant specialized metabolite diversity and the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution predicts that coevolutionary interactions vary across geographic scales. Consequently, plant specialized metabolite diversity is expected to be highest in coevolutionary hotspots, geographic regions, which exhibit strong reciprocal selection on the interacting species. Despite being well-established theoretical frameworks, technical limitations have precluded rigorous hypothesis testing. Here we aim at understanding how geographic separation over evolutionary time may have impacted chemical differentiation in the cosmopolitan plant genus Euphorbia. We use a combination of state-of-the-art computational mass spectral metabolomics tools together with cell-based high-throughput immunomodulatory testing. Our results show significant differences in specialized metabolite diversity across geographically separated phylogenetic clades. Chemical structural diversity of the highly toxic Euphorbia diterpenoids is significantly reduced in species native to the Americas, compared to Afro-Eurasia. The localization of these compounds to young stems and roots suggest a possible ecological relevance in herbivory defense. This is further supported by reduced immunomodulatory activity in the American subclade as well as herbivore distribution patterns. We conclude that computational mass spectrometric metabolomics coupled with relevant ecological data provide a strong tool for exploring plant specialized metabolite diversity in a chemo-evolutionary framework.

Path Planning for Multi-UAV Formation Rendezvous Based on Distributed Cooperative Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper studies the problem of generating cooperative feasible paths for formation rendezvous of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Cooperative path-planning for multi-UAV formation rendezvous is mostly a complicated multi-objective optimization problem with many coupled constraints. In order to satisfy the kinematic constraints, i.e., the maximum curvature constraint and the requirement of continuous curvature of the UAV path, the Pythagorean hodograph (PH) curve is adopted as the parameterized path because of its curvature continuity and rational intrinsic properties. Inspired by the co-evolutionary theory, a distributed cooperative particle swarm optimization (DCPSO) algorithm with an elite keeping strategy is proposed to generate a flyable and safe path for each UAV. This proposed algorithm can meet the kinematic constraints of UAVs and the cooperation requirements among UAVs. Meanwhile, the optimal or sub-optimal paths can be obtained. Finally, numerical simulations in 2-D and 3-D environments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and stability of the proposed algorithm. Simulation results show that the paths generated by the proposed DCPSO can not only meet the kinematic constraints of UAVs and safety requirements, but also achieve the simultaneous arrival and collision avoidance between UAVs for formation rendezvous. Compared with the cooperative co-evolutionary genetic algorithm (CCGA), the proposed DCPSO has better stability and a higher searching success rate.