1. Integration between ecological and genealogical patterns:
Where are we?
Emanuele Serrelli
“Riccardo Massa” Department of Human Sciences - University of Milano Bicocca, ITALY
Lisbon Applied Evolutionary Epistemology Lab - Universidade de Lisboa, PORTUGAL
emanuele.serrelli@unimib.it
http://www.epistemologia.eu
1
2. Integration between ecological and genealogical patterns:
Where are we?
Emanuele Serrelli
“Riccardo Massa” Department of Human Sciences - University of Milano Bicocca, ITALY
Lisbon Applied Evolutionary Epistemology Lab - Universidade de Lisboa, PORTUGAL
emanuele.serrelli@unimib.it
http://www.epistemologia.eu
1
Ecological patterns are the ones that
can be captured by following physical
and chemical flows and cycles.
3. Integration between ecological and genealogical patterns:
Where are we?
Emanuele Serrelli
“Riccardo Massa” Department of Human Sciences - University of Milano Bicocca, ITALY
Lisbon Applied Evolutionary Epistemology Lab - Universidade de Lisboa, PORTUGAL
emanuele.serrelli@unimib.it
http://www.epistemologia.eu
1
Ecological patterns are the ones that
can be captured by following physical
and chemical flows and cycles.
Genealogical patterns are those that
can be followed and fully captured by
following 'bloodlines', related lineages,
and their common ancestry.
4. 2
Ecological patterns are the ones that
can be captured by following physical
and chemical flows and cycles.
Genealogical patterns are those that
can be followed and fully captured by
following 'bloodlines', related lineages,
and their common ancestry.
5. 3
1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
“By ecology we mean the body of
knowledge concerning the economy of
nature, the total relations of the animal to
both its inorganic and organic environment;
including its friendly and inimical relations
with those animals and plants with which it
comes into contact. In a word, all the
complex relationships referred to as the
struggle for existence”
6. 4
1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
7. 5
1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
8. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
6
Population genetics “models”
4
Loci, alleles,
frequencies
zygotes
mutation
selection
?
complication
intractability
Hardy-Weinberg eq.
9. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
7
10. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
8
11. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
8
12. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
9
13. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
9
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that a complete answer to any question
should deal with physiological, adaptational and evolutionary aspects of the
problem. The evolutionary process of becoming yields the most profound
understanding of biological systems at all levels of organization. The non-
evolutionary answer to the question of why an animal is abundant in some
parts of its range and rare in others is of necessity incomplete”
14. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
9
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that a complete answer to any question
should deal with physiological, adaptational and evolutionary aspects of the
problem. The evolutionary process of becoming yields the most profound
understanding of biological systems at all levels of organization. The non-
evolutionary answer to the question of why an animal is abundant in some
parts of its range and rare in others is of necessity incomplete”
"Ecology […] has its descriptive generalizations, such as the principle of
competitive exclusion, but as in other fields, evolution would seem to be
the only real theory of ecology today. Even if one strongly believes in the
action of natural selection it is exceedingly difficult, as Darwin pointed
out, to keep it always firmly in mind. Neglect of natural selection in
ecological thinking is, therefore, understandable though regretable.
However, its deliberate exclusion in these years following the Darwin
centennial would seem to be exceedingly unwise"
15. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
10
16. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
11
18. 13
deMenocal, P.B., 2004.African climate change and faunal evolution during the Pliocene–Pleistocene.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 220(1-2), pp.3–24.
19. 14
80-60 Kya
Roger Lewin (1996), Le origini dell’uomo moderno, Zanichelli, p. 121 // Bernard Wood 2008
20. 15
Hierarchy Theory of evolution
Eldredge 1986
“organisms seem to be both energy conversion machines and
reproducing ‘packages’ of genetic information. As such they are
integrated simultaneously into two largely separate, but
interacting kinds of general systems” (1986, p. 351)
21. Eldredge 2003
Niles Eldredge (2008) , “Hierarchies and the Sloshing Bucket: Toward the Unification of Evolutionary Biology”, in Evo Edu Outreach 1 pp. 10–15.
22. Eldredge 2003
Niles Eldredge (2008) , “Hierarchies and the Sloshing Bucket: Toward the Unification of Evolutionary Biology”, in Evo Edu Outreach 1 pp. 10–15.
23. Eldredge 2003
Niles Eldredge (2008) , “Hierarchies and the Sloshing Bucket: Toward the Unification of Evolutionary Biology”, in Evo Edu Outreach 1 pp. 10–15.
24. Eldredge 2003
Niles Eldredge (2008) , “Hierarchies and the Sloshing Bucket: Toward the Unification of Evolutionary Biology”, in Evo Edu Outreach 1 pp. 10–15.
25. Niles Eldredge (2008) , “Hierarchies and the Sloshing Bucket: Toward the Unification of Evolutionary Biology”, in Evo Edu Outreach 1 pp. 10–15.
26. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
18
27. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
18
28. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
18
29. 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
The sloshing bucket
2003
Odling-Smee: niche construction
1988
Evolutionary Ecology journal
1987
Unfinished Synthesis
1985
Vrba: turnover pulse
1980
van Valen: Red Queen hp
1973
Punctuated Equilibria
1972
Lovelock, birth of Earth System
Science
1967 – 1974
Hutchinson: ecological stage
and evolutionary play
1965
Orians
1962
Hutchinson & MacArthur
1959
Odum
1953
David Lack
1944
Tansley: concept of ecosystem
1935
Modern Synthesis
1930 – 1930
Lotka
1922
neo-Darwinian Synthesis
1910 – 1930
Warming, Schimper, Drude
1890 – 1900
Darwin's worms
1881
Haeckel
1866
Origin
1859
19
4
mutation
selection
?
complication
intractability
30. Kylafis, G. & Loreau, M., 2008. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of niche
construction for its agent. Ecology letters, 11(10), pp.1072–81.
45. Integration between ecological and genealogical patterns:
Where are we?
25
Patterns in the natural world are extremely important. [...]
They pose both the questions and the answers that
scientists formulate as they seek to describe the world [...].
Science is a search for resonance between mind and natural
pattern as we try to answer these questions. (Eldredge 1999,
pp. 4-5)
46. Integration between ecological and genealogical patterns:
Where are we?
25
Patterns in the natural world are extremely important. [...]
They pose both the questions and the answers that
scientists formulate as they seek to describe the world [...].
Science is a search for resonance between mind and natural
pattern as we try to answer these questions. (Eldredge 1999,
pp. 4-5)
It is this two-way street [...] that together form the
resonance between mind and material nature that is
the heart and soul of science. The search for more
accurate depictions and explanations of phenomena
already perceived is where most of the serious day-
to-day work of science lies. But it is in the learning of
new ways to see phenomena that true novelty and
creativity come in. Both are vital and in many ways
themselves inseparable. Both involve wrestling with
patterns in nature-the explanation of agreed-upon
pattern, and the search for new ways of seeing new
patterns (Eldredge, cit., p. 16).
47. Integration between ecological and genealogical patterns:
Where are we?
Emanuele Serrelli
“Riccardo Massa” Department of Human Sciences - University of Milano Bicocca, ITALY
Lisbon Applied Evolutionary Epistemology Lab - Universidade de Lisboa, PORTUGAL
emanuele.serrelli@unimib.it
http://www.epistemologia.eu
26
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