[Taxacom] SUSPECT: Re: Molecules vs Morphology‏

[Mario Blanco]

The environment (in the wide sense) provides the selective pressures 
(natural and sexual selection) that, together with genetic drift, drive 
evolution. But evolution itself is defined as change in the genetic 
makeup of a population through generations (this is a widely accepted 
definition of evolution). Of course, many of these genetic changes are 
reflected as morphological changes. But there is no morphological 
evolution without genetic evolution. If you can think of any example of 
a heritable morphological change that is not genetically determined and 
that doesn't invoke Lamarckism, I'll be interested to hear about it.


Richard Zander wrote:
> Can I argue here that the genome does NOT include all that is relevant to determining evolution? I suggest that the environment or habitat is a kind of metachromosome or "envirosome" that contributes both direction of evolution and stabilization over time through natural selection. It is shared by all members of a species, and by affecting traits of a genus give coherence to evolution at the genus level.
>
> Given this, morphology is a better clue to evolution than the genome since it is at the interface of genome and environment. 
>
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> Richard H. Zander 
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Jason Mate
> Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 5:38 PM
> To: Taxacom
> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] SUSPECT: Re: Molecules vs Morphology‏
>
> Yes the complexity of a sequence is much less than many morphological characters, but arguing this accross assumes that morphology is more than the genome which begs the question of where this information is hidden.
>
> Jason
>
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