The main interest of the group is
understanding evolutionary phenomena associated with
evolutionary transitions of the selected units. Examples
for such transitions include the evolution of multicellularity,
the evolution of eusocial groups, such as ant and wasp
colonies, the evolution of human culture, and the origin
of Darwinian selection. Such transitions raise very interesting
evolutionary questions, and we try to address some of
them.
Currently, we are working on
the following directions:
Evolution of differentiation
Multicellular organisms follow a developmental
plan leading them from the fertilized egg to an adult
organism. Different cells in the adult can perform different
functions, and express different genes. These are the
different cell types that are part of the various tissues
of the multicellular organism. Some of the questions
that interst us are:
How does differentiation evolve?
How did the control of differentiation evolve when multicellulars evolved?
What are cell-types, and how does gene-expression in the various
cell-types change over evolutionary times?
Evolution of ant colony behavior
Some of the evolutionary processes that
occur at the evolution of eusociality are similar to
the processes that occur in the evolution of multicellularity.
In the evolution of eusociality the main selective drives
switched from functions that concern the behavior of
single organisms, e.g. single wasps, to functions that
concern the coordination of the whole colony. Similarly
in the evolution of multicellularity selection switched
from selection of functions that concern the single cells
to functions that concern the functioning of a whole
multicellular colony. There are some important differences,
though. One is that in an ant colony the different ants
are not genetically identical, whereas in an animal most
of the cells contain the same genes. A second difference
is that in eusocial colonies the units (i.e ants, wasps,
etc) are free to move around. No long-term physical connections
between the units exist. because of this, control of
the behavior of the colony has to occur through different
means.
Evolution of meaning and deception
in signalling systems
Many organisms use signals. These signals
influence their behavior, or influences the behavior
of other organisms. When a signal is employed between
to organisms, one might ask if the benefit of the transaction
is to the sender or the receiver. Responding to a signal
opens up the possibility that the receiver will be manipulated
by the sender. Is such manipulation equivalent to deception?
With human language two new concepts appear: truth and
meaning. How do these evolve? When in the evolution of
signalling did truth and meaning evolve?
Rates of information accumulation during evolution
The genome of an organism contains information.
This information is used by the organism in order to
construct a phenotype that is adapted to the environment.
It is also used by scientists to reconstruct the organism's
evolutionary history. How does the information get into
the genome? What is the relation between selective pressures,
uncertainty that the organism might experience, signals
that the organism might give to others, and that the
organism might receive from others? |
