دانلود : 

On the thermodynamics of multilevel evolution 2013

نویسندگان : 

Marc Tessera , Guy A. Hoelzerb

چکیده : 

Biodiversity is hierarchically structured both phylogenetically and functionally. Phylogenetic hierarchy

is understood as a product of branching organic evolution as described by Darwin. Ecosystem biologists

understand some aspects of functional hierarchy, such as food web architecture, as a product of

evolutionary ecology; but functional hierarchy extends to much lower scales of organization than those

studied by ecologists. We argue that the more general use of the term “evolution” employed by physicists

and applied to non-living systems connects directly to the narrow biological meaning. Physical evolution

is best understood as a thermodynamic phenomenon, and this perspective comfortably includes all of

biological evolution. We suggest four dynamical factors that build on each other in a hierarchical fashion

and set the stage for the Darwinian evolution of biological systems: (1) the entropic erosion of structure;

(2) the construction of dissipative systems; (3) the reproduction of growing systems and (4) the

historical memory accrued to populations of reproductive agents by the acquisition of hereditary mechanisms.

A particular level of evolution can underpin the emergence of higher levels, but evolutionary

processes persist at each level in the hierarchy. We also argue that particular evolutionary processes can

occur at any level of the hierarchy where they are not obstructed by material constraints. This theoretical

framework provides an extensive basis for understanding natural selection as a multilevel process. The

extensive literature on thermodynamics in turn provides an important advantage to this perspective on

the evolution of higher levels of organization, such as the evolution of altruism that can accompany the

emergence of social organization

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