Evolutionary Biology and the Strategic View of Ontogeny: Genetic Strategies Provide Robustness and Flexibility in the Life Course

Abstract

It is difficult to synthesize evolutionary and developmental approaches to morphology, physiology, and behavior. Here we sketch one way to achieve such a synthesis that invokes ideas from evolutionary game theory. Developmental trajectories are often sensitive to environmental conditions. We reject the view, which is popular with some, that this sensitivity is well explained by a general plasticity. Instead we argue that flexibility is founded on a genetically encoded strategy, most or all of which is shared by the members of a population. Flexibility in the life course is achieved by the conditionalities inherent in the strategy. The strategy, which evolved by natural selection, allows an effective response to environmental variability. This enables organisms to perform well under a broad range of circumstances-a property that engineers call robustness.