Customer Reviews

Niche Construction: The Neglected Process in Evolution (MPB-37) (Monographs in Population Biology)

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One of the best books I've read on evolutionary processes.

The authors are well place in the academic community. John Odling-Smee (Oxford University), Kevin Laland (St. Andrews University) and Marc Feldman (Stanford University) argue that the ability of organisms to construct habitat which subsequently alters evolutionary pressures upon the constructing organism's gene pool represents a curiously unexplored evolutionary mechanism. They call the process 'niche construction'.

To quote the cover jacket, "Niche construction is the process whereby organisms, through their activities and choices, modify their own and each other's niches. By transforming natural selection pressures, niche construction generates feedback in evolution, on a scale hitherto underestimated, and in a manner that alters the evolutionary dynamic. Niche construction also plays a critical role in ecology, where it supports ecosystem engineering and part regulates the flow of energy and nutrients through ecosystems."

The authors argue that classic evolutionary theory lost sight of 'niche construction', favoring an exclusive interest in genetic inheritance and reproduction dynamics (natural selection). Traditionally, scientists have argued that evolution is entirely random and blind to any consequences of genetic mutation. In other words, evolution is not self-referential, the choices of the reproducing individuals have no impact on selection pressures.

The authors vigorously argue against this simplistic model. They argue that niche construction is a fundamental evolutionary process in its own right. In this way individuals offer two legacies to their decendants, their genes and an ecological setting. In establishing their framework, they much more comfortably address issues Dawkins had difficulty answering. For example, the authors show how Dawkin's circular 'selfish gene' and 'extended phenotype' metaphors can easily be dismissed by incorporating niche construction into one's evolutionary theory.

Example cited by the authors include the creation of an oxygen rich atsmophere by plants, beaver dams, wren tool use, yam cultivation by humans, and a host of others.

I suspect the book will have limited short term impact because it makes an already difficult subject even more complex. Few will be happy with its refutation of classic evolutionary theory's convenient solutions to problems of causality. For example, the authors spend a great deal of time with something they call 'semantic information.' "Semantic information is information, typically encoded in DNA, that specifies the adaptations of organisms. It pertains to the life requirements and functioning of organisms in their local environments. Semantic information is accrued primarily through population genetic processes, although it can also be acquired through other processes, for instance, learning. Semantic information is therefore "meaningful" information for organisms in niches. Unlike configurational information, semantic information is incommensurate with binary digits, or BITS."

I'm not sure what this means, but they are equating cultural heritage with genetic heritage. Additionally, their notion of information is outside mathematical modeling. This will certainly be difficult assertion for many to accept.

Since there is currently no editorial reviews, I'll close with more quotes from the dust jacket:

"If the amount of attention warranted by this book is paid to it, the
result should be a massive reorientation of evolutionary theory."
David Hull, Northwestern University

"... a wonderful exploration of this strangely neglected topic,
opening new vistas on how organisms - including humans -
construct ecological niches over evolutionary time...I think this
book is a `must read.'" Robert M.May, University of Oxford

"The sobriquet, `landmark' is casually used to press the virtues of
books, but seldom can it be taken seriously, Niche Construction
really is a landmark book." Richard Lewontin, Harvard University

"This ambitious book tackles a problem of fundamental
importance in science: the whole-hearted synthesis of the
disciplines of ecology and evolution."Robert D. Holt, University
of Florida

"... the first full-length treatment of an intensely absorbing topic
which deserves the close attention of anybody interested in
evolution."Patrick Bateson, University of Cambridge

This book has to be The Book on niche construction, the tendency of organisms to change their local environments to their advantage. The first half is for any reader who is interested in the topic from any angle - its widespread occurrence, examples from all kingdoms, its origin, its evolutionary significance for species including other species. The second half frames questions to experimenters interested in testing evolutionary repercussions of the phenomenon. The tie to human cultural activities (the heavy niche constructers) is also explored as the team of authors includes specialists on this topic. In these exciting times for biology and evolutionary theory, this book marks a bold new direction that opens the door to evolution through the environment. An eye opener.