Asymmetry, Developmental Stability, and Evolution

by Anders Pape Mïller, John P. Swaddle

Overview

Why does nature love symmetry? In this up-to-date review of symmetry and its evolutionary implications, Anders Møller and John Swaddle argue that symmetry is related to genetic stability and fitness and that symmetric individuals appear to have quantifiable and significant advantages over their asymmetric counterparts. In contrast, asymmetry, a common measure of developmental instability, is the result of environmental or genetic disruptions of developmental processes, such as pollutants, competition, parasitism, inbreeding, genetic mutation, and hybridization. Møller and Swaddle maintain that deviations from morphological symmetry are important factors in social or sexual situations: animals may be able to use symmetry as an honest indication of quality when assessing potential mates or competitors. This comprehensive review of the literature on developmental stability will be important reading for students and researchers in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, and animal behavior.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198548942
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/19/1998
Series:	Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Universite Pierre et Marie Curie

University of Bristol

Table of Contents

1. Asymmetries and developmental stability2. Ontogeny of asymmetry and phenodeviants3. Developmental stability and mode of selection4. Adverse environmental conditions and evolution5. Causes of developmental instability. I. Genetic factors6. Causes of developmental instability. II. Environmental factors7. Developmental instability and performance8. Developmental stability and signalling9. Developmental stability and fitness

Editorial Reviews

"Asymmetry, Developmental Stability, and Evolution, by Aders P. Møller and John P. Swaddle, is an enthusiasts guide to the idea that subtle deviations from perfect symmetry can indicate the quality of individuals, or of the environments they inhabit. . . . The literature covered is extraordinarily wide ranging and is likely to include some material unfamiliar even to aficionados of these areas."—Evolution

"This book, and its associated web site (http://www.oup.co.uk/MS-asymmetry), is concerned with developmental instability and in particular its most frequently measured phenotypic manifestation, fluctuating asymmetry (FA). . . . Throughout the book the authors discuss these topics with authority. Møller in particular is noted for his prodigous [sic] productivity in this field, a fact which may be confirmed by a glance at the Author Index. The work of all the main players in the game is acknowledged and discussed in an even-handed way. The chapters are written as self-contained units and can be dipped into independently. So if you work on FA keep this book in your laboratory—it cites references which you have not read—or, if you are thinking of incorporating FA into your research, read it before you start."—Heredity

"Recently, fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and developmental stability have attracted a great deal of interest among population geneticists, as well as developmental and evolutionary biologists. This new book attempts to be a comprehensive treatment of both concepts, including their potential relationships. . . . The book is well organized and produced. There are appropriate original illustrations and tables . . . The style of the work is clearly synthetic, and attempts to bring many different ideas into play. . . . This book . . . should be a valuable contribution to studies of FA and its relationship to other phenomena. New investigators need to go beyond this book, but can do so using the literature cited herein. Established workers will not agree with every position presented here and may, in fact, be stimulated to redouble their efforts to challenge them. If that happens, the book will have contributed a great deal to science."—The Quarterly Review of Biology

"Subtle deviations from symmetrical development reflect phenotypic quality. This is the central thesis . . . The authors present basically the following argument. Precise development . . . is energetically costly. Since equivalent structures across planes of symmetry . . . develop through the execution of the same genetically determined program and share, more or less, the same environment, deviation from symmetry can be used to measure precision or stability in development. Individuals of high quality . . . are better able to grow symmetrically than their less well-adapted counterparts . . . Asymmetry is then generally related to performance and fitness, and individuals . . . can thus use asymmetry to judge the quality of potential mates. If true, this argument implies that developmental stability plays a very important role in the evolutionary process. The authors' review clearly demonstrates that a large amount of work has been done to support tenets of this theory."—Complexity

"Moller and Swaddle provide another classic monograph in the same series on a topic that is important for human biologists. This theoretical treatment of a critical "marker of good health" coupled with the review by Thornhill and Moller (1997:498) should be required reading for health professionals." — Joan C. Stevenson, American Journal of Human Biology, Vol 12, No 5, 2000

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