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Condition-dependent adaptive phenotypic plasticity and interspecific gene-culture coevolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2012

Marion Blute
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada. [email protected]://individual.utoronto.ca/marionblute/

Abstract

Evolutionary socioecological theory and research proposing linking parasites with human social organization is uncommon and therefore welcome. However, more generally, condition-dependent adaptive phenotypic plasticity requires environmental uncertainty on a small scale, accompanied by reliable cues. In addition, genes in parasites may select among biologically adaptive cultural alternatives directly without necessarily going through human genetic predispositions, resulting in inter-specific gene-culture coevolution.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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