Evolutionary biology for the 21st century

Abstract

New theoretical and conceptual frameworks are required for evolutionary biology to capitalize on the wealth of data now becoming available from the study of genomes, phenotypes, and organisms - including humans - in their natural environments.

Figure 1. Evolutionary biology is being transformed by increasing access to burgeoning data on variation in genomes, organisms, and the environment.

All this can be connected to the Tree of Life (phylogeny), from populations to entire clades, and is enabled by new protocols and networks in biodiversity informatics.

Figure 2. Natural history museum collections are tremendous repositories of specimens and data of many sorts, including phenotypes, tissue samples, vocal recordings, geographic distributions, parasites, and diet.

Photo by Jeremiah Trimble, Department of Ornithology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

Figure 3. Developing genetic and evolutionary tools for taxa with an extensive fossil record will be an important means of integrating the study of evolutionary pattern and process.

Genomic sequence data for stickleback fish is now providing insight into evolutionary patterns, such as the reduction in the pelvic skeleton, manifest both in the fossil record and in extant populations . Photograph courtesy Peter J. Park.