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Definitions

Ecological inheritance occurs when organisms inhabit a modified environment that a previous generation created. Since ecological inheritance is a result of ecosystem engineering^[1]^[2] and niche construction, the fitness of several species and their subsequent generations experience a selective pressure dependent on the modified environment they inherit.^[3]^[4] Organisms in subsequent generations will encounter ecological inheritance because they are affected by a new selective environment created by prior niche construction.^[4] On a macroevolutionary scale, ecological inheritance has been defined as, "the persistence of environmental modifications by a species over multiple generations to influence the evolution of that or other species." ^[5] Ecological inheritance has also been defined as, "... the accumulation of environmental changes, such as altered soil, atmosphere or ocean states that previous generations have have brought about through their niche-constructing activity, and that influence the development of descendant organisms."^[4]^[5]^[6]

Related to niche construction and ecological inheritance are factors and features of an organism and environment, respectively, where the feature of an organism is synonymous with adaptation if natural selection favored it in response to a an environmental factor. ^[7] For example, a feature of the environment may have increased the fitness of an individual by enabling it to acquire a food resource or evade a predator more efficiently. In this context, natural selection promotes a correspondence between features and factors, defined as synerg.^[4]^[7] Ecological inheritance occurs when an organism experiences an altered factor-feature relationship with selected pressures originating from parents or ancestral generations.^[4] Ecological inheritance is the passing on to descendants of inherited resources and conditions, and associated modified selection pressures, through niche construction.^[8] For instance, many organisms build, choose or provision nursery environments, such as nests, for their offspring. The recurrence of traits across life cycles results in part from parents constructing developmental conditions for their descendants.^[9] Richard Lewontin stresses how by modifying the availability of biotic and abiotic resources, niche-constructing organisms can cause organisms to coevolve with their environments.^[10]

Examples

In the book, On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin described ways that organisms alter selection pressures by modifying local environments (i.e., habitats in which they live) that affect their fitness.^[11] For example, the effect of ecological inheritance on long-term evolutionary dynamics are performed by subsequent generations of earthworm that burrow through soil.^[12] As earthworms burrow, they modify soil structure and enrich the nutrient content by mixing decomposing organic matter with inorganic soil content.^[12] The burrowing makes water easily available and absorbed by earthworms in the soil, and consequently, worms have kept their ancestral freshwater kidneys rather than evolve terrestrial anatomy. ^[12]

Ecological inheritance has significant implications for macroevolution.^[8]^[13] Ancestral species may modify environments through their niche construction that may have consequences for other species, sometimes millions of years later.^[13]^[14] For instance, cyanobacteria produced oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis (see great oxygenation event), which dramatically changed the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, with vast macroevolutionary consequences.

Ecological inheritance, ecosystem engineering, and niche construction

Almost all species engage in ecosystem engineering, which occurs when the availability of a resource is altered by organisms that create, alter, or destroy habitats.^[15]^[16] Niche construction occurs when the interactions and relationship between a species and its environment alters the niche and selective pressure of the species.^[17] Organisms modify their local environment, or habitat, by relocating to a different location or physically altering the selective environment; when these modifications alter the selection of subsequent generations, ecological inheritance occurs.^[17] Therefore, niche construction focuses on the evolutionary impact of species and their local environment.^[17] Ecosystem engineering has been described as a consequence of niche construction^[18] but it is not clear whether ecosystem engineering activities always influence selection.^[17] Ecological inheritance has been termed a ‘persistor’ that may influence evolution when the persistence of ecological inheritance is longer than the timing of the ‘replicator’ – a term Richard Dawkins used for gene.^[19]^[20]

Genetic inheritance vs. ecological inheritance

Genetic inheritance depends on the processes of reproduction that transmit genes between generations, from parents to offspring.^[21] Ecological inheritance takes the form of biotically modified selection pressure that can be passed on by organisms in one generation at any time in their lifetime to organisms of subsequent generations.^[18] Ecological inheritance does not depend on replication of environmental factors, but rather on the persistence of environmental factors that affect the selective pressures of subsequent generations. Ecological inheritance is like subsequent generations of population inheriting territory or property.^[18]

The modern synthesis

In recent years, many evolutionary biologists have sought to expand the concept of inheritance within evolutionary biology, and ecological inheritance is now commonly incorporated into these schemes.^[22]^[23] The evolutionary significance of ecological inheritance, however, remains disputed.^[24] Ecological inheritance is considered a form of habitat construction, which has been considered a new way to expand upon natural selection as a way organisms influence their own evolution.^[25]^[26] Two assumptions under the Modern Synthesis are the following: (1) only genes are inherited from one generation to the next and (2) micro-evolutionary processes that include selection, drift, mutation, and gene flow affect patterns of macro-evolution.^[25] Since the early twentieth century, however, evolutionary biologists have modified the Modern Synthesis to include ways organisms modify the environment and inhabited by their subsequent generations.^[25] This new interpretation of the Modern Synthesis is called the extended evolutionary synthesis and describes how ecological inheritance affects evolution on micro- and macro-evolutionary scales because organisms modify their environments in non-random ways to generate selective pressures on subsequent generations.^[25]

References

^ Jones, Clive G.; Lawton, John H.; Shachak, Moshe (1997). "Positive and Negative Effects of Organisms as Physical Ecosystem Engineers". Ecology. 78 (7): 1946–1957. doi:10.2307/2265935. ISSN 0012-9658.
^ Jones, Clive G.; Lawton, John H.; Shachak, Moshe (1994), "Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers", Ecosystem Management, New York, NY: Springer New York, pp. 130–147, ISBN 978-0-387-94667-2, retrieved 2023-03-28
^ Danchin, Étienne; Charmantier, Anne; Champagne, Frances A.; Mesoudi, Alex; Pujol, Benoit; Blanchet, Simon (2011-07). "Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution". Nature Reviews Genetics. 12 (7): 475–486. doi:10.1038/nrg3028. ISSN 1471-0064. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Odling-Smee, F. John (2003). Niche construction : the neglected process in evolution. Kevin N. Laland, Marcus W. Feldman. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4726-6. OCLC 827947192.
^ ^a ^b Erwin, D (2008-06). "Macroevolution of ecosystem engineering, niche construction and diversity". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 23 (6): 304–310. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.013. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Laland, Kevin N.; Uller, Tobias; Feldman, Marcus W.; Sterelny, Kim; Müller, Gerd B.; Moczek, Armin; Jablonka, Eva; Odling-Smee, John (2015-08-22). "The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1813): 20151019. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1019. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 4632619. PMID 26246559.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
^ ^a ^b Bock, Walter J. (1980). "The Definition and Recognition of Biological Adaptation". American Zoologist. 20 (1): 217–227. ISSN 0003-1569.
^ ^a ^b Odling-Smee, F. John (2003). Niche Construction. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-04437-8.
^ Badyaev, Alexander V.; Uller, Tobias (2009). "Parental effects in ecology and evolution: mechanisms, processes and implications". Phil Trans R Soc B. 364 (1520): 1169–1177. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0302. PMC 2666689. PMID 19324619.
^ Lewontin, Richard C. (1983). "Gene, Organism and Environment". In Bendall, D. S. (ed.). Evolution from Molecules to Men. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521289337.
^ Darwin, Charles (2008-11-13), "hybridism", On the Origin of Species, Oxford University Press, retrieved 2023-03-28
^ ^a ^b ^c Danchin, Étienne; Charmantier, Anne; Champagne, Frances A.; Mesoudi, Alex; Pujol, Benoit; Blanchet, Simon (2011-07). "Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution". Nature Reviews Genetics. 12 (7): 475–486. doi:10.1038/nrg3028. ISSN 1471-0064. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ^a ^b Erwin, Douglas H. (2008). "Macroevolution of ecosystem engineering, niche construction and diversity". Trends Ecol Evol. 23 (6): 304–310. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.013. PMID 18457902.
^ Erwin, Douglas H.; Valentine, James W. (2013). The Cambrian Explosion: The Reconstruction of Animal Biodiversity. Greenwood Village, Colorado: Roberts and Company. ISBN 978-1-936221-03-5.
^ Jones, Clive G.; Lawton, John H.; Shachak, Moshe (1997). "Positive and Negative Effects of Organisms as Physical Ecosystem Engineers". Ecology. 78 (7): 1946–1957. doi:10.2307/2265935. ISSN 0012-9658.
^ Jones, Clive G.; Lawton, John H.; Shachak, Moshe (1994), "Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers", Ecosystem Management, New York, NY: Springer New York, pp. 130–147, ISBN 978-0-387-94667-2, retrieved 2023-03-28
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Erwin, D (2008-06). "Macroevolution of ecosystem engineering, niche construction and diversity". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 23 (6): 304–310. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.013. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c Odling-Smee, F. John (2003). Niche construction : the neglected process in evolution. Kevin N. Laland, Marcus W. Feldman. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4726-6. OCLC 827947192.
^ Turner, J. Scott (2004-06-01). "Extended Phenotypes and Extended Organisms". Biology and Philosophy. 19 (3): 327–352. doi:10.1023/B:BIPH.0000036115.65522.a1. ISSN 1572-8404.
^ Dawkins, Richard (2004-06-01). "Extended Phenotype – But Not Too Extended. A Reply to Laland, Turner and Jablonka". Biology and Philosophy. 19 (3): 377–396. doi:10.1023/B:BIPH.0000036180.14904.96. ISSN 1572-8404.
^ Danchin, Étienne; Charmantier, Anne; Champagne, Frances A.; Mesoudi, Alex; Pujol, Benoit; Blanchet, Simon (2011-07). "Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution". Nature Reviews Genetics. 12 (7): 475–486. doi:10.1038/nrg3028. ISSN 1471-0064. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Danchin, Étienne; Charmantier, Anne; Champagne, Frances A.; Mesoudi, Alex; Pujol, Benoit; Blanchet, Simon (2011). "Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution". Nat Rev Genet. 12 (7): 475–486. doi:10.1038/nrg3028. PMID 21681209. S2CID 8837202.
^ Bonduriansky, Russell (2012). "Rethinking heredity, again". Trends Ecol Evol. 27 (6): 330–336. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2012.02.003. PMID 22445060.
^ Scott-Phillips, T. C.; Laland, K. N.; Shuker, D. M.; Dickins, T. E.; West, S. A. (2014). "The Niche Construction Perspective: A Critical Appraisal". Evolution. 68 (5): 1231–1243. doi:10.1111/evo.12332. PMC 4261998. PMID 24325256.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Laland, Kevin N.; Uller, Tobias; Feldman, Marcus W.; Sterelny, Kim; Müller, Gerd B.; Moczek, Armin; Jablonka, Eva; Odling-Smee, John (2015-08-22). "The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1813): 20151019. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1019. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 4632619. PMID 26246559.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
^ Lewontin, Richard (1974). The genetic basis of evolutionary change. New York. ISBN 0-231-03392-3. OCLC 749819.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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+== Definitions ==
-{{short description|Biological concept}}
+'''Ecological inheritance''' occurs when organisms inhabit a modified environment that a previous generation created. Since [[ecological inheritance]] is a result of [[ecosystem engineering]]<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=Clive G. |last2=Lawton |first2=John H. |last3=Shachak |first3=Moshe |date=1997 |title=Positive and Negative Effects of Organisms as Physical Ecosystem Engineers |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2265935 |journal=Ecology |volume=78 |issue=7 |pages=1946–1957 |doi=10.2307/2265935 |issn=0012-9658}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Citation |last=Jones |first=Clive G. |title=Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers |date=1994 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4018-1_14 |work=Ecosystem Management |pages=130–147 |access-date=2023-03-28 |place=New York, NY |publisher=Springer New York |isbn=978-0-387-94667-2 |last2=Lawton |first2=John H. |last3=Shachak |first3=Moshe}}</ref> and [[niche construction]], the [[Fitness (biology)|fitness]] of several species and their subsequent generations experience a [[Evolutionary pressure|selective pressure]] dependent on the modified environment they inherit.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Danchin |first=Étienne |last2=Charmantier |first2=Anne |last3=Champagne |first3=Frances A. |last4=Mesoudi |first4=Alex |last5=Pujol |first5=Benoit |last6=Blanchet |first6=Simon |date=2011-07 |title=Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3028 |journal=Nature Reviews Genetics |language=en |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=475–486 |doi=10.1038/nrg3028 |issn=1471-0064}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Odling-Smee |first=F. John |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/827947192 |title=Niche construction : the neglected process in evolution |date=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |others=Kevin N. Laland, Marcus W. Feldman |isbn=978-1-4008-4726-6 |location=Princeton |oclc=827947192}}</ref> Organisms in subsequent generations will encounter '''ecological inheritance''' because they are affected by a new selective environment created by prior [[niche construction]].<ref name=":0" /> On a macroevolutionary scale, '''ecological inheritance''' has been defined as, "the persistence of environmental modifications by a species over multiple generations to influence the evolution of that or other species." <ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Erwin |first=D |date=2008-06 |title=Macroevolution of ecosystem engineering, niche construction and diversity |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169534708001377 |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=304–310 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.013}}</ref> '''Ecological inheritance''' has also been defined as,  "... the accumulation of environmental changes, such as altered soil, atmosphere or ocean states that previous generations have have brought about through their niche-constructing activity, and that influence the development of descendant organisms."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Laland |first=Kevin N. |last2=Uller |first2=Tobias |last3=Feldman |first3=Marcus W. |last4=Sterelny |first4=Kim |last5=Müller |first5=Gerd B. |last6=Moczek |first6=Armin |last7=Jablonka |first7=Eva |last8=Odling-Smee |first8=John |date=2015-08-22 |title=The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.1019 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=282 |issue=1813 |pages=20151019 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.1019 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=PMC4632619 |pmid=26246559}}</ref>
-'''Ecological inheritance''' is the passing on to descendants of inherited resources and conditions, and associated modified selection pressures, through [[niche construction]].<ref name=Odling-Smee>{{cite book |last1=Odling-Smee |first1=F. John |title=Niche Construction |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-04437-8}}</ref> For instance, many organisms build, choose or provision nursery environments, such as nests, for their offspring. The recurrence of traits across life cycles results in part from parents constructing developmental conditions for their descendants.<ref name=Badyaev>{{cite journal |last1=Badyaev |first1=Alexander V. |last2=Uller |first2=Tobias |title=Parental effects in ecology and evolution: mechanisms, processes and implications |journal=Phil Trans R Soc B |year=2009 |volume=364 |issue= 1520|pages=1169–1177 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2008.0302|pmid=19324619 |pmc=2666689 }}</ref> [[Richard Lewontin]] stresses how by modifying the availability of biotic and abiotic resources, niche-constructing organisms can cause organisms to coevolve with their environments.<ref name=Lewontin>{{Cite book |last1=Lewontin |first1=Richard C. |author1-link=Richard Lewontin |chapter=Gene, Organism and Environment |title=Evolution from Molecules to Men |editor1-last=Bendall |editor1-first=D. S. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1983 |isbn=9780521289337 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionfrommol0000unse }}</ref>
+Related to [[niche construction]] and '''ecological inheritance''' are factors and features of an organism and environment, respectively, where the feature of an organism is synonymous with adaptation if natural selection favored it in response to a an environmental factor. <ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Bock |first=Walter J. |date=1980 |title=The Definition and Recognition of Biological Adaptation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3882363 |journal=American Zoologist |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=217–227 |issn=0003-1569}}</ref> For example, a feature of the environment may have increased the fitness of an individual by enabling it to acquire a food resource or evade a predator more efficiently. In this context, natural selection promotes a correspondence between features and factors, defined as ''synerg.''<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> '''Ecological inheritance''' occurs when an organism experiences an altered factor-feature relationship with selected pressures originating from parents or ancestral generations.<ref name=":0" /> '''Ecological inheritance''' is the passing on to descendants of inherited resources and conditions, and associated modified selection pressures, through [[niche construction]].<ref name="Odling-Smee">{{cite book |last1=Odling-Smee |first1=F. John |title=Niche Construction |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-04437-8}}</ref> For instance, many organisms build, choose or provision nursery environments, such as nests, for their offspring. The recurrence of traits across life cycles results in part from parents constructing developmental conditions for their descendants.<ref name="Badyaev">{{cite journal |last1=Badyaev |first1=Alexander V. |last2=Uller |first2=Tobias |title=Parental effects in ecology and evolution: mechanisms, processes and implications |journal=Phil Trans R Soc B |year=2009 |volume=364 |issue= 1520|pages=1169–1177 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2008.0302|pmid=19324619 |pmc=2666689 }}</ref> [[Richard Lewontin]] stresses how by modifying the availability of biotic and abiotic resources, niche-constructing organisms can cause organisms to coevolve with their environments.<ref name="Lewontin">{{Cite book |last1=Lewontin |first1=Richard C. |author1-link=Richard Lewontin |chapter=Gene, Organism and Environment |title=Evolution from Molecules to Men |editor1-last=Bendall |editor1-first=D. S. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1983 |isbn=9780521289337 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionfrommol0000unse }}</ref>
-Ecological inheritance has significant implications for macroevolution.<ref name=Odling-Smee>{{cite book |last1=Odling-Smee |first1=F. John |title=Niche Construction |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-04437-8}}</ref><ref name=Erwin1>{{cite journal |last1=Erwin |first1=Douglas H. |author1-link=Douglas Erwin |title=Macroevolution of ecosystem engineering, niche construction and diversity |journal=Trends Ecol Evol |year=2008 |volume=23 |issue= 6|pages=304–310 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.013|pmid=18457902 }}</ref> Ancestral species may modify environments through their niche construction that may have consequences for other species, sometimes millions of years later.<ref name=Erwin1/><ref name=Erwin2>{{cite book |last1=Erwin |first1=Douglas H.  |last2=Valentine |first2=James W. |title=The Cambrian Explosion: The Reconstruction of Animal Biodiversity |year=2013 |publisher=Roberts and Company |location=Greenwood Village, Colorado |isbn=978-1-936221-03-5}}</ref> For instance, cyanobacteria produced oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis (see [[great oxygenation event]]), which dramatically changed the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, with vast macroevolutionary consequences.
+=== Examples ===
-In recent years, many evolutionary biologists have sought to expand the concept of inheritance within evolutionary biology, and ecological inheritance is now commonly incorporated into these schemes.<ref name=Danchin>{{cite journal |last1=Danchin |first1=Étienne |last2=Charmantier |first2=Anne |last3=Champagne |first3=Frances A. |last4=Mesoudi |first4=Alex |last5=Pujol |first5=Benoit |last6=Blanchet |first6=Simon |title=Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution |journal=Nat Rev Genet |year=2011 |volume=12 |issue= 7|pages=475–486 |doi=10.1038/nrg3028|pmid=21681209 |s2cid=8837202 }}</ref><ref name=Bonduriansky>{{cite journal |last1=Bonduriansky |first1=Russell |title=Rethinking heredity, again |journal=Trends Ecol Evol |year=2012 |volume=27 |issue= 6|pages=330–336 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2012.02.003|pmid=22445060 }}</ref> The evolutionary significance of ecological inheritance, however, remains disputed.<ref name="Scott-Phillips">{{cite journal | last1=Scott-Phillips | first1=T. C. | last2=Laland | first2=K. N. | last3=Shuker | first3=D. M. | last4=Dickins | first4=T. E. | last5=West | first5=S. A. | year=2014 | title=The Niche Construction Perspective: A Critical Appraisal | journal=Evolution | volume=68 | issue=5| pages=1231–1243 | doi=10.1111/evo.12332 | pmid=24325256 | pmc=4261998}}</ref>
+In the book, [[On the Origin of Species]], [[Charles Darwin]] described ways that organisms alter [[Evolutionary pressure|selection pressures]] by modifying local environments (i.e., habitats in which they live) that affect their [[Fitness (biology)|fitness]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Darwin |first=Charles |title=hybridism |date=2008-11-13 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/owc/9780199219223.003.0010 |work=On the Origin of Species |access-date=2023-03-28 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> For example, the effect of '''ecological inheritance''' on long-term evolutionary dynamics are performed by subsequent generations of earthworm that burrow through soil.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Danchin |first=Étienne |last2=Charmantier |first2=Anne |last3=Champagne |first3=Frances A. |last4=Mesoudi |first4=Alex |last5=Pujol |first5=Benoit |last6=Blanchet |first6=Simon |date=2011-07 |title=Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3028 |journal=Nature Reviews Genetics |language=en |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=475–486 |doi=10.1038/nrg3028 |issn=1471-0064}}</ref> As earthworms burrow, they modify soil structure and enrich the nutrient content by mixing decomposing organic matter with inorganic soil content.<ref name=":22" /> The burrowing makes water easily available and absorbed by earthworms in the soil, and consequently, worms have kept their ancestral freshwater kidneys rather than evolve terrestrial anatomy. <ref name=":22" />
+Ecological inheritance has significant implications for macroevolution.<ref name="Odling-Smee">{{cite book |last1=Odling-Smee |first1=F. John |title=Niche Construction |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-04437-8}}</ref><ref name="Erwin1">{{cite journal |last1=Erwin |first1=Douglas H. |author1-link=Douglas Erwin |title=Macroevolution of ecosystem engineering, niche construction and diversity |journal=Trends Ecol Evol |year=2008 |volume=23 |issue= 6|pages=304–310 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.013|pmid=18457902 }}</ref> Ancestral species may modify environments through their niche construction that may have consequences for other species, sometimes millions of years later.<ref name="Erwin1" /><ref name="Erwin2">{{cite book |last1=Erwin |first1=Douglas H.  |last2=Valentine |first2=James W. |title=The Cambrian Explosion: The Reconstruction of Animal Biodiversity |year=2013 |publisher=Roberts and Company |location=Greenwood Village, Colorado |isbn=978-1-936221-03-5}}</ref> For instance, cyanobacteria produced oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis (see [[great oxygenation event]]), which dramatically changed the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, with vast macroevolutionary consequences.
+=== Ecological inheritance, ecosystem engineering, and niche construction ===
+Almost all species engage in [[Ecosystem engineer|ecosystem engineering]], which occurs when the availability of a resource is altered by organisms that create, alter, or destroy habitats.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=Clive G. |last2=Lawton |first2=John H. |last3=Shachak |first3=Moshe |date=1997 |title=Positive and Negative Effects of Organisms as Physical Ecosystem Engineers |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2265935 |journal=Ecology |volume=78 |issue=7 |pages=1946–1957 |doi=10.2307/2265935 |issn=0012-9658}}</ref><ref name=":52">{{Citation |last=Jones |first=Clive G. |title=Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers |date=1994 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4018-1_14 |work=Ecosystem Management |pages=130–147 |access-date=2023-03-28 |place=New York, NY |publisher=Springer New York |isbn=978-0-387-94667-2 |last2=Lawton |first2=John H. |last3=Shachak |first3=Moshe}}</ref> [[Niche construction]] occurs when the interactions and relationship between a species and its environment alters the niche and [[Evolutionary pressure|selective pressure]] of the species.<ref name=":62">{{Cite journal |last=Erwin |first=D |date=2008-06 |title=Macroevolution of ecosystem engineering, niche construction and diversity |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169534708001377 |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=304–310 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.013}}</ref> Organisms modify their local environment, or habitat, by relocating to a different location or physically altering the selective environment; when these modifications alter the selection of subsequent generations, '''ecological inheritance''' occurs.<ref name=":62" /> Therefore, niche construction focuses on the evolutionary impact of species and their local environment.<ref name=":62" /> [[Ecosystem engineer|Ecosystem engineering]] has been described as a consequence of [[niche construction]]<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Odling-Smee |first=F. John |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/827947192 |title=Niche construction : the neglected process in evolution |date=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |others=Kevin N. Laland, Marcus W. Feldman |isbn=978-1-4008-4726-6 |location=Princeton |oclc=827947192}}</ref> but it is not clear whether [[Ecosystem engineer|ecosystem engineering]] activities always influence selection.<ref name=":62" /> '''Ecological inheritance''' has been termed a ‘persistor’ that may influence evolution when the persistence of '''ecological inheritance''' is longer than the timing of the ‘replicator’ – a term [[Richard Dawkins]] used for gene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Turner |first=J. Scott |date=2004-06-01 |title=Extended Phenotypes and Extended Organisms |url=https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIPH.0000036115.65522.a1 |journal=Biology and Philosophy |language=en |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=327–352 |doi=10.1023/B:BIPH.0000036115.65522.a1 |issn=1572-8404}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |date=2004-06-01 |title=Extended Phenotype – But Not Too Extended. A Reply to Laland, Turner and Jablonka |url=https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIPH.0000036180.14904.96 |journal=Biology and Philosophy |language=en |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=377–396 |doi=10.1023/B:BIPH.0000036180.14904.96 |issn=1572-8404}}</ref>
+=== Genetic inheritance vs. ecological inheritance ===
+[[Heredity|Genetic inheritance]] depends on the processes of reproduction that transmit genes between generations, from parents to offspring.<ref name=":23">{{Cite journal |last=Danchin |first=Étienne |last2=Charmantier |first2=Anne |last3=Champagne |first3=Frances A. |last4=Mesoudi |first4=Alex |last5=Pujol |first5=Benoit |last6=Blanchet |first6=Simon |date=2011-07 |title=Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3028 |journal=Nature Reviews Genetics |language=en |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=475–486 |doi=10.1038/nrg3028 |issn=1471-0064}}</ref> '''Ecological inheritance''' takes the form of biotically modified selection pressure that can be passed on by organisms in one generation at any time in their lifetime to organisms of subsequent generations.<ref name=":02" /> '''Ecological inheritance''' does not depend on replication of environmental factors, but rather on the persistence of environmental factors that affect the selective pressures of subsequent generations. '''Ecological inheritance''' is like subsequent generations of population inheriting territory or property.<ref name=":02" />
+=== The modern synthesis ===
+In recent years, many evolutionary biologists have sought to expand the concept of inheritance within evolutionary biology, and ecological inheritance is now commonly incorporated into these schemes.<ref name="Danchin">{{cite journal |last1=Danchin |first1=Étienne |last2=Charmantier |first2=Anne |last3=Champagne |first3=Frances A. |last4=Mesoudi |first4=Alex |last5=Pujol |first5=Benoit |last6=Blanchet |first6=Simon |title=Beyond DNA: integrating inclusive inheritance into an extended theory of evolution |journal=Nat Rev Genet |year=2011 |volume=12 |issue= 7|pages=475–486 |doi=10.1038/nrg3028|pmid=21681209 |s2cid=8837202 }}</ref><ref name="Bonduriansky">{{cite journal |last1=Bonduriansky |first1=Russell |title=Rethinking heredity, again |journal=Trends Ecol Evol |year=2012 |volume=27 |issue= 6|pages=330–336 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2012.02.003|pmid=22445060 }}</ref> The evolutionary significance of ecological inheritance, however, remains disputed.<ref name="Scott-Phillips">{{cite journal | last1=Scott-Phillips | first1=T. C. | last2=Laland | first2=K. N. | last3=Shuker | first3=D. M. | last4=Dickins | first4=T. E. | last5=West | first5=S. A. | year=2014 | title=The Niche Construction Perspective: A Critical Appraisal | journal=Evolution | volume=68 | issue=5| pages=1231–1243 | doi=10.1111/evo.12332 | pmid=24325256 | pmc=4261998}}</ref> '''Ecological inheritance''' is considered a form of habitat construction, which has been considered a new way to expand upon natural selection as a way organisms influence their own evolution.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last=Laland |first=Kevin N. |last2=Uller |first2=Tobias |last3=Feldman |first3=Marcus W. |last4=Sterelny |first4=Kim |last5=Müller |first5=Gerd B. |last6=Moczek |first6=Armin |last7=Jablonka |first7=Eva |last8=Odling-Smee |first8=John |date=2015-08-22 |title=The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.1019 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=282 |issue=1813 |pages=20151019 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.1019 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=PMC4632619 |pmid=26246559}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewontin |first=Richard |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/749819 |title=The genetic basis of evolutionary change |date=1974 |isbn=0-231-03392-3 |location=New York |oclc=749819}}</ref> Two assumptions under the [[Modern synthesis (20th century)|Modern Synthesis]] are the following: (1) only genes are inherited from one generation to the next and (2) micro-evolutionary processes that include selection, drift, mutation, and gene flow affect patterns of macro-evolution.<ref name=":32" /> Since the early twentieth century, however, evolutionary biologists have modified the [[Modern Synthesis]] to include ways organisms modify the environment and inhabited by their subsequent generations.<ref name=":32" /> This new interpretation of the [[Modern synthesis (20th century)|Modern Synthesis]] is called the [[extended evolutionary synthesis]] and describes how ecological inheritance affects evolution on micro- and macro-evolutionary scales because organisms modify their environments in non-random ways to generate [[Evolutionary pressure|selective pressures]] on subsequent generations.<ref name=":32" />
 ==References==