From the excellent little book "Keywords in Evolutionary Biology" by
Evelyn Fox Keller & Elisabeth Lloyd, "Adaptation, Current uses" by Mary Jane West-Eberhard,
"An 'adaptation' is a characteristic of an organism whose form is the result of selection in a particular functional context Accordingly. the process of 'adaptation' is the evolutionary modification of a character under selection for efficient or advantageous (fitness-enhancing) functioning in a particular context.... p.13
David Goodman, Ph.D, M.L.S. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:DGG
On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 1:53 AM, stevertigostvrtg@gmail.com wrote:
Well-sourced junk that reads like it belongs on Simple En.wiki:
'''Adaptation''' is one of the basic phenomena of biology.<ref>Williams, George C. 1966. ''Adaptation and natural selection: a critique of some current evolutionary thought''. Princeton. "Evolutionary adaptation is a phenomenon of pervasive importance in biology." p5</ref> It is the process whereby an organism becomes better suited to its [[habitat]].<ref>The ''Oxford Dictionary of Science'' defines ''adaptation'' as "Any change in the structure or functioning of an organism that makes it better suited to its environment".</ref> Also, the term ''adaptation'' may refer to a characteristic which is especially important for an organism's survival.<ref>Both uses of the term 'adaptation' are recognized by King R.C. Stansfield W.D. and Mulligan P. 2006. ''A dictionary of genetics''. Oxford, 7th ed.</ref> For example, the adaptation of horses' teeth to the grinding of grass, or their ability to run fast and escape predators. Such adaptations are produced in a variable population by the better suited forms reproducing more successfully, that is, by [[natural selection]].
The above will be changed, obviously. Note also the large inline <refs> make editing difficult, which in turn lets nonsense writing persist. If we can't come up with some better technical means of separation - all ref tags under their own invisible section maybe - then at least carriage-returns - putting the <ref> on the next line - would work well enough. Still showing up the same in view mode, but the text can actually be readable in edit mode).
Anyway, working on something unsourced like:
In [[biology]], '''adaptation''' is an observed ''effect'' of the process of [[evolution]] —wherein canonical [[organism]]s (species) appear to [[change]] over time to survive more efficiently within their [[habitat]]. The concept of adaptation was developed before the theory of evolution —Lamarck had made some groundbreaking observations which inspired Darwin. "Adaptation" in reality does not refer to changes within individual organisms, but to the canonical form of the species — changes brought about by a process of [[natural selection]]. "Adaptation" in the context of biology, thus is a largely a colloquialism for natural selection.
-Stevertigo Sources available upon request.
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