Are critical phenomena relevantfor large scale evolution?
Ricard V. Solé and JordiBascompte
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London , 263: 161-168.
ABSTRACT: Recent theoreticalstudies, based on the theory of self-organized critical systems, seem tosuggest that the dynamical patterns of macroevolution could belong to suchclass of critical phenomena. Two basic approaches have been proposed: theKauffman-Johnsen model (based on the use of coupled fitness landscapes)and the Bak-Sneppen model. Both are reviewed here. These models are oversimplifiedpictures of biological evolution, but the (possible) validity of them isbased on the concept of universality, i.e., that apparently very differentsystems sharing some few common properties should also behave in a verysimilar way. In this paper we explore the current evidence from the fossilrecord, showing that some properties that are suggestive of critical dynamicswould also be the result of random phenomena. Some general properties ofthe large-scale pattern of evolution, which should be reproduced by thesemodels, are discussed.
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