The Elvis paradox

摘要

Evidence for a universal driver of evolution across all timescales could mean that the venerable paradox of stasis is dead. But even with such evidence, some biologists would be reluctant to accept its passing. Disagreement has long swirled around the relative importance of various forces that might drive evolution on timescales ranging from dozens to millions of generations. Writing in The American Naturalist, Estes and Arnold offer a provocative contribution to this debate: they propose that evolutionary changes on all timescales might be explained by a single, simple model of adaptation.