Synthesizing foundations in evolutionary morphology and a plea for conceptual explicitness regarding homology concepts

IF 2.4 3区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Pub Date : 2024-04-22 DOI:10.3389/fevo.2024.1343346

Torben Göpel

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Abstract

Morphology, the scientific discipline dealing with description and comparison of organismal form, is one of the oldest disciplines in biology and traditionally strongly linked to the concept of homology. With morphological data being used and morphological knowledge being applied in other (younger) biological disciplines, morphology has often been degraded to an only auxiliary discipline or a mere set of methods serving those other disciplines. While this notion has been wrong all along, the last decades have seen a renaissance of morphology mostly due to significant leaps in imaging techniques and the advent of 3D digital data. Modern large-scale morphological endeavors in what is called phenomics and new means of functional analyses underline the fruitfulness of morphological research. Furthermore, morphology has been revisited on a conceptual level leading to a “re-philosophication” of morphology acknowledging its nature as explanatory science. Based on Richter and Wirkner’s research program of Evolutionary Morphology, this essay expands the conceptual framework to identify entities and processes vital for morphology as independent scientific discipline. With no unified homology concept in sight (and maybe not even desired), following the emergence of bio-ontologies in morphology, a plea is made for conceptual explicitness which acknowledges the plurality of homology concepts but enables intersubjective transfer.

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综合进化形态学基础，呼吁明确同源概念

形态学是一门描述和比较生物体形态的科学学科，是生物学中最古老的学科之一，传统上与同源性概念密切相关。随着形态学数据和形态学知识在其他（更年轻的）生物学科中的应用，形态学常常被降格为一门辅助学科，或仅仅是为其他学科服务的一套方法。虽然这种观念一直以来都是错误的，但在过去几十年中，形态学的复兴主要归功于成像技术的重大飞跃和三维数字数据的出现。被称为表型组学的现代大规模形态学研究和新的功能分析手段凸显了形态学研究的丰硕成果。此外，形态学还在概念层面上得到了重新审视，导致了形态学的 "再哲学化"，承认了形态学作为解释科学的性质。本文以里希特（Richter）和维尔克纳（Wirkner）的 "进化形态学"（Evolutionary Morphology）研究计划为基础，扩展了概念框架，以确定形态学作为独立科学学科所必需的实体和过程。随着形态学中生物本体论的出现，目前还没有统一的同源概念（也许甚至不需要），因此本文呼吁明确概念，承认同源概念的多元性，并实现主体间的转换。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Environmental Science-Ecology

CiteScore

4.00

自引率

6.70%

发文量

1143

审稿时长

12 weeks

期刊介绍： Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research across fundamental and applied sciences, to provide ecological and evolutionary insights into our natural and anthropogenic world, and how it should best be managed. Field Chief Editor Mark A. Elgar at the University of Melbourne is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international researchers. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics and the public worldwide. Eminent biologist and theist Theodosius Dobzhansky’s astute observation that “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” has arguably even broader relevance now than when it was first penned in The American Biology Teacher in 1973. One could similarly argue that not much in evolution makes sense without recourse to ecological concepts: understanding diversity — from microbial adaptations to species assemblages — requires insights from both ecological and evolutionary disciplines. Nowadays, technological developments from other fields allow us to address unprecedented ecological and evolutionary questions of astonishing detail, impressive breadth and compelling inference. The specialty sections of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution will publish, under a single platform, contemporary, rigorous research, reviews, opinions, and commentaries that cover the spectrum of ecological and evolutionary inquiry, both fundamental and applied. Articles are peer-reviewed according to the Frontiers review guidelines, which evaluate manuscripts on objective editorial criteria. Through this unique, Frontiers platform for open-access publishing and research networking, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution aims to provide colleagues and the broader community with ecological and evolutionary insights into our natural and anthropogenic world, and how it might best be managed.