Networked buffering: a basic mechanism for distributed robustness in complex adaptive systems

Whitacre, James M.; Bender, Axel

doi:10.1186/1742-4682-7-20

Cited by 43 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…A network of multi-functional agents that are similar in some but not all functions is termed functionally degenerate, rather than strictly redundant (Whitacre and Bender, 2010). In such a system (whether in engineering, management or biology), the network provides a buffer against disturbance beyond the portfolio effect, as alternative pathways with different combinations of agents can be recruited to fulfill specific functions.…”

Section: Stabilizing Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics in microbial communities: unraveling mechanisms to identify principles

2014

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Diversity begets higher-order properties such as functional stability and robustness in microbial communities, but principles that inform conceptual (and eventually predictive) models of community dynamics are lacking. Recent work has shown that selection as well as dispersal and drift shape communities, but the mechanistic bases for assembly of communities and the forces that maintain their function in the face of environmental perturbation are not well understood. Conceptually, some interactions among community members could generate endogenous dynamics in composition, even in the absence of environmental changes. These endogenous dynamics are further perturbed by exogenous forcing factors to produce a richer network of community interactions and it is this 'system' that is the basis for higher-order community properties. Elucidation of principles that follow from this conceptual model requires identifying the mechanisms that (a) optimize diversity within a community and (b) impart community stability. The network of interactions between organisms can be an important element by providing a buffer against disturbance beyond the effect of functional redundancy, as alternative pathways with different combinations of microbes can be recruited to fulfill specific functions.

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Section: Stabilizing Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics in microbial communities: unraveling mechanisms to identify principles

2014

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“…37 Such buffering mechanisms can include positive and negative feedbacks, modularity, and redundancy. [36][37][38][39] Thus, if personality variation arises as a consequence of selection for greater stability of behavior, we should observe evidence of these types of buffering mechanisms in the neuroendocrine components that underlie personality variation. Yet, despite intrinsic flexibility in biological systems, developmental processes must still obey the laws of physics and this can set an upper limit to phenotypic flexibility.…”

Section: Limits To Behavioral Flexibility: Insights From Principles Omentioning

confidence: 96%

Neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying behavioral stability: implications for the evolutionary origin of personality

Duckworth

2015

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Personality traits are behaviors that show limited flexibility over time and across contexts, and thus understanding their origin requires an understanding of what limits behavioral flexibility. Here, I suggest that insight into the evolutionary origin of personality traits requires determining the relative importance of selection and constraint in producing limits to behavioral flexibility. Natural selection as the primary cause of limits to behavioral flexibility assumes that the default state of behavior is one of high flexibility and predicts that personality variation arises through evolution of buffering mechanisms to stabilize behavioral expression, whereas the constraint hypothesis assumes that the default state is one of limited flexibility and predicts that the neuroendocrine components that underlie personality variation are those most constrained in flexibility. Using recent work on the neurobiology of sensitive periods and maternal programming of offspring behavior, I show that some of the most stable aspects of the neuroendocrine system are structural components and maternally induced epigenetic effects. Evidence of numerous constraints to changes in structural features of the neuroendocrine system and far fewer constraints to flexibility of epigenetic systems suggests that structural constraints play a primary role in the origin of behavioral stability and that epigenetic programming may be more important in generating adaptive variation among individuals.

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“…25 See Wagner & Altenberg (1996). 26 See Edelman & Gally (2001), Von Dassow et al (2000), and Whitacre & Bender (2010). 27 This is discussed with particular examples in Müller &Newman (1999), andMüller (2003).…”

Section: The Evolution Of Essentialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aristotelian essentialism: essence in the age of evolution

Austin

2016

Synthese

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The advent of contemporary evolutionary theory ushered in the eventual decline of Aristotelian Essentialism (AE) -for it is widely assumed that essence does not, and cannot have any proper place in the age of evolution. This paper argues that this assumption is a mistake: if AE can be suitably evolved, it need not face extinction. In it, I claim that if that theory"s fundamental ontology consists of dispositional properties, and if its characteristic metaphysical machinery is interpreted within the framework of contemporary evolutionary developmental biology, an evolved essentialism is available. The reformulated theory of AE offered in this paper not only fails to fall prey to the typical collection of criticisms, but is also independently both theoretically and empirically plausible. The paper contends that, properly understood, essence belongs in the age of evolution.Within contemporary philosophy of biology, there is perhaps no greater maligned theory than Aristotelian Essentialism (AE). Now that the rosy dawn of Aristotelian metaphysics has faded into twilight 1 , citing the essence of an organism as an explanatory principle is indicative either of a rather hopeless scientific naiveté or else a dogmatic entrenchment in scholasticism. It is generally agreed that the sun set upon AE for a simple, yet powerful reason: the advent of evolutionary theory. According to the implications of that theory, kind-essences are an ontological superfluity which the world not only has no need of, but simply cannot countenance. However, evolutionary theory has recently had its own paradigm shift, ushered in with the rise of the union between it and developmental theory. With its increasing emphasis on modular, structural explanations of morphological novelty and variation, evolutionary developmental biology (evodevo) has arguably prompted a substantial reshaping of our understanding of the very nature of biological individuals. In light of this reformation, the question naturally arises: what is it to be the what-it-is-to-be of an organism? In what follows, I suggest that the answer to that question is one best interpreted within the ontological framework of AE. I contend that, properly understood, essence belongs in the age of evolution. Aristotelian Essentialism vs. Evolution First things first: what exactly is AE?One can find many distinct (though often overlapping) definitions in the literature, but here, for the sake of simplicity, and without wishing to rehearse decades of debate, I focus on a simple three-point definition. An Aristotelian essence is (a) comprised of a natural set of intrinsic properties which (b) constitute generative mechanisms for particularised morphological development which (c) are shared among groups of organisms, delineating them as members of the same "kind". Regarding (a), the set of properties that comprise an essence and define a natural kind cannot be extrinsic, or relational properties -abstract properties of phylogenetic lineage or interbreeding relations, etc. -and their being a ...

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Networked buffering: a basic mechanism for distributed robustness in complex adaptive systems

Cited by 43 publications

References 85 publications

Dynamics in microbial communities: unraveling mechanisms to identify principles

Dynamics in microbial communities: unraveling mechanisms to identify principles

Neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying behavioral stability: implications for the evolutionary origin of personality

Aristotelian essentialism: essence in the age of evolution

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