Promises and limits of an agency perspective in evolutionary developmental biology

Abstract

An agent‐based perspective in the study of complex systems is well established in diverse disciplines, yet is only beginning to be applied to evolutionary developmental biology. In this essay, we begin by defining agency and associated terminology formally. We then explore the assumptions and predictions of an agency perspective, apply these to select processes and key concept areas relevant to practitioners of evolutionary developmental biology, and consider the potential epistemic roles that an agency perspective might play in evo devo. Throughout, we discuss evidence supportive of agential dynamics in biological systems relevant to evo devo and explore where agency thinking may enrich the explanatory reach of research efforts in evolutionary developmental biology.

Agency in Reproduction

“…Some conceptualize maternal scaffolding in rather passive terms, by reducing pregnancy to nutrient provisioning (e.g., Minelli, 2006). In contrast, agential perspectives of developmental niche construction tend to emphasize the reciprocal nature of the organism-environment interaction (Nadolski & Moczek, 2023;Schwab et al, 2017). In this framework, the notions of developmental niche and developmental plasticity meet, allowing us to distinguish "external niche construction" whereby organisms modify their external environmental conditions, from "experiential niche construction" whereby organisms modify themselves in ways that improve the experienced environment (Sultan, 2015).…”

“…However, eutherian pregnancy is a clear case of reciprocal external and experiential niche construction. Both the mother and the embryo simultaneously modify, their own and each other's development, physiology, and behavior in response to new environmental conditions, generating an "affordance landscape" 1 that seems to favor their own goals (Nadolski & Moczek, 2023). On the embryo side, the uterine environment resulting from maternal-embryonal interactions enables the embryo's pursuit of its own development.…”

Agency in living systems

“…Several contributions explicitly explore conceptual affinities between agency theory and common research foci in evolutionary developmental biology. In their paper, Nadolski and Moczek (2023) begin by exploring the terminology, assumptions, and predictions of an agency perspective, and then systematically apply these across levels of biological organization, processes, and key concept areas relevant to practitioners of evolutionary developmental biology, from organ formation, embryogenesis, and metamorphosis to regeneration, symbiosis, plasticity, and niche construction. Building on these insights, the authors then explore where agency thinking may expand the explanatory reach of research efforts aimed at advancing our understanding of the nature of, for example, adaptation, innovation, and evolvability, and how an agency perspective complements, as well as reaches beyond, positions previously articulated by other frameworks such as complex systems theory .…”

“…Working their way across levels of biological organization and complexity, the authors explore the evolutionary significance of basic developmental features such as developmental time and space, regulatory complexity such as signal‐response systems and interaction networks, and higher order agential phenomena such as plasticity and developmental niche construction. In the process, the manuscripts by both Nadolski and Moczek (2023) and Snell‐Rood and Ehlman (2023) highlight important links between the developing phenotype and the internal and external environment within which it is embedded, to which it responds, and which it shapes through its own actions. Recognizing these links in turn permits a fuller inclusion of ecology in evolutionary models, yields a broader recognition of causes in evolution, and highlights areas in evolutionary biology that would benefit from more theoretical attention.…”

The agential perspective: Countermapping the modern synthesis

“…For the purposes of this paper, we hope to present each perspective in sufficient detail to facilitate a comparison. (For a more complete description of the agency perspective, we recommend Jäger, 2021; Nadolski & Moczek, 2023; Sultan et al, 2022; Walsh, 2015).…”