Inevitable evolution: back to the origin and beyond the 20th century paradigm of contingent evolution by historical natural selection

Since neo-Darwinism arose from the work of Darwin and Mendel evolution by natural selection has been seen as contingent and historical being defined by an a posteriori selection process with no a priori laws that explain why evolution on Earth has taken the direction of the major evolutionary trends and transitions instead of any other direction. Recently, however, major life-history trends and transitions have been explained as inevitable because of a deterministic selection that unfolds from the energetic state of the organism and the density-dependent competitive interactions that arise from self-replication in limited environments. I describe differences and similarities between the historical and deterministic selection processes, illustrate concepts using life-history models on large body masses and limited reproductive rates, review life-history evolution with a wider focus on major evolutionary transitions, and propose that biotic evolution is driven by a universal natural selection where the long-term evolution of fitness-related traits is determined mainly by deterministic selection, while contingency is important predominately for neutral traits. Given suitable environmental conditions, it is shown that selection by energetic state and density-dependent competitive interactions unfolds to higher level selection for life-history transitions from simple asexually reproducing self-replicators to large bodied organisms with senescence and sexual reproduction between males and females, and in some cases, to the fully evolved eusocial colony with thousands of offspring workers. This defines an evolutionary arrow of time for open thermodynamic systems with a constant inflow of energy, predicting similar routes for long-term evolution on similar planets.     

Immature mosquitoes in agricultural wetlands of the coastal plain of Georgia,U.S.A.: Effects of landscape and environmental habitat characteristics

This study is the first to report on the relationships between immature mosquitoes (larvae and pupae) and landscape and environmental habitat characteristics in wetlands associated with row crop agriculture. Indicator species analysis (ISA) was used to test for associations among mosquito species and groups of wetland sites with similar Landscape Development Intensity (LDI) values. Results indicated that Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Culex erraticus, and Psorophora columbiae were associated with agricultural wetlands (LDI > 2.0), whereas Anopheles crucians and Culex territans were associated with forested reference wetlands (LDI < 2.0) in both wet and dry years. The species fidelity to wetland type, regardless of the hydrologic regime, demonstrates these species are robust indicators of wetland condition. Data on immature mosquito assemblages were compared to selected landscape and environmental habitat variables using Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC_c) model selection. LDI indices, dissolved oxygen concentration, the proportion of emergent vegetation, and the proportion of bare ground in wetlands were important factors associated with the selected mosquito species. These results indicate that LDI indices are useful in predicting the distributions of disease vectors or other nuisance mosquito species across broad geographic areas. Additionally, these results suggest mosquitoes are valuable bioindicators of wetland condition that reflect land use and hydrologic variability.     

The relationship between maternal characteristics, birth weight and pre-term delivery: evidence from Germany at the end of the 20th century

Using data from a sample of German women, this paper analyzes the relationship between maternal characteristics and infants' birth weight and pre-term delivery. Besides typical epidemiological factors that influence the weight of infants, such as the gestational age and maternal BMI at the beginning of the pregnancy, we find a West--East gradient. Within West Germany, there is a small North-South gradient in birth weight, with larger birth weights in the north. Better educated mothers give birth to heavier babies and have a somewhat decreased risk of pre-term delivery. Income plays a minor role, while occupational status is not associated with the weight of infants at all.