| 单词 |
preadaptation |
| 释义 |
preadapˈtation
[pre- A. 2.]
Adaptation beforehand; spec. in Biol. [tr. F. préadaptation (L. Cuénot La Genèse des Espèces Animales (1911) iv. 306)], the possession or acquisition by an organism of heritable features which adapt it to an environment or mode of life which only later becomes available to it.
1886J. Ward in Encycl. Brit. XX. 73/1 The movements are only more definite than those simply expressive of pain because of inherited pre-adaptation. 1915Eugenics Rev. VII. 56 Versatility is an attempt at universal preadaptation, indeed at complete independence of particular circumstances. 1934Biol. Abstr. VIII. 289/2 ‘Preadaptation’: the occupation of empty regions is made by neighbouring spp. already prepared in the sense of having a necessary and sufficient adaptation. 1942Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 144 Wear the special pre-adaptation goggles which will provide you with your hour's synthetic night before you tackle the real one. 1953G. G. Simpson Major Features Evol. vi. 188 The term ‘preadaptation’ has been applied to a great variety of real or supposed evolutionary phenomena, from the appearance of a small mutation with selective value in the population in which it occurs to the sudden appearance of a form monstrous in its parental population but miraculously, one might almost say, adapted to some quite different way of life. 1978Sci. Amer. Sept. 51/1 If a favored mutation does appear, it can be viewed as exhibiting a ‘preadaptation’ to that particular environment: it did not arise as an adaptive response but rather proved to be adaptive after it appeared.
Hence preadapˈtational a., pertaining to or characterized by preadaptation.
1940R. Goldschmidt Material Basis Evol. iii. 151 A return of the subspecies at one extreme end toward the starting point could only be accomplished by retracing the steps of preadaptational mutation to its original condition. 1944G. G. Simpson Tempo & Mode in Evol. vi. 188 The field naturalist..is not likely to be satisfied in such cases with the preadaptational axiom that animals enter a new environment simply because they can. |
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