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A metric for the study of evolutionary trends in the complexity of serial structures

Publication ,  Journal Article
McSHEA, DW
Published in: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
January 1, 1992

Little empirical work has been done to see what sort of patterns of change in morphological complexity occur in evolution, mainly because the complexity of whole organisms has been so hard to define and to measure. For serial structures within organisms, there are fewer difficulties; this paper introduces a set of complexity metrics that are designed especially for serial structures, and then explores some of the properties of the new metrics. Also, a principle proposed in the last century by Herbert Spencer, and offered recently in a new form by the thermodynamic school of evolutionary thought, predicts that complexity should increase in evolution as a consequence of the accumulation of perturbations. Here, simulations in which perturbations are introduced to ideal and real series of vertebral measurements show how the complexity increase predicted by Spencer's principle would be captured by the new metrics. Copyright © 1992, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved

Duke Scholars

Published In

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

DOI

EISSN

1095-8312

ISSN

0024-4066

Publication Date

January 1, 1992

Volume

45

Issue

1

Start / End Page

39 / 55

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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McSHEA, D. W. (1992). A metric for the study of evolutionary trends in the complexity of serial structures. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 45(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1992.tb00630.x
McSHEA, D. W. “A metric for the study of evolutionary trends in the complexity of serial structures.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 45, no. 1 (January 1, 1992): 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1992.tb00630.x.
McSHEA DW. A metric for the study of evolutionary trends in the complexity of serial structures. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 1992 Jan 1;45(1):39–55.
McSHEA, D. W. “A metric for the study of evolutionary trends in the complexity of serial structures.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 45, no. 1, Jan. 1992, pp. 39–55. Scopus, doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1992.tb00630.x.
McSHEA DW. A metric for the study of evolutionary trends in the complexity of serial structures. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 1992 Jan 1;45(1):39–55.
Journal cover image

Published In

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

DOI

EISSN

1095-8312

ISSN

0024-4066

Publication Date

January 1, 1992

Volume

45

Issue

1

Start / End Page

39 / 55

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 06 Biological Sciences