is there a difference between evolution of morphology and evolution of behaviour? any ideas?

what is morphology? If you mean anatomy, then I would say I think they run hand in hand, not really a difference.

 

For example:

Organism need: Food seeking/Predator evade/and procreation.

Anatomy Requirment: Locomotion, thus anatomical adaptation for locomotion.

Behavior: Control of anatomy, in order to seek food, evade predators, and procreate.

 

 

I went to a lecture (actually many of his) where this was elegantly discussed by Rodolfo Llinas, MD, PhD, chair dept. of Neurosci at NYU School of Med. In an introduction to one his amazing lectures, he discussed (or philosophised..which he can do because he is a renouned neuroscientist in field of conscienous) the need for "a brain" to a general non-physician, non-scientist audience (fund raiser with multimillioners). As example he discussed a type of marine animal, that when it is first born, that has eyes and a rather simple central nervous system (of which eye are apart of by the way) so that it can move its appendages and seek food, and find a location where it will "morph" or change into a creature that does not move and gathers its food from the surrounding enviroment (the adult stage). The adult stage does not resemble its young since its eyes and more complex CNS are substituted for a more simpler nervous system, no need for locomotion anymore.

 

I don't do justice to the elegance of his talk, but the point is there can be a link, and obviously with that organism (i can't remember what its called) between anatomy and behavior within its own life cycle.

 

You can apply the same for fruit flys! When they are young they are larva with the their locomotion coming from the muscles bound to the inner walls of its exoskeleton (P.S. this larva nervous system is model system used by scientist to study neurodevelopment). Although, when they morph into flys, they have complex eys, and wing structures, and legs, the help them perform their new way of locomotion...flying! So, their nervous system has to adapt to provide the "behavior" for the wings and legs and eyes and brain to coordinate activity.

 

I won't go into mechanism here, suffice to say there is a complex interaction between spatially and temporally controlled gene expression underlie the life cycle transitions. For the more curious, type "imaginal discs" into google along with dpp, hedgehog, notch, delta, serrate, wingless, toll, dishevled, smoothen, and the like..... and have fun!

There are some instances eg in courtship behaviour where the behaviour appears to have derived from other behaviours, for example courtship behaviour in birds often uses wing flapping which derive from flying. In this instance the behaviour has evolved for courtship wheras the morphology was already in place. Are there any other examples of this?

There are some instances eg in courtship behaviour where the behaviour appears to have derived from other behaviours, for example courtship behaviour in birds often uses wing flapping which derive from flying. In this instance the behaviour has evolved for courtship wheras the morphology was already in place. Are there any other examples of this?

 

Tons of them. Birds fluffing it's feathers to appear bigger and scare of predators, for example.

so in those cases behaviour can evolve using morphology that already exists.

Behaviour is sometimes described as a morphological character.... is behaviour just another morphology?

Behaviour is sometimes described as a morphological character.... is behaviour just another morphology?

 

Simple behaviors such as plants growing toward light can be encoded in DNA. More complex behaviors such as stalking prey or using tools cannot be encoded in DNA. DNA has a lot of capacity, but not as much as a brain. Those complex behaviors must be acquired, not inherited. Complex behaviors appear to follow Baldwinian evolution, a blend between the discredited Lamarckian evolution and Darwinian evolution.

 

Teaching non-inherited behaviors is the job of parents and the group. For example, lions give live playthings to their cubs so the cubs can learn to how to hunt and how to kill. Abandoned domestic cats often die of starvation because they have never been taught how to be a predator. An abandoned domestic cat has all of the morphological characteristics needed to be a predator and has the ability to learn how to be a predator, both acquired through Darwinian evolution. The cat starves to death because lacks the predatory behaviors that cannot be acquired through Darwinian evolution alone.