Construct · 1 fields · 1 citations

spandrel: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a standalone construct Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
spandrel1 CONSTRUCTEvolutionary spandrelGOULD & LEWONTIN · 1979

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Evolutionary biology

A trait that is a byproduct, not an adaptation

In evolutionary biology a spandrel is a trait that exists as a structural byproduct of some other feature rather than as a direct product of natural selection, so that reading every trait as an adaptation mistakes a side effect for a purpose. Gould and Lewontin's The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm borrowed the architectural term on purpose: just as the triangular spandrel is forced by mounting a dome on arches, many biological features are forced byproducts of other constraints. It is the same construct, a leftover that necessarily accompanies a chosen structure, transposed from buildings to organisms.[1]

Unit
The presence of a trait arising as a byproduct of another feature
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Argued by showing a trait follows from structural or developmental constraint rather than selection for it

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Nearby constructs

adaptation5 fields · 7 citationsjingle · one word, five constructsarch1 fields · 2 citationsanchor · a standalone constructarchitecture3 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, three constructs

References

  1. Gould, S. J., & Lewontin, R. C. (1979). The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 205(1161), 581–598. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1979.0086

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