Developmental Evolutionary Biology (Devo-Evo)

The field of evolution and development consists of two main approaches, the first, the evolutionary developmental approach studying changes in development, and the second, the developmental evolutionary approach, studying how developmental properties affect the evolutionary process, thus using a systems-biological approach to integrate development into evolutionary theory. The evolution of development has been covered and conceptualized generously. In contrast, in spite of single highly influential concepts, such as variational modularity or robustness, there are only rare attempts to solidify the conceptual basis of developmental evolutionary biology, or devo-evo. Moreover, the opinions diverge strikingly as to whether there is a distinction between the two at all or whether devo-evo is not the actual core of the field anyhow. The naming and the primacy issues aside, it is argued here for acknowledging a clear distinction between the two approaches, to what I refer to here as evolution and development, for the purpose of clarity. I show that the roots of devo-evo go far back, even to the early years of the Modern Synthesis, and discuss some of the main insights that were necessary to crystalize the approach as an autonomous one. Finally, I outline the agenda of developmental evolutionary biology and its past and future questions.