Self-Organizing Mechanisms in Morphogenesis and Evolution

Summary

In the framework of morphodynamics (new term) self-organizing processes in the form of mechanical regulation and synergetic pattern formation are important elements of developmental and evolutionary transformation. Generally available mechanisms may first be randomly adopted and then become tamed by selection towards specific internal and external functions. Even in the well-adapted state, however, the autonomy of such processes is expressed by teratological cases and the unpredictability in details that do not infringe on fitness. The synergetic model also applies to systems in which a symbiotic partner, rather than a physical mechanism, has become adopted.