evolutionary biology

noun

Updated on: 25 May 2018

Definition of evolutionary biology

: a discipline of biology concerned with the processes and patterns of biological evolution especially in relation to the diversity of organisms and how they change over time

Speciation still remains one of the biggest mysteries in evolutionary biology.
—Bob Holmes

— see evolutionary developmental biology

—

evolutionary biologist

noun

Recent Examples of evolutionary biology from the Web

Positive psychology involves a complex mixture of Eastern religions, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, behavioral economics, and more.

— daniel horowitz, BostonGlobe.com, "In the worst human traumas, psychologists found the roots of happiness," 6 May 2018
Ross’s proof starts off relying on fossils in museums, books and articles on evolutionary biology, and so on.

— nikk effingham, Vox, "How to argue with flat earthers," 28 Apr. 2018
Indonesian divers have evolved bigger spleens to hunt underwater Some of the most exciting recent discoveries in evolutionary biology have shown how humans adapted to extreme conditions like living at high altitude.

— katie langin, Science | AAAS, "Top stories: superhuman divers, #MeToo allegations at Salk, and post-war science in Colombia," 27 Apr. 2018
The orthodoxy in evolutionary biology is that selection acts mostly within groups, with between-group selection reserved only for very special cases.

— jordana cepelewicz, Scientific American, "The Elusive Calculus of Insect Altruism," 26 Apr. 2018
Some of the most exciting discoveries in evolutionary biology in recent years have shown how humans have adapted to extreme conditions, such as living at high altitude.

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Indonesian divers have evolved bigger spleens to hunt underwater," 19 Apr. 2018
Burgio is a postdoctoral fellow in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.

— kevin r. burgio, Washington Post, "The mysterious and tragic story of the Carolina parakeet, America’s only native parrot," 31 Mar. 2018
Which is exactly what’s on the horizon for Potts, and for paleogeologists like Andrew Cohen, a professor of geosciences, ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona who has worked with Potts in the past.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "Colored Pigments and Complex Tools Suggest Humans Were Trading 100,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Believed," 16 Mar. 2018
Quantifying Kindness Altruism has long been a subject for debate in evolutionary biology, going back to Darwin and On the Origin of Species.

— nick lunn, National Geographic, "Animals, Like Wasps, Become More Altruistic in Changing Environments," 7 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'evolutionary biology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of evolutionary biology

1876

in the meaning defined above

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evolutionary biology

Definition of evolutionary biology

evolutionary biologist

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evolutionary biology

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evolutionary biologist

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