ABSTRACT
See period: activity period. ♦ activity range See 3range: activity range. ♦ actophile See 1-phile: actophile. ♦ actualism n. The principle “that the same causes (physical laws) have operated throughout geological time, since the immanent characteristics of the world have always remained the same” (Mayr 1982, 377). cf. 3theory: uniformitarianism Comment: According to Lyell (1830-1833), it is legitimate to “attempt to explain the former changes of the
earth’s surface by reference to causes now in operation” (Mayr 1982, 377). ♦ acyclic See cyclic: acyclic. ♦ ad hoc adaptations See habit (def. 3). ♦ ad hoc mimicry See mimicry: ad hoc mimicry. ♦ ad libitum sampling See sampling technique: ad libitum sampling. ♦ adaptability See 3adaptation: 2physiological adaptation. ♦ 1adaptation See habituation; learning: habituation. ♦ 2adaptation n. “Reproduction of anything modified to suit new uses” (Oxford English Dictionary 1972, entries starting with Darwin 1859). [Latin adaptare, to fit] ♦ 3adaptation n. Comments: “Adaptation” with, or without, adjectives, is used to refer to both physiological and evolutionary processes as well as the results (organism characters) of these processes; in addition “adaptation” is a kind of learning. Confusion arises because many of these concepts are often simply called
“adaptation” without modifying adjectives and some of the concepts have several synonyms. See 2evolution: adaptation. cf. study of: teleonomy; trend 1evolutionary adaptation, adaptation n.
