Natural Laws, Vacant Niches and Superorganisms. A Response to Woodley

Abstract

Woodley ([2007], [2008]) claims that evolution proceeds in a process of lineage degeneration, which, unlike adaptation, is seen as a generally unidirectional and "law-like" tendency. The main evidence given is orthogenesis demonstrated for various lineages. He further claims that ecosystems become "routinely saturated", i.e., ecosystems are not far out of equilibrium. Evidence given is the negative correlation between invasion success and ecosystem diversity, as well as Hubbell’s neutral theory of biogeography and biodiversity, which assumes saturation of communities and has made some correct predictions. Woodley wants to restrict the term vacant niche to cases where regions of unoccupied niche space exist that are "parameterised by but not occupied by surrounding niches". Although he admits that resource space may be "globally unsaturated", it is "locally saturated in places". He insists that convergence is beneficial to ecosystems, since "ecosystems exhibit superorganismal properties and can be considered as complex adaptive systems in their own right." Evidence he mentions is group selection in microbial ecosystems.