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Chapter 9: Problem 11

What is the hypothesis of symmorphosis? How might you evaluate or test the hypothesis?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Symmorphosis is the hypothesis that the design of an organism's body structures are just sufficient to meet its functional needs, ensuring efficient use of resources. To test this, you could compare the respiratory systems of animals from different environments, looking for variations in lung capacity that correspond to the oxygen availability in those environments.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Symmorphosis

Symmorphosis is a hypothesis in evolutionary biology that proposes the idea that an animal's body structures, specifically its systems and organs, are sized appropriately to meet its functional needs. In essence, an animal does not possess any more system capacity than is necessary for its lifestyle, ensuring an efficient use of resources in its body.
02

Illustrating a Simple Example

For instance, consider a bird, that spends less energy on its respiratory system than a mammal, like a human, because the bird needs less oxygen. That's how each animal's body is efficient for its own way of life.
03

Testing the Symmorphosis Hypothesis

To test this hypothesis, one could compare the physiological structures and functions of different species that live in different environmental conditions. For example, comparing the lung capacity of a mammal that lives in a region with low oxygen levels to one that lives in a region with high oxygen levels. The hypothesis of symmorphosis would suggest that the mammal from the low oxygen region would have a larger lung capacity, as it needs to extract more oxygen from its environment to survive.

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