In evolutionary theory, an evolutionary landscape (or fitness landscape) refers to a multidimensional parameter space that organisms (or arguably, individual cells or even whole clades) occupy. The ordinate (or 'y') axis is usually taken to be the fitness of the entity in question; the landscape may be described as 'flat' if most changes in the immediate mutational neighbourhood are of negligible effect on fitness. This (rare) situation is interpreted to mean that the organism in question is not under any form of selection. On the other hand, an organism that is well or poorly adapted can be thought of as inhabiting a local peak or trough respectively.
Evolutionary landscapes provide a useful cognitive tool for visualising the consequences of evolution on entities of a system, commonly in the form of fitness landscapes; however actual visualisation of real organisms' fitness landscapes is fraught with difficulties, not least due to the problems inherent in visualising many dimensions at once.
Famous quotes containing the words evolutionary and/or landscape:
“The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.”
—Stanley Weiser, U.S. screenwriter, and Oliver Stone. Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas)
“While the focus in the landscape of Old World cities was commonly government structures, churches, or the residences of rulers, the landscape and the skyline of American cities have boasted their hotels, department stores, office buildings, apartments, and skyscrapers. In this grandeur, Americans have expressed their Booster Pride, their hopes for visitors and new settlers, and customers, for thriving commerce and industry.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)