Andy Gardner fitness & adaptation Essay due before 5pm Wed 3rd Feb. Email an electronic copy to andy.gardner@zoo.ox.ac.uk or drop a hardcopy into my office (Zoology E13). What is fitness, and how is the concept used in evolutionary biology? "Fitness is a bugger!" J.B.S. Haldane Fitness is a central concept in evolutionary biology, but causes endless confusion. Describe the different ways in which the term "fitness" has been employed, and discuss its usefulness in contemporary evolutionary thinking. (~1,500 words) Suggested reading Dawkins, R. 1982. The extended phenotype. Oxford University Press. Chapter 10, "An agony in five fits". Beatty, J. 1992. Fitness: theoretical contexts. In: "Keywords in evolutionary biology", Keller & Lloyd (eds.) pp115-119. Keller, E.F. 1992. Fitness: reproductive ambiguities. In: "Keywords in evolutionary biology", Keller & Lloyd (eds.) pp120-121. Paul, R. 1992. Fitness: historical perspectives. In: "Keywords in evolutionary biology", Keller & Lloyd (eds.) pp112-114. As preparation for the tutorial, have a look at: Gardner A (2009) Adaptation as organism design. Biology Letters 5, 861-864. Gardner A (2008) The Price equation. Current Biology 18, R198-R202.