XXVI.4.1 The rate of anagenetic changes can be measured on the basis of quantitative and qualitative traits, as well as on the basis of the rate at which species or higher taxa emerge and disappear

There are, in principle, several different ways in which the rate of evolutionary processes can be measured.For anagenetic changes relating to quantitative traits, a change in the magnitude of the particular trait in time can be measured.For qualitative traits, the number of new traits (new evolutionary features) that emerged in the particular line over a certain time interval can be measured.It is also possible to directly measure the number of new species that emerge within a particular line, or the number of species that disappear, over a certain time interval.

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The classical Darwinian theory of evolution can explain the evolution of adaptive traits only in asexual organisms. The frozen plasticity theory is much more general: It can also explain the origin and evolution of adaptive traits in both asexual and sexual organisms Read more
Draft translation from: Evoluční biologie, 2. vydání (Evolutionary biology, 2nd edition), J. Flegr, Academia Prague 2009. The translation was not done by biologist, therefore any suggestion concerning proper scientific terminology and language usage are highly welcomed. You can send your comments to flegratcesnet [dot] cz. Thank you.