Niche construction

Niche construction is the process by which organisms modify their environments in ways that alter selection pressures on themselves and other organisms.

Ecological inheritance: The persistence of organism-modified environmental conditions across generations. Constructed environments can outlast their builders and shape descendants’ selection pressures.
Beaver: A semiaquatic rodent that builds dams and lodges in waterways. Beaver dams create ponds that alter habitats and selection conditions for many species.
Charles Darwin: The naturalist who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin described organisms changing conditions that could affect other organisms’ lives.
Adaptation: An inherited trait shaped by natural selection that improves reproductive success in a particular environment. Adaptation describes organisms changing to environments, while niche construction emphasizes organisms changing environments.
Evolutionary feedback: A process in which evolutionary change alters conditions that subsequently influence further evolution. Niche construction links organismal change to altered selection in a continuing loop.
Earthworm: A segmented soil-dwelling invertebrate that burrows and consumes organic matter. Earthworms change soil structure and nutrient cycling, reshaping conditions for plants and other organisms.
James Hutton: The Scottish geologist whose work established gradual geological change over immense timescales. Hutton’s account of earthworms altering soil became an early example of organisms modifying environments.
Phenotypic plasticity: The capacity of one genotype to produce different phenotypes under different environmental conditions. Plasticity changes organismal traits in response to conditions; niche construction changes conditions themselves.
Natural selection: A change in inherited trait frequencies caused by differences in survival and reproduction. Environmental modifications change which inherited traits affect survival and reproduction.
Termite mound: A structure built by termites that regulates nest conditions and can influence surrounding ecosystems. Termite construction alters local temperature, moisture, and soil conditions.

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