Editing Exaptation (section)

{{Short description|Function of trait, shifted by evolution}}
'''Exaptation''' or '''co-option''' is a shift in the [[Function (biology)|function]] of a trait during [[evolution]]. For example, a trait can evolve because it served one particular function, but subsequently it may come to serve another. Exaptations are common in both anatomy and behaviour.

Bird feathers are a classic example. Initially they may have evolved for temperature regulation, but later were adapted for flight. When feathers were first used to aid in flight, that was an exaptive use. They have since then been shaped by natural selection to improve flight, so in their current state they are best regarded as adaptations for flight. So it is with many structures that initially took on a function as an exaptation: once molded for a new function, they become further adapted for that function.

Interest in exaptation relates to both the process and products of evolution: the process that creates [[complex traits]] and the products (functions, anatomical structures, biochemicals, etc.) that may be imperfectly developed.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.2307/2405873 | author=Bock, W.J. | title=Preadaptation and multiple evolutionary pathways | journal=Evolution | year=1959 | volume=13 | issue=2 | pages=194–211 | jstor=2405873 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hayden |first1=Eric J. |last2=Ferrada |first2=Evandro |last3=Wagner |first3=Andreas |title=Cryptic genetic variation promotes rapid evolutionary adaptation in an RNA enzyme |journal=Nature |date=2 June 2011 |volume=474 |issue=7349 |pages=92–95 |doi=10.1038/nature10083 |pmid=21637259 |s2cid=4390213 |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/59818/1/Hayden_Ferrada_Wagner_cryptic_Nature_revised.pdf }}</ref> The term "exaptation" was proposed by [[Stephen Jay Gould]] and [[Elisabeth Vrba]] as a replacement for "'''pre-adaptation'''", which they considered to be a [[teleology in biology|teleologically]] loaded term{{sfn|Gould|Vrba|1982}} (i.e., it falsely implies that adaptation, or evolution generally, acts in pursuit of some goal).