Evolutionary mechanisms

[Forests]

Hello,

I recently have been reading a lot of books on evolution and I have discovered many evolutionary mechanisms that are not usually discussed on internet forums. When we see talks on forums about evolution or other websites etc usually only natural selection, mutations or genetic drift is discussed as the mechanisms that cause evolution. But what if these mechanisms are not actually driving evolution? What if other mechanisms/processes are just as important or more important?

Here is a list of the mechanisms/processes I have found:


gene flow, genetic draft, genetic hitchhiking, horizontal gene transfer, endosymbiosis, symbiogenesis, paleopolyploidy (genome duplications), group selection, internal selection, kin selection, social selection, somatic Selection, autoevolution, molecular drive, niche construction, saltationism, self-organization, epigenetics, Semiotics, hybridization, natural genetic engineering, orthogenesis, nomogenesis, hopeful monsters, directed mutagenesis, morphogenetic fields, transposable element (jumping genes), hox genes, controlling elements, Phenotypic plasticity, Quantum evolution etc

Any opinions about any of these?

[Luxorien]

I think it would be cool if these things got more press, because they are really interesting, but natural selection remains the primary engine of evolution.

[pathologicalliar]

Natural selection is probably one of the primary driving forces of evolution, but all the other mechanisms that you mentioned are also very important. it is difficult to say what is the most important driving force since i think that is situational.

correct me if i am wrong, but natural selection is more of a directed process where external conditions allow for random mutations in a a species genome to be selected for. the mutations might be random, but the selection is not.

some of the other mechanisms that you mentioned (genetic drift, hitchhiking) are random and may come to fixation in a population due to pure chance.

[jinx25]

People do not seem to realize there is no source of bulk amounts of NEW genetic information. Mutations you say? Hospitals are full of people with mutation (cancer, disease, sickness, death etc etc) Natural selection can only act on whats available and REDUCES genetic variation. Neodarwinian 'theory' (misnomer-once can only theorize about how something works AFTER it has been observed, it is an untestable conjecture/hypothesis) fulfills all the criteria of a pseudoscience AND THEN SOME.