Contingency and Convergence in Evolutionary Biology

Contingency in evolutionary biology highlights the profound impact of small changes on the course of evolution, such as the asteroid that led to the extinction of dinosaurs and the rise of mammals. A slight delay in the asteroid's impact could have altered the entire evolutionary path. Convergence, on the other hand, emphasizes the regulatory order in evolution where certain traits prevail due to their effectiveness. For instance, the remarkable similarity between human and octopus eyes despite 400 million years of evolutionary divergence showcases the concept of convergence in evolutionary biology.

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