the race for evolutionary success种族进化成功.pdfVIP

Sustainability 2012, 4, 1787-1805; doi:10.3390/su4081787 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article The Race for Evolutionary Success Bruce Tonn 1,* and Dorian Stiefel 2 1 Department of Political Science, University of Tennessee—Knoxville, McClung Tower, Room 1018, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA 2 Department of Political Science, University of Tennessee—Knoxville, McClung Tower, Room 1001, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; E-Mail: dori@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: btonn@; Tel.: +1-865-974-7041; Fax: +1-865-974-7037. Received: 4 July 2012; in revised form: 25 July 2012 / Accepted: 8 August 2012 / Published: 14 August 2012 Abstract: The Earth appears to be at the beginning of sixth massive species extinction. This paper balances a review of the forces threatening species survival with a comprehensive scan of factors that could act as counterweights. These factors could lead to four types of evolution—cultural, regulatory, ecological, and technological—that could individually or in combination avert massive species extinction if humans implement solutions faster than new problems arise. Implications and future research opportunities are also explored. Keywords: environmental scanning; extinction; evolution; cultural evolution; behavioral evolution; regulatory evolution; policy evolution; ecological evolution; biological evol