comparative method

The topic comparative method is discussed in the following articles:


  • TITLE: adaptation (biology and physiology)
    The comparative method, using comparisons across species that have evolved independently, is an effective means for studying historical and physical constraints. This approach involves using statistical methods to account for differences in size (allometry) and evolutionary trees (phylogenies) for tracing trait evolution among lineages.

animal behaviour studies

  • TITLE: animal behaviour
    SECTION: Adaptive design
    A second way of studying the adaptive design of a behaviour is what Darwin called the comparative method, which takes advantage of the thousands of “natural experiments” that have occurred over evolutionary time (that is, throughout the formation of new species and the evolution of their special characteristics). Here again, specific hypotheses regarding how natural selection has...

philosophy of biology and natural selection

  • TITLE: biology, philosophy of
    SECTION: Testing
    Various methods have been employed to improve the soundness of tests used to evaluate adaptive hypotheses. The “comparative method,” which involves considering evidence drawn from a wide range of similar organisms, was used in a study of the relatively large size of the testicles of chimpanzees as compared to those of gorillas. The adaptive hypothesis was that, given that the...