DOI: 10.5061/dryad.00000008s
title: Micro and macroevolution: A continuum or two distinct types of change?

description: How microevolution and macroevolution are related is one of the major
 unanswered questions in evolutionary biology. The most-prevalent view is
 that microevolution and macroevolution are part of a continuum of one type
 of change and that macroevolution is the cumulative result of
 microevolution. Mathematics, however, distinguishes two
 fundamentally-different, singular types of change: change of a vector in
 its parameters versus its dimensions. This mathematical distinction may
 help to articulate the concept of evolution by distinction of two
 fundamentally different types of evolution: the change of the state vector
 of an organism in 1) its parameters (= ‘first-order evolution’) and 2) its
 dimensions (= ‘second-order evolution’). This distinction can be
 operationalized by identifying genes and regulatory elements in the
 nucleotide code of an organism as dimensions and the level of expression
 as parameters of its state vector. This operationalization allows to
 substitute the phenotype-based analysis of evolution with a genotype-based
 analysis and draws attention to the mechanisms that change the parameters
 or the dimensions of the state vector, respectively. We illustrate the
 distinction between first- and second-order evolution by a simulation of
 the adaptive dynamics of a population of digital amoebes, and reveal that
 micro- and macroevolution are two distinct types of change.
description: The methods applied in simulating first- and second-order
 evolution of a population of digital amoebes are: (1) interactive
 simulation, combining computerized and scripted manual actions; (2)
 prototyping, where  visualization of concepts and functionalities is
 leading, instead of computerization efficiency. Excel
 is used in a 'free-style', as a tool for simulation and
 visualization of first- and second-order evolution. The scripted manual
 actions interacting with computerized actions as well as the clarification
 of the proceeding simulation process, are brought together in one
 Excel-file. The integrated file thus is not a standard, singular
 Excel-table or -spreadsheet, and therefore it does not meet the
 requirements for a standard, singular Excel-table or -
 spreadsheet.
description: # Simulation of first- and second-order evolution of a population of
 digital amoebes
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.00000008s](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.00000008s) In earlier research, we have simulated the adaptive dynamics of a population of digital amoebes (‘Damoebs’), each consisting of a small C++ program.  We found that random variation of the parameters of the C++ program allowed the population to adapt to changing circumstances. Random altering of the bits and bytes of the code of the Damoebs, however, appeared to be counteracted by the standard mutation protection systems of digital codes and programs. Second-order evolution therefore could not be simulated effectively. In the simulation of second-order evolution of the population of Damoebs presented here, we substitute  the random altering of the bits and bytes of the code with a form of operator-based programming driven by random processes, using Excel as a prototyping tool. To integrate the simulation of first- and second-order evolution and to visualize their fundamental difference in one Excel-sheet, we simulate the former simulation of first-order evolution of a population of Damoebs, in Excel as well. ## **Description of the data and file structure** The dataset consists of one Excel spreadsheet, containing 4 subsheets: (0) introduction; (1) first-order evolution; (2) second-order evolution (3) visualization. Microsoft Excel is used in a 'free-style' as a prototyping tool for interactive simulation and visualization of first- and second-order evolution of a population of digital amoebes, combining computerized and scripted manual actions. The clarification of the simulation process and the specification of the scripted manual actions interacting with computerized actions, are brought together in one Excel-file. The integrated file is not a standard, singular Excel-table or -spreadsheet. Therefore, it does not meet the requirements for a standard, singular Excel-table or - spreadsheet. ## Sharing/Access information The simulation of first-order evolution of the population of amoebes has been reported earlier in: [https://doi.org/10.2174/1874404401105010001](https://doi.org/10.2174/1874404401105010001) ## Code/Software Microsoft Excel, is used in a 'free-style' as a prototyping tool for interactive simulation and visualization, combining computerized actions, scripted manual actions, and the clarification of the simulation process.