# Evolutionary Developmental Biology

- By: Ajna Rivera
- Publisher: University of the Pacific
- Source: [LibreTexts](https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Evolutionary_Developmental_Biology/Evolutionary_Developmental_Biology_(Rivera))
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
- Read at LibreTexts: https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Evolutionary_Developmental_Biology/Evolutionary_Developmental_Biology_(Rivera)
- PDF: https://downloads.libretexts.org/api/v1/download/bio-14426/pdf

The fields of Development and Evolution cannot be truly separated. When we study Developmental Biology we are mostly looking at a fine-tuned mechanical and genetic process that has been selected on for eons. Not only can evolution select on the final product - a working, fertile adult - but also can act at each developmental stage. It is easy to see how evolution acts through natural selection on adults, but how can it act on development itself?