Specialists fade while flexible generalists persist in changeable habitats

Evidence

In this changeable habitat, natural selection favors flexibility rather than commitment to a single reproductive choice. Paradoxically, those species adapted to a specialized lifestyle come and go, but Tetraphis persists by keeping its options open and maintaining its freedom of choice. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 346

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Tetraphis switches between clonal and sexual reproduction based on colony density — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural…, 340; Lone individuals with ancestral know-how out-survive well-provisioned expert teams. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 134; Diversified flexibility confers resilience in unpredictable environments across scales — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural…, 343 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Diversified flexibility confers resilience in unpredictable environments across scales #expands (0.95) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 343
• Lone individuals with ancestral know-how out-survive well-provisioned expert teams. #corroborates (0.75) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 134
• Permanent occupations skewed toward those free to idle, then faded anyway #exemplifies (0.75)