Citation
Ecological and evolutionary traps
TL;DR
Evolutionary traps arise when environmental cues become unreliable
Introduced the concept of evolutionary traps - situations where environmental change causes organisms to make maladaptive choices based on formerly reliable cues. Moths spiraling into artificial lights, birds nesting in mowed fields, animals attracted to ecological sinks. Directly applicable to understanding how successful business strategies become traps when environments shift.
Key Findings from Schlaepfer et al. (2002)
- Evolutionary traps arise when environmental cues become unreliable
- Human activities frequently create evolutionary traps for wildlife
- Traps can cause population declines even without direct mortality