The Economics of Nature

When I took my Econ courses in college (WAR EAGLE!!!) and in high school (GO TREES!!!), I enjoyed them thoroughly, but now that I teach Econ (GO HOUNDS!!!) I notice it in all sorts of things. I recently finished the book Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne. As the title would suggest, the book gives evidence that helps to prove evolution. In one section, Coyne explains that reproduction is the true engine of evolution. If a new trait or mutation is deadly in the long run, but allows species to produce more offspring in the short run then the new trait will spread and eventually become a part of the species. An example of this in humans would be the prostate which gives males a better chance of spreading their seed, but may be harmful because it can become enlarged and the source of cancer later in life. This creates a sort of Theory of Production for evolution where some traits will become more amplified over time as the marginal return continues to be positive. Of course there will be a time when a species meets negative returns and natural selection will not allow it to continue. The trait and the adaptation will find a point where marginal costs of the trait equal the marginal returns of the trait. An example would be the male peacock and its colorful feathers. The feathers could be even more over the top than they are now, but this would cause the males to be killed by predators before they are able to reproduce.