Some organisms can evolve faster than others. They have greater evolvability. The poster child might be the peppered moth. In the 1800s, as the industrial revolution turned walls and trees black with soot, the moth followed suit, with a mutation that produced darker offspring. A development need – to hide from predators – quickly engendered an adaptive evolutionary response.

Ecology and developmental evolutionary thinking powerfully informed the Talik model when it was first conceived in the early 2010s, with the recognition of human systems as natural systems, (even if we often act otherwise!). Since then, the field of Evolutionary Biology itself has evolved, giving increasing prominence to the role of culture and development in influencing evolution.

As we learn more about what enables rapid adaptability, plasticity and innovation in evolution in response to the climate and environmental emergency, so we can draw insights for our human system responses.