This supports the idea—first proposed in the early 1970s—of “punctuated equilibrium,” where evolution kicks in rapidly after a period of relative genetic stability.

The findings support the theory of `punctuated equilibrium’, first proposed in the 1970s by paleontologists Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge.

In 1972, the scarcity of intermediate forms led the palaeontologists Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge to propose a provocative idea: punctuated equilibrium.

Complex evolutionary dynamics embodies the study of systems in which a multitude of interacting components undergo non‐linear and non‐equilibrium changes over time. This research area spans ...