1.2.2 Secondary processes such as learning, adaptation, and mimicry

We want to abstract secondary processes from evolution.

By learning we mean that there is an improvement or optimization over time. This can apply within a species, when more successful traits and mechanisms increase in frequency among the population of the species. It can also apply across species, such as when a new species emerges.

Adaptation is similar to learning, and most commonly applied to reflect changes to optimize interaction with the environment. In another sense it reflects when different species in the same locality, both plants and animals, change synchronously in in interaction.

Mimicry describes visual similarities between disparate species, where the similarity in appearance provides a survival benefit to one of the species.