Autonomization of Development

in biology a type of ontogenetic evolution consisting of reduced dependence on external influences of the processes of form development which occur in the developing organism; one of the important lines of evolution in which the plant or animal organism is freed, as it were, from short-term and random influence of the environment and thereby becomes more autonomous. It is at the lower stages of organic life that the dependence of the individual on the environment is most direct. Later, the basic determinative role shifts to internal factors, the specifics of reaction depending more and more on the organism itself. This shift takes place as a result of the selection of individuals that react more successfully than others to a more permanent (and hence more reliable) factor of the environment. Autonomization of development leads to stabilization of form development, heightened stability, increased plasticity, and increased individual adaptability of organisms.