> Species don't "learn." 

The role of learning in evolution has been discussed with
increasing frequency. West-Eberhard has been particularly
influential in emphasizing how, by learning to accommodate
to the special needs of its body and the peculiarities of its
environment, an animal can generate novelties that provide
the basis for further evolution. She called this ‘genetic
accommodation’. An animal’s behaviour is likely to have
affected the course of evolution of its descendants in at least
four ways. First, animals make active choices as Darwin was
the first to suggest, and the consequences of their choices are
often important. Second, animals change the conditions in
which they live by altering the physical or the social environment—
the main role of ‘niche construction’. Third, active
animals often expose themselves to new conditions that reveal
variability, with some variants more likely to survive than
others. Finally, by their adaptability, organisms are able to
modify their behaviour in response to novel conditions and
therebymake further genetic change possible. 

Bateson P. 2017 Adaptability and evolution. 
Interface Focus 7: 20160126.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2016.0126

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