detoxification. To an infective organism, it is thus a trade-off between being able to outgrow resistant strains in the absence of antibiotics, and being able to detoxify antibiotics if these are encountered. An evolutionarily stable strategy is thus not possible, if antibiotics are not used indiscriminately. Dodos were able to cope with the climate conditions on Mauritius. There, during parts of the year semi-arid conditions predominate, and plants produce relatively little biomass that dodos would have used as food (such as fruits), whereas in the wet season there is an overabundance of food. Dodos apparently adapted to this by building up fat deposits when food was plentiful, and adjusting their breeding cycle to climate conditions. However, this resulted in a lack of anti-predator adaptation, and were hunted easily by humans and other introduced predators. The breeding cycle, which originally ensured that as little effort as possible was invested in reproduction, made them vulnerable to the introduced pigs and monkeys, as there was little possibility for a dodo whose egg had been destroyed to re-nest before the year's reproductive season was over. A term used known as neuroplasticity is defined as "the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life". Neuroplasticity is seen as an adaptation that helps humans to adapt to new stimuli, especially through motor functions in musically inclined people, as well as several other hand-eye coordination activities. An example of maladaptation in neuroplasticity within the evolution of the brain is phantom pain in individuals who have lost limbs. While the brain is exceptionally good at responding to stimuli and reorganizing itself in a new way to then later respond even better and faster in the future, it is sometimes unable to cope with the loss of a limb, even though the neurological connections are lost. One journal "Adaptation and Maladaptation" found that in some cases, the changes that had previously aided the human brain to best suit an environment could also become maladaptive. In this case, with the loss of a limb, the brain is perceiving pain, though there are no nerves or signals from the now missing limb to give the brain that perception. See also Black robin Ecological traps Evolutionary mismatch Maladaptive coping References External links All articles with unsourced statements Evolutionary biology Selection