Co-option

A co-option or more often co-optation is an election where members of a committee (or similar group) vote in order to fill a vacancy on that committee or group. Where a small committee is originally elected using a method of proportional representation a co-option may be thought unsuitable as the newly elected member will not necessarily represent the interests of the group represented by the vacating member.

Cooptation may also refer to the tactic of neutralizing or winning over a minority by assimilating them into the established group or culture.

In evolutionary biology, Co-optation describes the adaptation of an existing biological feature for a new purpose: bones supporting the gill arches of a jawless fish were first adapted to support the lower jaw of reptiles, and later evolved to become the tiny hammer, anvil, and stirrup of the mammalian middle ear. The haplodiploid sex determination scheme, which probably evolved to permit lone female insects to colonize new environments by mating with male offspring, now contributes to the genetic imperatives that permit eusociality of ants and bees (see S.J. Gould 'Quick lives and quirky changes', in Hen's teeth and horse's toes)

In sociology, co-option refers to a trend or idea being incorporated into mainstream culture. [link]''see Cultural appropriation

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