How is biological development different from evolution?

In biology, it is important to distinguish between development and evolution, as they refer to processes occurring on different scales of time and organization.

Biological development is defined as the series of progressive, nonrepetitive changes that occur during the life history of a single organism. It is the process by which an organism’s genetic potential—its genotype—is translated into a functioning mature system, or phenotype. Development involves implementing the instructions encoded in DNA to build and maintain the body, or soma.12

In contrast, evolution refers to long-term, nonrepetitive changes that involve the sequence of several or many life histories across generations. While development focuses on the life of an individual, evolution is the process of change and diversification of living things over time, characterized by changes in the hereditary makeup of populations. Evolution is driven by mechanisms such as natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift.13

Although these processes are distinct, the field of evolutionary developmental biology (or "evo-devo") studies the relationship between them, examining how developmental processes and mechanisms influence and are influenced by evolution.4