Extended phenotype
The recipe for building an animal or plant is written in its genes. But genes influence more than an organism’s physical form and behaviour (phenotype). They also impact its environment (think beaver dams and termite mounds) and the behaviour of others (eg willow warbler manipulated by a cuckoo chick). An extended phenotype includes any influence that changes the odds of those genes being passed on. Ultimately, the concept redefines an organism as something more than its physical body. SB