Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Phenotypic flexibility and the evolution of organismal design
Section snippets
Phenotypic flexibility
When environmental conditions change rapidly and over shorter timescales than a lifetime, individuals that can show continuous but reversible transformations in behaviour, physiology and morphology might incur a selective advantage 18, 22, 25. There are now several studies documenting substantial but reversible phenotypic changes within adult organisms, especially with regard to the sizes of organ systems in relation to metabolic demand 23, 26, 27.
The most dramatic examples of reversible
Cyclic phenotypic variation: the life-cycle stage concept
In seasonal environments, different activities related to reproduction and survival (breeding, moult, migration, hibernation, etc.) are usually separated in time within individuals, and tend to occur at predictable times of the year, accompanied by changes in the mature adult phenotype [44]. To perform optimally under a wide range of environmental conditions (variations that are often cyclic) by tracking or anticipating the external changes, a long-lived individual must regulate gene expression
The nature of plasticity in environments differing in predictability
The accuracy with which future environmental conditions can be predicted could determine the kind of phenotypic plasticity that one might expect to evolve 25, 48, 49. In unpredictable environments, a capacity for rapid and reversible phenotypic change (flexibility) will have obvious fitness payoffs [25]. Where environmental conditions vary in a temporarily predictable way, long-lived organisms can anticipate the changes by showing sequences of life-cycle stages 39, 45. The seasonal template for
Interpreting phenotypic flexibility: a study of adaptation?
In evolutionary biology, a phenotypic trait can be considered to be an adaptation only if there is evidence that it has been moulded in specific ways during its evolutionary history to make it more effective for its particular role [56]. Together with Feder and Watt 57, 58, we believe that the functional study of phenotype–environment interactions is necessary for evolutionary insight; that is, an ‘amechanistic’ worldview is no longer satisfactory [58]. Rather than emphasizing that a capacity
Conclusions
Our discussion complements three recent books about phenotypic plasticity 3, 8, 11 and two reviews of evolutionary and ecological physiology 66, 67. It enlarges the scope of their viewpoints to bring the various kinds of phenotypic variation together within a common framework and it emphasizes the potential of intra-individual phenotypic variation for biological discovery (see [68] for a discussion that includes variation between genotypes). The extent to which individuals can respond to
Acknowledgements
Our research was supported by a PIONIER-grant from The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) to T.P. and a NOP-grant to J.D. We thank Bob Ricklefs, John Wingfield, Martin Wikelski, Doug Levey, Pieternella Luttikhuizen, Maurine Dietz, Wouter Vahl, Jeroen Reneerkens, Pim Edelaar, Isabel Smallegange, Jaap van der Meer, Irene Tieleman, Ward B. Watt, Joe B. Williams and two anonymous referees for discussion, editorial help and other input. Dick Visser drew the figures.
References (74)
Adaptive phenotypic plasticity: consensus and controversy
Trends Ecol. Evol.
(1995)- et al.
Testing the beneficial acclimation hypothesis
Trends Ecol. Evol
(2002) - et al.
Rapid reversible changes in organ size as a component of adaptive behaviour
Trends Ecol. Evol.
(1997) - et al.
The physiology-life history nexus
Trends Ecol. Evol.
(2002) Costs and limits of phenotypic plasticity
Trends Ecol. Evol.
(1998)- et al.
Fighting change with change: adaptive variation in an uncertain world
Trends Ecol. Evol.
(2002) Hormones, developmental plasticity and adaptation
Trends Ecol. Evol.
(2002)Phenotypic plasticity and the origins of diversity
Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.
(1989)Phenotypic plasticity
Phenotypes: Their Epigenetics, Ecology and Evolution
(1994)
Evaluating the adaptive role of morphological plasticity
Phenotypic plasticity and plant adaptation
Acta Bot. Neerl.
The empirical study of adaptation in natural populations
Phenotypic Evolution: A Reaction Norm Perspective
Sources of variation in physiological phenotypes and their evolutionary significance
Am. Zool.
Phenotypic plasticity and the possible role of genetic assimilation: hypoxia-induced trade-offs in the morphological traits of an African cichlid
Ecol. Lett.
Phenotypic Plasticity
The evolutionary significance of phenotypic plasticity
Bioscience
Seasonal polyphenism
Evol. Biol.
Life cycles in polar arthropods – flexible or programmed?
Eur. J. Entomol.
Behavioural plasticity in variable environments
Can. J. Zool.
Comparative manipulation of predation risk in incubating birds reveals variability in the plasticity of responses
Behav. Ecol.
Environmental and Metabolic Animal Physiology: Comparative Animal Physiology
Environmental Physiology of Animals
Interpreting rejections of the beneficial acclimation hypothesis: when is physiological plasticity adaptive?
Evolution
Genetics and evolution of phenotypic plasticity
Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.
Evolutionary analyses of morphological and physiological plasticity in thermally variable environments
Am. Zool.
Structural flexibility of the gastro-intestinal tract of vertebrates – implications for evolutionary morphology
Zool. Anz.
Plastic inducible morphologies are not always adaptive: the importance of time delays in a stochastic environment
Evol. Ecol.
Effects of altitude and temperature on organ phenotypic plasticity along an altitudinal gradient
J. Exp. Biol.
Structural flexibility of the intestine of Burmese python in response to feeding
J. Exp. Biol.
Density-dependent size regulation in Diadema antillarum: effects on fecundity and survivorship
Ecology
Skeletal changes in the test and jaws of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in response to food limitation
Mar. Biol.
Krill can shrink as an ecological adaptation to temporarily unfavourable environments
Ecol. Lett.
Rapid upregulation of snake intestine in response to feeding: a new model of intestinal adaptation
Am. J. Physiol.
A vertebrate model of extreme physiological regulation
Nature
Do snakes shrink?
Oikos
Cited by (776)
Terrestrial amphibians respond to rapidly changing temperatures with individual plasticity of exploratory behaviour
2024, Journal of Thermal BiologySex diversity in the 21st century: Concepts, frameworks, and approaches for the future of neuroendocrinology
2024, Hormones and BehaviorPhysiological and behavioural adjustment of a wild rodent to laboratory conditions
2024, Physiology and BehaviorA trait-based assessment of southern African arid-zone birds' vulnerability to climate change
2023, Biological ConservationHow important is hidden phenotypic plasticity arising from alternative but converging developmental trajectories, and what limits it?
2024, Journal of Experimental Biology