is settlement phenotypic response

What is phenotypic plasticity?

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of one genotype to produce more than one phenotype when exposed to different environments. Each line here represents a genotype.

Can phenotypic plasticity provide a Bioinspiration framework for minimal field swarm robotics?

"Phenotypic Plasticity Provides a Bioinspiration Framework for Minimal Field Swarm Robotics". Frontiers in Robotics & AI. 7 (23): 23. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2020.00023.

What is the flexible phenotype?

"The Flexible Phenotype: A Body-Centred Integration of Ecology, Physiology, and Behaviour". Animal Behaviour. 82 (3): 609–10. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.06.012.

What causes maladaptive phenotypes?

"Plasticity constrained: Over-generalized induction cues cause maladaptive phenotypes". Evolutionary Ecology Research. 4 (6): 857–70. ^ Dewitt TJ, Sih A, Wilson DS (February 1998).

What is phenotypic plasticity?

Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism 's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment.

What is the special case when differences in environment induce discrete phenotypes?

The special case when differences in environment induce discrete phenotypes is termed polyphenism . Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of one genotype to produce more than one phenotype when exposed to different environments. Each line here represents a genotype. Horizontal lines show that the phenotype is the same in different environments;

Why is phenotypic plasticity important?

Generally, phenotypic plasticity is more important for immobile organisms (e.g. plants) than mobile organisms ( e.g. most animals ), as mobile organisms can often move away from unfavourable environments. Nevertheless, mobile organisms also have at least some degree of plasticity in at least some aspects of the phenotype.

Why is it so hard to explain and predict traits when plants are grown in natural conditions?

Because of phenotypic plasticity, it is hard to explain and predict the traits when plants are grown in natural conditions unless an explicit environment index can be obtained to quantify environments. Identification of such explicit environment indices from a critical growth periods being highly correlated with sorghum and rice flowering time enables such predictions.

Which organisms exhibit phenotypic plasticity?

One mobile organism with substantial phenotypic plasticity is Acyrthosiphon pisum of the aphid family, which exhibits the ability to interchange between asexual and sexual reproduction, as well as growing wings between generations when plants become too populated.

How does temperature affect cell membranes?

As such, thermal acclimation entails phenotypic adjustments that are found commonly across taxa, such as changes in the lipid composition of cell membranes. Temperature change influences the fluidity of cell membranes by affecting the motion of the fatty acyl chains of glycerophospholipids.

Abstract

When individuals of two species interact, they can adjust their phenotypes in response to their respective partner, be they antagonists or mutualists.

Reciprocal phenotypic change in species interactions

The intersection between species interactions and phenotypic plasticity has generated considerable interest among evolutionary ecologists ( Table 1 ). The study of phenotypic responses of one organism to another is by definition an investigation of a species interaction.

Phenotypic plasticity as a determinant of food chain structure

The distribution and abundance of organisms in a multitrophic community context can also be influenced by phenotypic plasticity. For example, there are manifold plastic responses of prey to predators, some of which may affect other species in an ecological community ( Table 1 ).

Ecological and evolutionary consequences of phenotypic plasticity in novel habitats

How does phenotypic plasticity affect ecological success and evolutionary divergence in new or novel habitats, where “habitat” refers to a biotic or abiotic neighborhood? As an example consider host-use in parasitoids, insects with a well-developed ability for associative learning.

Evolution of phenotypic plasticity: Costs?

Although phenotypic plasticity appears to be ubiquitous in species interactions, costs of plasticity must constrain its evolution.

Conclusion

Understanding the interactions between species is an important goal of ecology and evolution.

What is phenotypic plasticity?

Phenotypic plasticity is the developmental response of a genotype to environmental cues. It introduces environmentally-induced phenotypic variation into populations ( VE / VP; see Chapter 8 ). So far, we have primarily thought of plasticity as a complicating factor when we try to infer adaptation; populations in different environments may exhibit different phenotypes not because of genetic differentiation, but simply because of exposure to different environmental conditions. This is not an example of local adaptation, because plastic traits are not heritable, and adaptations are the product of evolution by natural selection, which requires trait heritability. Still, the ability to modify phenotypic expression in response to environmental cues may itself be adaptive.

How do studies of adaptation work?

Studies of adaptation often focus on single species. Single species studies either use observational approaches, examining organisms in their natural environment, or experimental approaches that manipulate a single, well-defined factor while other variables are held constant. Observational studies promote a better understanding of organisms in their natural environment, but they often cannot control for all confounding variables. Hence, observational studies are typically correlational and do not establish causation between traits, function, and fitness. In contrast, experimental manipulations allow us to establish causal relationship between variables, but sometimes lack the nuanced context of natural situations. There may be a causal link between variation in a trait and fitness under experimental conditions, but the results can be misleading if the experimental conditions are not representative of the natural context. The most powerful studies of adaptation consequently combine observational and experimental data. Here, I provide some illustrative examples of observational and experimental studies that focus on understanding the adaptive nature of animal behavior.

Why does plasticity evolve?

Phenotypic plasticity can evolve because there is heritable variation in plasticity within populations. However, it would be premature to assume that all instances of plasticity are actually adaptive. Like all other traits, plasticity is not only shaped by natural selection, but also by other evolutionary forces. And like all other traits, plasticity is subject to pleiotropic interactions, constraints, and trade-offs that cause deviation from optimal phenotypes.

How does natural selection affect evolution?

Natural selection continuously nudges populations toward optimal trait expression by counter-selecting traits and trait combinations that lead to inferior performance in any given environment. Yet despite this continuous nudging, most populations elude perfect adaptation to their environment. The constant input of maladaptive alleles through mutation and migration, and the inescapable effects of genetic drift, move populations away from phenotypic optima. Furthermore, there are fundamental constraints and trade-offs that limit adaptive evolution. Optimal solutions to an ecological problem may be out of reach because there is simply no genetic variation in traits upon which selection may act. Furthermore, evolutionary outcomes invariably represent a compromise reflecting the diverse needs and functions of organisms. It may be impossible to optimize two traits even if they appear unrelated, because they are linked through antagonistic pleiotropy, or due to trade-offs in the allocation of energy and nutrients. There might even be functional trade-offs, where the same trait is used for multiple functions and all cannot be optimized at once. For example, think of the trade-offs associated with rapid acceleration and endurance.

What is the best book for comparative phylogenetics?

If you are interested in learning more about phylogenetic comparative methods, I recommend Luke Harmon’s book “ Phylogenetic Comparativ e Methods: Learning from Trees ”, which is available for free online.

Why is texperimentation important?

TExperimentation is among the most powerful tools in science, because the meticulous manipulation of specific variables—while holding all others constant—allows for the inference of causal relationships. Experimentation is particularly strong when motivated by solid observational data, which grounds experiments in biological realities, or by theoretical considerations. For example, theoretical considerations shaped the development of testable hypotheses and experiments in optimal foraging. Optimal foraging theory investigates whether organisms behave in a manner that maximizes energy acquisition rates or efficiency, and it is grounded in a simple yet powerful mathematical framework.

What is convergence evolution?

Convergent evolution—where evolutionarily-independent lineages evolve similar traits to adapt to similar ecological niches—is frequently invoked as evidence for adaptation. For example, the convergent modification of forelimbs to form wings in bats, birds, and pterosaurs clearly all evolved as an adaptation to flying. The inference of convergence is not always so trivial, though—especially when focal species are more closely related, and the evolutionary independence of species is not necessarily evident.

Overview

Plasticity and climate change

Unprecedented rates of climate change are predicted to occur over the next 100 years as a result of human activity. Phenotypic plasticity is a key mechanism with which organisms can cope with a changing climate, as it allows individuals to respond to change within their lifetime. This is thought to be particularly important for species with long generation times, as evolutionary responses via natural selection may not produce change fast enough to mitigate the effects of a …

Examples

Evolution

See also

Further reading

External links