Premium
The evolutionary ecology of individual phenotypic plasticity in wild populations
Author(s) -
NUSSEY D. H.,
WILSON A. J.,
BROMMER J. E.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01300.x
Subject(s) - biology , phenotypic plasticity , ecology , life history theory , natural selection , evolutionary biology , population , variation (astronomy) , evolutionary ecology , selection (genetic algorithm) , life history , demography , physics , artificial intelligence , sociology , astrophysics , computer science , host (biology)
The ability of individual organisms to alter morphological and life‐history traits in response to the conditions they experience is an example of phenotypic plasticity which is fundamental to any population's ability to deal with short‐term environmental change. We currently know little about the prevalence, and evolutionary and ecological causes and consequences of variation in life history plasticity in the wild. Here we outline an analytical framework, utilizing the reaction norm concept and random regression statistical models, to assess the between‐individual variation in life history plasticity that may underlie population level responses to the environment at both phenotypic and genetic levels. We discuss applications of this framework to date in wild vertebrate populations, and illustrate how natural selection and ecological constraint may alter a population's response to the environment through their effects at the individual level. Finally, we present future directions and challenges for research into individual plasticity.