Skip to main content

Causes and Consequences of Phenotypic Plasticity in Complex Environments.

Author
Abstract
:

Phenotypic plasticity is a ubiquitous and necessary adaptation of organisms to variable environments, but most environments have multiple dimensions that vary. Many studies have documented plasticity of a trait with respect to variation in multiple environmental factors. Such multidimensional phenotypic plasticity (MDPP) exists at all levels of organismal organization, from the whole organism to within cells. This complexity in plasticity cannot be explained solely by scaling up ideas from models of unidimensional plasticity. MDPP generates new questions about the mechanism and function of plasticity and its role in speciation and population persistence. Here we review empirical and theoretical approaches to plasticity in response to multidimensional environments and we outline new opportunities along with some difficulties facing future research.

Year of Publication
:
2019
Journal
:
Trends in ecology & evolution
Volume
:
34
Issue
:
6
Number of Pages
:
555-568
ISSN Number
:
0169-5347
URL
:
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169-5347(19)30057-6
DOI
:
10.1016/j.tree.2019.02.010
Short Title
:
Trends Ecol Evol
Download citation