Spatial and temporal heterogeneity alter the cost of plasticity in Pristionchus pacificus.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a single genotype to produce distinct phenotypes under different environmental conditions, has become a leading concept in ecology and evolutionary biology, with the most extreme examples being the formation of alternative phenotypes (polyphenisms). However, several aspects associated with phenotypic plasticity remain controversial, such as the existence of associated costs. While already predicted by some of the pioneers of plasticity research, i.e. Schmalhausen and Bradshaw, experimental and theoretical approaches have provided limited support for the costs of plasticity. In experimental studies, one common restriction is the measurement of all relevant parameters over long time periods. Similarly, theoretical studies rarely use modelling approaches

SUBMITTER: Kalirad A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10857712 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature