Flexibility in metabolic rate confers a growth advantage under changing food availability.

ABSTRACT: 1. Phenotypic flexibility in physiological, morphological and behavioural traits can allow organisms to cope with environmental challenges. Given recent climate change and the degree of habitat modification currently experienced by many organisms, it is therefore critical to quantify the degree of phenotypic variation present within populations, individual capacities to change and what their consequences are for fitness. 2. Flexibility in standard metabolic rate (SMR) may be particularly important since SMR reflects the minimal energetic cost of living and is one of the primary traits underlying organismal performance. SMR can increase or decrease in response to food availability, but the consequences of these changes for growth rates and other fitness components are not well known. 3. We

SUBMITTER: Auer SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4682473 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature