Effect of competitive cues on reproductive morphology and behavioral plasticity in male fruitflies.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic plasticity will be favored whenever there are significant fitness benefits of responding to environmental variation. The extent and nature of the plasticity that evolves depends on the rate of environmental fluctuations and the capacity to track and respond to that variability. Reproductive environments represent one arena in which changes can be rapid. The finding that males of many species show morphological, physiological, and behavioral plasticity in response to premating and postmating reproductive competition (RC) suggests that plasticity is broadly beneficial. The developmental environment is expected to accurately predict the average population level of RC but to be a relatively poor indicator of immediate RC at any particular mating. Therefore, we predict that manipulat

SUBMITTER: Bretman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4797378 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature