Ontogenetic changes in genetic variances of age-dependent plasticity along a latitudinal gradient.

ABSTRACT: The expression of phenotypic plasticity may differ among life stages of the same organism. Age-dependent plasticity can be important for adaptation to heterogeneous environments, but this has only recently been recognized. Whether age-dependent plasticity is a common outcome of local adaptation and whether populations harbor genetic variation in this respect remains largely unknown. To answer these questions, we estimated levels of additive genetic variation in age-dependent plasticity in six species of damselflies sampled from 18 populations along a latitudinal gradient spanning 3600 km. We reared full sib larvae at three temperatures and estimated genetic variances in the height and slope of thermal reaction norms of body size at three points in time during ontogeny using random regressi

SUBMITTER: Nilsson-Ortman V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4815462 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature