Plasticity-led evolution: evaluating the key prediction of frequency-dependent adaptation.

ABSTRACT: Plasticity-led evolution occurs when a change in the environment triggers a change in phenotype via phenotypic plasticity, and this pre-existing plasticity is subsequently refined by selection into an adaptive phenotype. A critical, but largely untested prediction of plasticity-led evolution (and evolution by natural selection generally) is that the rate and magnitude of evolutionary change should be positively associated with a phenotype's frequency of expression in a population. Essentially, the more often a phenotype is expressed and exposed to selection, the greater its opportunity for adaptive refinement. We tested this prediction by competing against each other spadefoot toad tadpoles from different natural populations that vary in how frequently they express a novel, environmentally

SUBMITTER: Levis NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6408876 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature