Resource polyphenism increases species richness: a test of the hypothesis

Pfennig, David W.; McGee, Matthew D.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0244

Cited by 88 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…Particularly contentious is the contribution of plasticity to evolution through phenotypic and genetic accommodation [27,48,49]. Phenotypic accommodation refers to the mutual rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org Proc.…”

Section: (B) Developmental Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[35][36][37][38][39]), there is renewed interest in plasticity as a cause, and not just a consequence, of phenotypic evolution. For example, plasticity facilitates colonization of novel environments [40,41], affects population connectivity and gene flow [42], contributes to temporal and spatial variation in selection [43][44][45] and may increase the chance of adaptive peak shifts, radiations and speciation events [27,[46][47][48].…”

Section: (B) Developmental Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions

et al. 2015

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Scientific activities take place within the structured sets of ideas and assumptions that define a field and its practices. The conceptual framework of evolutionary biology emerged with the Modern Synthesis in the early twentieth century and has since expanded into a highly successful research program to explore the processes of diversification and adaptation. Nonetheless, the ability of that framework satisfactorily to accommodate the rapid advances in developmental biology, genomics and ecology has been questioned. We review some of these arguments, focusing on literatures (evo-devo, developmental plasticity, inclusive inheritance and niche construction) whose implications for evolution can be interpreted in two ways-one that preserves the internal structure of contemporary evolutionary theory and one that points towards an alternative conceptual framework. The latter, which we label the 'extended evolutionary synthesis' (EES), retains the fundaments of evolutionary theory, but differs in its emphasis on the role of constructive processes in development and evolution, and reciprocal portrayals of causation. In the EES, developmental processes, operating through developmental bias, inclusive inheritance and niche construction, share responsibility for the direction and rate of evolution, the origin of character variation and organism-environment complementarity. We spell out the structure, core assumptions and novel predictions of the EES, and show how it can be deployed to stimulate and advance research in those fields that study or use evolutionary biology.

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Section: (B) Developmental Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Developmental Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions

et al. 2015

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“…Polyphenisms provide model systems for the study of phenotypic variation because: (1) the trait of interest has a direct environmental component; (2) alternative phenotypes are often distinct and easily distinguished; and (3) they are likely to be a direct result of selection (Caswell 1983;Smith-Gill 1983). Documenting the ecological and evolutionary contexts that produce and maintain polyphenisms is critical for understanding their role in speciation, life history evolution, the maintenance of biodiversity, and the evolution of plasticity (West-Eberhard 1986, 2003Hazel et al 1990;Via 2001;Denoël et al 2005;Emlen et al 2007;Pfennig et al 2007Tomkins and Hazel 2007;Pfennig and McGee 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Larval growth in polyphenic salamanders: making the best of a bad lot

et al. 2011

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Polyphenisms are excellent models for studying phenotypic variation, yet few studies have focused on natural populations. Facultative paedomorphosis is a polyphenism in which salamanders either metamorphose or retain their larval morphology and eventually become paedomorphic. Paedomorphosis can result from selection for capitalizing on favorable aquatic habitats (paedomorph advantage), but could also be a default strategy under poor aquatic conditions (best of a bad lot). We tested these alternatives by quantifying how the developmental environment influences the ontogeny of wild Arizona tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum). Most paedomorphs in our study population arose from slow-growing larvae that developed under high density and size-structured conditions (best of a bad lot), although a few faster-growing larvae also became paedomorphic (paedomorph advantage). Males were more likely to become paedomorphs than females and did so under a greater range of body sizes than females, signifying a critical role for gender in this polyphenism. Our results emphasize that the same phenotype can be adaptive under different environmental and genetic contexts and that studies of phenotypic variation should consider multiple mechanisms of morph production.

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“…In general, an ability to cope with complex environmental challenges by means of plasticity opens up ecological niches previously unavailable to the organism. This would inevitably lead to the subsequent evolution of morphological, physiological and biochemical adaptations to those niches and the likelihood of speciation (Wyles et al, 1983;Pfennig and McGee, 2010). Where an environmental challenge involved greater processing capacity by the brain, this organ too would be expected to evolve with greater rapidity.…”

Section: Plasticity and Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why are individuals so different from each other?

Bateson

2014

Heredity

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An important contributor to the differences between individuals derives from their plasticity. Such plasticity is widespread in organisms from the simple to the most complex. Adaptability plasticity enables the organism to cope with a novel challenge not previously encountered by its ancestors. Conditional plasticity appears to have evolved from repeated challenges from the environment so that the organism responds in a particular manner to the environment in which it finds itself. The resulting phenotypic variation can be triggered during development in a variety of ways, some mediated through the parent's phenotype. Sometimes the organism copes in suboptimal conditions trading off reproductive success against survival. Whatever the adaptedness of the phenotype, each of the many types of plasticity demonstrates how a given genotype will express itself differently in different environmental conditions-a field of biology referred to as the study of epigenetics. The ways in which epigenetic mechanisms may have evolved are discussed, as are the potential impacts on the evolution of their descendants.

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Resource polyphenism increases species richness: a test of the hypothesis

Cited by 88 publications

References 112 publications

The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions

The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictions

Larval growth in polyphenic salamanders: making the best of a bad lot

Why are individuals so different from each other?

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