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We study the dynamics of evolutionary recovery after an abrupt environmental shift in a density‐regulated population with evolving plasticity. Maladaptation to the new environment initially causes the population to decline, until adaptive phenotypic plasticity and genetic evolution restore positive population growth rate. We assume that selection on a quantitative trait is density‐independent and...
Sperm morphometry (i.e., size and shape) and function are important determinants of male reproductive success and are thought to be under stabilizing selection. However, recent studies suggest that sperm morphometry can be a phenotypically plastic trait, which can be adjusted to varying conditions. We tested whether different behavioral strategies in aggression between aggressive red and nonaggressive...
Phenotypic plasticity is an important mechanism via which populations can respond to changing environmental conditions, but we know very little about how natural populations vary with respect to plasticity. Here we use random‐regression animal models to understand the multivariate phenotypic and genetic patterns of plasticity variation in two key life‐history traits, laying date and clutch size, using...
Character displacement occurs when two species compete, and those individuals most dissimilar from the average resource‐use phenotypes of the other species are selectively favored. Few studies have explored the sequence of events by which such divergence comes about. We addressed this issue by studying two species of spadefoot toads that have undergone ecological character displacement with each other...
The genic capture model offers a promising solution to the lek paradox. Heightened condition dependency of sexually selected traits is a prerequisite of this model. Condition dependency is empirically inferred by the sensitivity of traits to stressors. The magnitude of ecological stress (e.g., competition and predation) experienced by populations varies considerably. Thus, condition dependence should...
Adaptive genetic differentiation and adaptive phenotypic plasticity can increase the fitness of plant lineages in heterogeneous environments. We examine the relative importance of genetic differentiation and plasticity in determining the fitness of the annual plant, Erodium cicutarium, in a serpentine grassland in California. Previous work demonstrated that the serpentine sites within this mosaic...
Learning and other forms of phenotypic plasticity have been suggested to enhance population divergence. Mate preferences can develop by learning, and species recognition might not be entirely genetic. We present data on female mate preferences of the banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) that suggest a role for learning in population divergence and species recognition. Populations of this species...
Environmental effects on mating system expression are central to understanding mating system evolution in nature. Here, I report the results from a quantitative‐genetic experiment aimed at understanding the role of predation risk in the expression and evolution of life‐history and mating‐system traits in a hermaphroditic freshwater snail (Physa acuta). I reared 30 full‐sib families in four environments...
The handicap hypothesis proposes that male signals provide reliable information to females because only males of high condition provide high‐quality mating benefits and can afford the costs of producing attractive signals. In the context of direct benefits, the handicap hypothesis predicts that benefit quality and signal attractiveness will positively covary among genotypes, positively covary among...
Many ectotherms show crossing growth trajectories as a plastic response to rearing temperature. As a result, individuals growing up in cool conditions grow slower, mature later, but are larger at maturation than those growing up in warm conditions. To date, no entirely satisfactory explanation has been found for why this pattern, often called the temperature‐size rule, should exist. Previous theoretical...
Gene flow is often considered to be one of the main factors that constrains local adaptation in a heterogeneous environment. However, gene flow may also lead to the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. We investigated the effect of gene flow on local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity in development time in island populations of the common frog Rana temporaria which breed in pools that differ in...
Inducible defenses of prey and inducible offenses of predators are drastic phenotypic changes activated by the interaction between a prey and predator. Inducible defenses occur in many taxa and occur more frequently than inducible offenses. Recent empirical studies have reported reciprocal phenotypic changes in both predator and prey. Here, we model the coevolution of inducible plasticity in both...
Inducible defensive traits against herbivores or predators are widespread in plants and animals. Theory predicts that defended morphs have greater fitness in the presence of predators, but lower fitness than undefended morphs in the absence of predators. If such costs did not exist, then a constitutively defended morph would be favored by natural selection; yet, evidence for such costs has been elusive...
The ability to store energy enables organisms to deal with temporarily harsh and uncertain conditions. Empirical studies have demonstrated that organisms adapted to fluctuating energy availability plastically adjust their storage strategies. So far, however, theoretical studies have investigated general storage strategies only in constant or deterministically varying environments. In this study, we...
The evolution of maternal effects on offspring phenotype should depend on the extent of parent–offspring conflict and costs and constraints associated with maternal and offspring strategies. Here, we develop a model of maternal effects on offspring dispersal phenotype under parent–offspring conflict to evaluate such dependence. In the absence of evolutionary constraints and costs, offspring evolve...
Sex allocation in hermaphrodites can be affected by spatial and temporal variation in resources, especially in plants where size‐dependent gender modification is commonplace. The evolution of sex allocation will depend on the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors governing patterns of investment in female and male function. In wind‐pollinated plants, theoretical models predict a...
The evolutionary trajectories of trade‐offs are ultimately governed by the evolution of the underlying physiological processes of the acquisition and subsequent allocation of resources. In this study, we focused directly on acquisition and allocation as traits and estimated their genetic architecture in the trade‐off between flight capability and reproduction in the cricket, Gryllus firmus. To determine...
Plastic responses to temperature during embryonic development are common in ectotherms, but their evolutionary relevance is poorly understood. Using a combination of field and laboratory approaches, we demonstrate altitudinal divergence in the strength of effects of maternal thermal opportunity on offspring birth date and body mass in a live‐bearing lizard (Niveoscincus ocellatus). Poor thermal opportunity...
Marine to freshwater colonizations constitute among the most dramatic evolutionary transitions in the history of life. This study examined evolution of ionic regulation following saline‐to‐freshwater transitions in an invasive species. In recent years, the copepod Eurytemora affinis has invaded freshwater habitats multiple times independently. We found parallel evolutionary shifts in ion‐motive enzyme...
Ecological character displacement occurs when competition imposes divergent selection on interacting species, causing divergence in traits associated with resource use. Generally, divergence is assumed to occur when selection acts on the same, continuously varying trait in both species. However, selection might target multiple traits, and even closely related heterospecifics involved in character...
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