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Published on: October 1, 2011
Modeling the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in resource allocation in wing-dimorphic insects
Elizabeth G King1, Derek A Roff
1Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA. elizabeth.king@email.ucr.edu
The American Naturalist
|April 20, 2010
Summary
Organisms adapt resource allocation based on environmental predictability. Selection favors flight investment in predictable, poor conditions and less in unpredictable ones.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Quantitative genetics
- Ecology
Background:
- Resource availability varies spatially and temporally.
- Optimal resource allocation for life-history functions changes with resource levels.
- Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to respond to environmental variation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the evolution of resource allocation strategies in response to spatiotemporal resource variation.
- To investigate phenotypic plasticity in resource allocation as a genetic trait.
- To understand how environmental predictability influences evolved allocation strategies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two quantitative genetic simulation models.
- Focused on wing-dimorphic insects as a model system for trade-offs.
- Modeled the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in resource allocation.
Main Results:
- Evolved allocation strategies are dependent on the predictability of resource levels.
- Selection favors higher investment in flight in predictable, poor environments.
- Selection favors lower investment in flight in unpredictable environments.
Conclusions:
- Phenotypic plasticity in resource allocation evolves in response to environmental variation.
- Environmental predictability is a key factor shaping evolutionary allocation strategies.
- Wing-dimorphic insects provide a valuable model for studying resource allocation trade-offs.
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