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Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
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A limits-oriented approach to evolutionary ecology.

A Sih1, S K Gleeson

  • 1Center for Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, T.H. Morgan School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 18, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary ecology often uses optimal traits, but focusing on

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary ecology
  • Ecological patterns
  • Species distributions and abundances

Background:

  • Optimal trait theory is a common approach in evolutionary ecology.
  • This approach may not fully explain ecological limits.
  • Ecological questions often involve constraints on species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a shift from optimal traits to limiting traits.
  • To understand ecological limits by studying traits organisms perform poorly.
  • To examine constraints on the evolution of these limiting traits.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing ecological and evolutionary studies.
  • Conceptual framework development.
  • Identification of traits that limit ecological success.

Main Results:

  • Optimal traits may not adequately explain ecological limits.
  • Focusing on limiting traits offers a mechanistic understanding of ecological patterns.
  • Constraints on the evolution of poorly performing traits are crucial.

Conclusions:

  • A limiting-traits approach is valuable for understanding ecological limits.
  • This perspective complements traditional optimal traits studies.
  • Further research applying the limiting-traits approach is warranted.