A reaction norm framework for the evolution of learning: how cumulative experience shapes phenotypic plasticity

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Behavioral ecology
• Theoretical biology

Background:

• Learning, including memory and forgetting, is crucial for behavioral adaptation but lacks a strong theoretical foundation in evolutionary biology.
• Existing models often treat learning separately from other adaptive processes like development and immunity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a unified theoretical framework for learning within evolutionary biology by conceptualizing it as phenotypic plasticity.
• To expand the concept of reaction norms to formally model learning processes, incorporating cumulative experience and time delays.

Main Methods:

• Expanding the reaction norm concept to include dimensions for cumulative experience (learning) and time delays (forgetting).
• Developing mathematical and graphical models to represent learning as a form of phenotypic plasticity.
• Modeling the evolution of plasticity with and without learning in temporally autocorrelated environments.

Main Results:

• Learning can be modeled as a modification of reaction norms, affecting phenotype elevation, responsiveness, environmental estimation error, and phenotypic precision.
• The framework accommodates various ecological scenarios and integrates statistical estimates with biological processes.
• Learning is shown to be an adaptation that promotes phenotypic plasticity in environments with temporal correlations.

Conclusions:

• Viewing learning as phenotypic plasticity provides a unified theoretical and mathematical structure for studying its evolution.
• This approach fosters interdisciplinary connections between learning research and phenotypic plasticity studies.
• The proposed framework stimulates future theoretical and empirical investigations into the evolution of plasticity across diverse ecological contexts.