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The adaptive advantage of phenotypic memory in changing environments
E Jablonka1, B Oborny, I Molnár
1Theoretical Biology Group of Collegium Budapest, Institute for Advanced Study, Hungary.
Summary
Carry-over effects, the persistence of induced traits across generations, offer adaptive advantages in changing environments. This mechanism bridges individual adaptation and evolution, especially in unpredictable conditions.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Ecology
- Phenotypic Plasticity
Background:
- Organisms exhibit various strategies to adapt to environmental changes, including genetic determination, phenotypic plasticity, and carry-over effects.
- Carry-over effects involve the persistence of induced phenotypes across generations, even after the initial inducing conditions have changed.
- Understanding the adaptive significance of these persistent, induced phenotypes is crucial for comprehending ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the adaptive value of carry-over effects using a simple theoretical model.
- To compare the fitness of non-inducible, completely inducible, and intermediate (carry-over) organismal strategies in different environments.
- To determine the conditions under which carry-over effects provide a fitness advantage.
Main Methods:
- Development of a simple mathematical model to simulate organismal strategies and environmental conditions.
- Analytical calculations and numerical simulations were employed to assess fitness outcomes.
- Comparison of three distinct organismal strategies: genetic (non-inducible), plastic (completely inducible), and carry-over (intermediate).
Main Results:
- Carry-over effects demonstrated a significant adaptive advantage in stochastic (unpredictable) environments.
- This advantage persisted even when compared to organisms with high levels of adaptive plasticity.
- The model suggests carry-over effects can be superior to complete plasticity in certain unpredictable scenarios.
Conclusions:
- Carry-over effects represent a valuable adaptive mechanism operating on ecological timescales.
- This mechanism effectively bridges the gap between rapid individual acclimatization and slower, long-term evolutionary adaptation.
- The study suggests an expanded view of plasticity that includes the temporal dimension and intergenerational stability of induced phenotypes.