scholarly journals Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity Stabilizes Evolution in Fluctuating Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Lalejini ◽  
Austin J. Ferguson ◽  
Nkrumah A. Grant ◽  
Charles Ofria
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Evolutionary Change ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Selective Sweeps ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Environmental Fluctuations ◽  
Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity

Fluctuating environmental conditions are ubiquitous in natural systems, and populations have evolved various strategies to cope with such fluctuations. The particular mechanisms that evolve profoundly influence subsequent evolutionary dynamics. One such mechanism is phenotypic plasticity, which is the ability of a single genotype to produce alternate phenotypes in an environmentally dependent context. Here, we use digital organisms (self-replicating computer programs) to investigate how adaptive phenotypic plasticity alters evolutionary dynamics and influences evolutionary outcomes in cyclically changing environments. Specifically, we examined the evolutionary histories of both plastic populations and non-plastic populations to ask: (1) Does adaptive plasticity promote or constrain evolutionary change? (2) Are plastic populations better able to evolve and then maintain novel traits? And (3), how does adaptive plasticity affect the potential for maladaptive alleles to accumulate in evolving genomes? We find that populations with adaptive phenotypic plasticity undergo less evolutionary change than non-plastic populations, which must rely on genetic variation from de novo mutations to continuously readapt to environmental fluctuations. Indeed, the non-plastic populations undergo more frequent selective sweeps and accumulate many more genetic changes. We find that the repeated selective sweeps in non-plastic populations drive the loss of beneficial traits and accumulation of maladaptive alleles, whereas phenotypic plasticity can stabilize populations against environmental fluctuations. This stabilization allows plastic populations to more easily retain novel adaptive traits than their non-plastic counterparts. In general, the evolution of adaptive phenotypic plasticity shifted evolutionary dynamics to be more similar to that of populations evolving in a static environment than to non-plastic populations evolving in an identical fluctuating environment. All natural environments subject populations to some form of change; our findings suggest that the stabilizing effect of phenotypic plasticity plays an important role in subsequent adaptive evolution.

scholarly journals Adaptive phenotypic plasticity stabilizes evolution in fluctuating environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M Lalejini ◽  
Austin J Ferguson ◽  
Nkrumah A Grant ◽  
Charles Ofria
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Evolutionary Change ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Selective Sweeps ◽  
De Novo Mutations ◽  
Environmental Fluctuations ◽  
Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity

Fluctuating environmental conditions are ubiquitous in natural systems, and populations have evolved various strategies to cope with such fluctuations. The particular mechanisms that evolve profoundly influence subsequent evolutionary dynamics. One such mechanism is phenotypic plasticity, which is the ability of a single genotype to produce alternate phenotypes in an environmentally dependent context. Here, we use digital organisms (self-replicating computer programs) to investigate how adaptive phenotypic plasticity alters evolutionary dynamics and influences evolutionary outcomes in cyclically changing environments. Specifically, we examined the evolutionary histories of both plastic populations and non-plastic populations to ask: (1) Does adaptive plasticity promote or constrain evolutionary change? (2) Are plastic populations better able to evolve and then maintain novel traits? And (3), how does adaptive plasticity affect the potential for maladaptive alleles to accumulate in evolving genomes? We find that populations with adaptive phenotypic plasticity undergo less evolutionary change than non-plastic populations, which must rely on genetic variation from de novo mutations to continuously readapt to environmental fluctuations. Indeed, the non-plastic populations undergo more frequent selective sweeps and accumulate many more genetic changes. We find that the repeated selective sweeps in non-plastic populations drive the loss of beneficial traits and accumulation of maladaptive alleles via deleterious hitchhiking, whereas phenotypic plasticity can stabilize populations against environmental fluctuations. This stabilization allows plastic populations to more easily retain novel adaptive traits than their non-plastic counterparts. In general, the evolution of adaptive phenotypic plasticity shifted evolutionary dynamics to be more similar to that of populations evolving in a static environment than to non-plastic populations evolving in an identical fluctuating environment. All natural environments subject populations to some form of change; our findings suggest that the stabilizing effect of phenotypic plasticity plays an important role in subsequent adaptive evolution.

scholarly journals Overcoming maladaptive plasticity through plastic compensation

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R.J. Morris ◽  
Sean M. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Phenotypic Similarity ◽  
Fluctuating Environments ◽  
Maladaptive Plasticity ◽  
Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Genetic Compensation ◽  
Key Terms

Abstract Most species evolve within fluctuating environments, and have developed adaptations to meet the challenges posed by environmental heterogeneity. One such adaptation is phenotypic plasticity, or the ability of a single genotype to produce multiple environmentally-induced phenotypes. Yet, not all plasticity is adaptive. Despite the renewed interest in adaptive phenotypic plasticity and its consequences for evolution, much less is known about maladaptive plasticity. However, maladaptive plasticity is likely an important driver of phenotypic similarity among populations living in different environments. This paper traces four strategies for overcoming maladaptive plasticity that result in phenotypic similarity, two of which involve genetic changes (standing genetic variation, genetic compensation) and two of which do not (standing epigenetic variation, plastic compensation). Plastic compensation is defined as adaptive plasticity overcoming maladaptive plasticity. In particular, plastic compensation may increase the likelihood of genetic compensation by facilitating population persistence. We provide key terms to disentangle these aspects of phenotypic plasticity and introduce examples to reinforce the potential importance of plastic compensation for understanding evolutionary change.

scholarly journals Evolutionary dynamics of recent selection on cognitive abilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 3045-3052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara E. Miller ◽  
Andrew W. Legan ◽  
Michael T. Henshaw ◽  
Katherine L. Ostevik ◽  
Kieran Samuk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Selective Sweeps ◽  
Cognitive Evolution ◽  
Population Genomic ◽  
Recent Selection

Cognitive abilities can vary dramatically among species. The relative importance of social and ecological challenges in shaping cognitive evolution has been the subject of a long-running and recently renewed debate, but little work has sought to understand the selective dynamics underlying the evolution of cognitive abilities. Here, we investigate recent selection related to cognition in the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus—a wasp that has uniquely evolved visual individual recognition abilities. We generate high quality de novo genome assemblies and population genomic resources for multiple species of paper wasps and use a population genomic framework to interrogate the probable mode and tempo of cognitive evolution. Recent, strong, hard selective sweeps in P. fuscatus contain loci annotated with functions in long-term memory formation, mushroom body development, and visual processing, traits which have recently evolved in association with individual recognition. The homologous pathways are not under selection in closely related wasps that lack individual recognition. Indeed, the prevalence of candidate cognition loci within the strongest selective sweeps suggests that the evolution of cognitive abilities has been among the strongest selection pressures in P. fuscatus’ recent evolutionary history. Detailed analyses of selective sweeps containing candidate cognition loci reveal multiple cases of hard selective sweeps within the last few thousand years on de novo mutations, mainly in noncoding regions. These data provide unprecedented insight into some of the processes by which cognition evolves.

scholarly journals Adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity in changing environments: implications for sexual species with different life history strategies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Romero-Mujalli ◽  
Markus Rochow ◽  
Sandra Kahl ◽  
Sofia Paraskevopoulou ◽  
Remco Folkertsma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Reaction Norms ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Sexual Species ◽  
Cryptic Variation ◽  
Linear Reaction ◽  
Environmental Fluctuations

Populations adapt to novel environmental conditions by genetic changes or phenotypic plasticity. Plastic responses are generally faster and can buffer fitness losses under variable conditions. Plasticity is typically modelled as random noise and linear reaction norms that assume simple one-to-one genotype-phenotype maps and no limits to the phenotypic response. Most studies on plasticity have focused on its effect on population viability. However, it is not clear, whether the advantage of plasticity depends solely on environmental fluctuations or also on the genetic and demographic properties (life histories) of populations. Here we present an individual-based model and study the relative importance of adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity for populations of sexual species with different life histories experiencing directional stochastic climate change. Environmental fluctuations were simulated using differentially autocorrelated climatic stochasticity or noise color, and scenarios of directional climate change. Non-adaptive plasticity was simulated as a random environmental effect on trait development, while adaptive plasticity as a linear, logistic, or sinusoidal reaction norm. The last two imposed limits to the plastic response and emphasized flexible interactions of the genotype with the environment. Interestingly, this assumption led to (i) smaller phenotypic than genotypic variance in the population and the coexistence of polymorphisms, (ii) many-to-one genotype-phenotype map, and (iii) the maintenance of higher genetic variation – compared to linear reaction norms and genetic determinism – even when the population was exposed to a constant environment for several generations. Limits to plasticity led to genetic accommodation, when costs were negligible, and to the appearance of cryptic variation when limits were exceeded. We found that adaptive plasticity promoted population persistence under red noise stochasticity and was particularly important for life histories with low fecundity. Populations producing more offspring could cope with environmental fluctuations solely by genetic changes or random plasticity, unless environmental change was too fast.

scholarly journals Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity for Life History and Less Fitness-Related Traits

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Acasuso-Rivero ◽  
Courtney J. Murren ◽  
Carl D. Schlichting ◽  
Ulrich K. Steiner
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Adaptive Nature

ABSTRACTOrganisms are faced with variable environments and one of the most common solutions to cope with such variability is phenotypic plasticity, a modification of the phenotype to the environment. These modifications influence ecological and evolutionary processes and are assumed to be adaptive. The assumption of adaptive plasticity allows to derive the prediction that the closer to fitness a trait is, the less plastic it would be. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a meta-analysis of 213 studies and measured the plasticity of each reported trait as coefficient of variation (CV). Traits were categorised according to their relationship to fitness into life-history traits (LHt) including reproduction and survival related-traits, and non-life-history traits (N-LHt) including traits related to development, metabolism and physiology, morphology and behaviour. Our results showed, unexpectedly, that although traits differed in their amounts of plasticity, trait plasticity did not correlate with its proximity to fitness. These findings were independent of taxonomic groups or environmental types assessed and raise questions about the ubiquity of adaptive plasticity. We caution about generalising the assumption that all plasticity is adaptive with respect to evolutionary and ecological population processes. More studies are needed that test the adaptive nature of plasticity, and additional theoretical explorations on adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity are encouraged.

scholarly journals Underappreciated Consequences of Phenotypic Plasticity for Ecological Speciation

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Ecological Speciation ◽  
Habitat Choice ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Divergent Evolution ◽  
Environmental Similarity ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Reproductive Characters

Phenotypic plasticity was once seen primarily as a constraint on adaptive evolution or merely a nuisance by geneticists. However, some biologists promote plasticity as a source of novelty and a factor in evolution on par with mutation, drift, gene flow, and selection. These claims are controversial and largely untested, but progress has been made on more modest questions about effects of plasticity on local adaptation (the first component of ecological speciation). Adaptive phenotypic plasticity can be a buffer against divergent selection. It can also facilitate colonization of new niches and rapid divergent evolution. The influence of non-adaptive plasticity has been underappreciated. Non-adaptive plasticity, too can interact with selection to promote or inhibit genetic differentiation. Finally, phenotypic plasticity of reproductive characters might directly influence evolution of reproductive isolation (the second component of ecological speciation). Plasticity can cause assortative mating, but its influence on gene flow ultimately depends on maintenance of environmental similarity between parents and offspring. Examples of plasticity influencing mating and habitat choice suggest that this, too, might be an underappreciated factor in speciation. Plasticity is an important consideration for studies of speciation in nature, and this topic promises fertile ground for integrating developmental biology with ecology and evolution.

scholarly journals Adaptive phenotypic plasticity for life-history and less fitness-related traits

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1904) ◽  
pp. 20190653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Acasuso-Rivero ◽  
Courtney J. Murren ◽  
Carl D. Schlichting ◽  
Ulrich K. Steiner
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Adaptive Nature

Organisms are faced with variable environments and one of the most common solutions to cope with such variability is phenotypic plasticity, a modification of the phenotype to the environment. These modifications are commonly modelled in evolutionary theories as adaptive, influencing ecological and evolutionary processes. If plasticity is adaptive, we would predict that the closer to fitness a trait is, the less plastic it would be. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a meta-analysis of 213 studies and measured the plasticity of each reported trait as a coefficient of variation. Traits were categorized as closer to fitness—life-history traits including reproduction and survival related traits, and farther from fitness—non-life-history traits including traits related to development, metabolism and physiology, morphology and behaviour. Our results showed, unexpectedly, that although traits differed in their amounts of plasticity, trait plasticity was not related to its proximity to fitness. These findings were independent of taxonomic groups or environmental types assessed. We caution against general expectations that plasticity is adaptive, as assumed by many models of its evolution. More studies are needed that test the adaptive nature of plasticity, and additional theoretical explorations on adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity are encouraged.

scholarly journals Eco-evolutionary dynamics

2009 ◽  
Vol 364 (1523) ◽  
pp. 1483-1489 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Pelletier ◽  
D. Garant ◽  
A.P. Hendry
Keyword(s):  
Time Scale ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Evolutionary Change ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Microevolutionary Change ◽  
Theoretical Developments ◽  
Rapid Evolutionary Change

Evolutionary ecologists and population biologists have recently considered that ecological and evolutionary changes are intimately linked and can occur on the same time-scale. Recent theoretical developments have shown how the feedback between ecological and evolutionary dynamics can be linked, and there are now empirical demonstrations showing that ecological change can lead to rapid evolutionary change. We also have evidence that microevolutionary change can leave an ecological signature. We are at a stage where the integration of ecology and evolution is a necessary step towards major advances in our understanding of the processes that shape and maintain biodiversity. This special feature about ‘eco-evolutionary dynamics’ brings together biologists from empirical and theoretical backgrounds to bridge the gap between ecology and evolution and provide a series of contributions aimed at quantifying the interactions between these fundamental processes.

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