Maturation reaction norm evolution under varying conditions of eco-evolutionary change

Probabilistic maturation reaction norms (PMRNs) are commonly used to infer evolution of maturation age and size in wild fish stocks, but how well estimates from phenotypic data actually reflect underlying genotypes is debated. We used an eco-genetic model of a commercially harvested freshwater fish to simulate populations undergoing various levels of fisheries-induced evolution and density-dependent feedback and evaluated effects on the estimation of PMRNs. We estimated PMRNs from phenotypic data sampled from simulated populations (age, length, and maturation status of individuals), as is done on wild stocks, and compared estimates with the known maturation genotypes of individuals in the simulated population. PMRN estimates were robust to changes in the strength of density-dependent growth and high levels of fisheries-induced evolution. However, our ability to detect slower rates of evolution was limited, especially when individuals matured within a narrow range of ages. This study suggests that the widely applied method of estimating PMRNs from readily available phenotypic data to detect underlying evolution of maturation schedule is robust to some key factors that vary in wild populations.

Transgenerational Plasticity and Bet-Hedging: A Framework for Reaction Norm Evolution

Decision-making under uncertain conditions favors bet-hedging (avoidance of fitness variance), whereas predictable environments favor phenotypic plasticity. However, entirely predictable or entirely unpredictable conditions are rarely found in nature. Intermediate strategies are required when the time lag between information sensing and phenotype induction is large (e.g., transgenerational plasticity) and when cues are only partially predictive of future conditions. Nevertheless, current theory regards plasticity and bet-hedging as distinct entities. We here develop a unifying framework: based on traits with binary outcomes like seed germination or diapause incidence we clarify that diversified bet-hedging (risk-spreading among one’s offspring) and transgenerational plasticity are mutually exclusive strategies, arising from opposing changes in reaction norms (allocating phenotypic variance among or within environments). We further explain the relationship of this continuum with arithmetic mean maximization vs. conservative bet-hedging (a risk-avoidance strategy), and canalization vs. phenotypic variance in a three-dimensional continuum of reaction norm evolution. We discuss under which scenarios costs and limits may constrain the evolution of reaction norm shapes.

PECULIARITIES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LITERATURE OF THE GERMAN LANGUAGE. PHONETIC ASPECTS

Linguists emphasize the importance of a structural-systematic approach to language learning, which helps to increase interest in solving the problem of language normativeness. The term “norm”, like many other terms in linguistics, is polysemous. At the same time, an important and still insufficiently disclosed aspect of the study of language norms is the definition of its essence in nationally heterogeneous languages, in particular in German standard language, which actualizes the study of autonomous norms of national variants of German, their identical and nationally specific features. Understanding the uniqueness of the codification of phonetic realities in the German language is relevant in the context of the traditions of Western European lexicography and the process of globalization and increasingly affects the linguistic spheres. The article is dedicated to the study of the notion of German orthoepic norm, the problem of its definition and mechanisms of its formation. The notion of the norm is rather ambiguous and its different aspects are usually highlighted by scientists when giving its definition. Generally they mark out two principal dimensions in the notion of the norm: the objective norm and the subjective norm. In conditions of community development, continuous linguistic and social changes, interdependent and interacting, the norm is a fundamental regulator of speech activity. It is clear that normative speech is the obligatory sign of well-educated, cultured person and the culture of sounding speech is an important aspect of national culture such as the culture of written word, communication or social life in general. The orthoepic German norm has been evolved in the process of Germanlanguage development. It is absolutely related to historical, social and culture processes. The norms are not invented by philologists, they reflect a certain stage of literary language development. In the article the role of the norm and its place in the language is defined and norm evolution in the process of language establishment and development is considered

Evolution of Reaction Norms

Phenotypic variance is a function of genetic variability, environmental variation, and the ways in which genetic and environmental variation interact, i.e., VG×E. Reaction norms are a means of conceptually, graphically, and mathematically describing this total variance and are a powerful tool for decomposing it into its constituent parts (i.e., nature, nurture, and, critically, their interaction). A reaction norm is defined as the range of phenotypes expressed by a genotype along an environmental gradient. It is represented by a linear or nonlinear function which describes the value of a phenotypic trait for a particular genotype or group of genotypes in different environments. As such, it is closely related to the concept of phenotypic plasticity, which can be represented by a reaction norm with a non-zero slope (i.e., the phenotype varies with respect to the environment). While the term (which originated as Reaktionsnorm) has been in use for over one hundred years, there has been some debate about the most appropriate way to describe it mathematically. Nonetheless, there is general consensus that a reaction norm has multiple properties, each of which can be the target of selection. Reaction norms are typically described as consisting of: (1) an intercept, elevation, or offset, which describes the mean trait value across all environments, (2) a slope, which quantifies the degree of trait plasticity, and (3) shape or curvature (e.g., linear, quadratic, monotonic). Evidence that trait means and plasticities can evolve separately underscores the necessity of applying a reaction norm framework for studying ecological and evolutionary responses to the environment, because measuring phenotypes in a single environmental context does not necessarily reflect their relative values or diversities in a different context. These contextual differences are particularly important in a world of rapid anthropogenic change and increasing environmental variability. Therefore, in addition to being fundamental to ecological and evolutionary phenomena, reaction norm evolution is relevant for diverse biological fields, including behavior and psychology, conservation and natural resource management, global change biology, agriculture and breeding programs, and human health. Given that evolutionary change is defined by genetic change, we focus this article on variation among reaction norms from different genotypes (i.e., reaction norms that have potentially evolved to be divergent from one another) as well as the forces that promote and constrain reaction norm evolution. For an overview of the literature on plasticity itself (keeping in mind that reaction norms need not be plastic), see the separate Oxford Bibliographies in Evolutionary Biology article Phenotypic Plasticity.

Transgenerational plasticity and bet-hedging: a framework for reaction norm evolution

Decision-making under uncertain conditions favors bet-hedging (avoidance of fitness variance), whereas predictable environments favor phenotypic plasticity. However, entirely predictable or entirely unpredictable conditions are rarely found in nature. Intermediate strategies are required when the time lag between information sensing and phenotype induction is large (e.g. transgenerational plasticity) and when cues are only partially predictive of future conditions. Nevertheless, current theory regards plasticity and bet-hedging as distinct entities. We here develop a unifying framework: based on traits with binary outcomes like seed germination or diapause incidence we clarify that diversified bet-hedging (risk-spreading among one’s offspring) and transgenerational plasticity are mutually exclusive strategies, arising from opposing changes in reaction norms (allocating phenotypic variance among or within environments). We further explain the relationship of this continuum with arithmetic mean maximization vs. conservative bet-hedging (a risk-avoidance strategy), and canalization vs. phenotypic variance in a three-dimensional continuum of reaction norm evolution. We discuss under which scenarios costs and limits may constrain the evolution of reaction norm shapes.

Changing ideas, changing norms: The case of ‘the responsibility to rebuild’

Whilst much has been written on emergence of new norms in international politics, we know significantly less about changes to the ideas and assumptions that underpin such norms. Examined at micro-level, most norms consist of a set of ideas and assumptions that form the basis of what is considered as appropriate, legitimate or even the required thing to do. Far from being stable, ideational constitutions of norms can undergo significant changes in the course of the norm emergence process. Enquiring into such changes is important if we are to move beyond static and linear accounts of norm evolution. Using changes in the ideational constitution of the responsibility to protect – specifically, the de-emphasis of the responsibility to rebuild – as its vantage point, the analysis seeks to answer the following question: what drives change in ideational constitutions of international norms? The chief argument advanced in this article is that misalignments at the level of broader normative structures (external misalignments) and within norms (internal misalignments) result in changes in the ideational constitutions of emerging norms.

Feminist Ontologies, Epistemologies, Methodologies, and Methods in International Relations

Feminism operates on various feminist epistemologies, methodologies, and methods. While there is no consensus on how to organize or label these, there are a few generalities that can be drawn between these epistemologies, particularly in the international relations (IR) context. Classifying these epistemologies generally under the umbrella (or in the constellation) of postpositivism makes clear the contrasts between positivist social science and more critical approaches. Moreover, within the many critical approaches in feminist IR are many points of convergence and divergence. Feminist IR theory also focuses on the complexities of gender as a social and relational construction, in contrast to how nonfeminist ontologies focus on the rights of women, but including those of children and men as well. Hence, the postpositivist ontology takes on a more complex meaning. Rather than trying to uncover “how things really are,” postpositivists study how social realities (the Westphalian system, international migration or trafficking, or even modern war) came to be, and also how these realities came to be understood as norms, institutions, or social facts—often examining the gendered underpinnings of each. Most feminist IR theorists (and IR constructivists) share an “ontology of becoming” where the focus is on the intersubjective process of norm evolution.