Nussey D H, Wilson A J, Brommer J E
Large Animal Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
J Evol Biol. 2007 May;20(3):831-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01300.x.
The ability of individual organisms to alter morphological and life-history traits in response to the conditions they experience is an example of phenotypic plasticity which is fundamental to any population's ability to deal with short-term environmental change. We currently know little about the prevalence, and evolutionary and ecological causes and consequences of variation in life history plasticity in the wild. Here we outline an analytical framework, utilizing the reaction norm concept and random regression statistical models, to assess the between-individual variation in life history plasticity that may underlie population level responses to the environment at both phenotypic and genetic levels. We discuss applications of this framework to date in wild vertebrate populations, and illustrate how natural selection and ecological constraint may alter a population's response to the environment through their effects at the individual level. Finally, we present future directions and challenges for research into individual plasticity.
个体生物根据所经历的条件改变形态和生活史特征的能力是表型可塑性的一个例子，这对于任何种群应对短期环境变化的能力来说都是至关重要的。目前，我们对野生生物生活史可塑性变化的普遍性、进化和生态原因及后果了解甚少。在此，我们概述一个分析框架，利用反应规范概念和随机回归统计模型，来评估生活史可塑性的个体间变异，这种变异可能在表型和遗传水平上构成种群对环境反应的基础。我们讨论了该框架迄今为止在野生脊椎动物种群中的应用，并说明了自然选择和生态约束如何通过在个体水平上的作用来改变种群对环境的反应。最后，我们提出了个体可塑性研究的未来方向和挑战。
