Aside from its selective role in filtering inter‐individual variation during evolution by natural
selection, the environment also plays an instructive role in producing variation during …

The plastic response of phenotypic traits to environmental change is a common research
focus in several disciplines‐from ecology and evolutionary biology to physiology and …

Developmental plasticity refers to the property by which the same genotype produces
distinct phenotypes depending on the environmental conditions under which development …

This theme issue pursues an exploration of the potential of taking into account the
environmental sensitivity of development to explaining the evolution of metazoan life cycles …

In many species, dramatic phenotypic variation can be observed among individuals that are
allowed to develop in different environments. Such environment-related phenotypic variation …

Explaining the origins of novel traits is central to evolutionary biology. Longstanding theory
suggests that developmental plasticity, the ability of an individual to modify its development …

Phenotypic plasticity has often been assumed to buffer the effects of natural selection and
thus act as a constraint on evolutionary change. It has become increasingly clear, however …

Phenotypic characteristics of animals can change independently from changes in the
genetic code. These plastic phenotypic responses are important for population persistence …

Evolutionary biologists often use phenotypic differences between species and between
individuals to gain an understanding of organismal design. The focus of much recent …

This chapter reviews the ecological conditions that favor the evolution of plasticity, and the
costs and limits that constrain the evolution of plasticity. Variable environments tend to select …