Because of the ubiquity of genetic variation for quantitative traits, virtually all populations
have some capacity to respond evolutionarily to selective challenges. However, natural …

Understanding population responses to novel environments is a central concern of both
evolutionary biology and ecology (Maynard Smith 1989; Bradshaw 1991; Hoffman and …

Populations can benefit from environmental change, but this chapter focuses on situations
where the environment is shifting toward conditions that are unsuitable for a locally adapted …

We discuss three interlinked issues: the natural pace of environmental change and
adaptation, the likelihood that a population will adapt to a potentially lethal change, and …

We analyze mathematical models to examine how the genetic basis of fitness affects the
persistence of a population suddenly encountering a harsh environment where it would go …

Field studies suggest that populations often go extinct following discrete changes in the
environment. However, populations may avoid extinction by rapidly adapting to their altered …

Population genetics theory suggests that temporally fluctuating selection on phenotypes can
act to maintain genetic variance only under very restrictive conditions. However, this …

In an unpredictably changing environment, phenotypic variability may evolve as a “bet‐
hedging” strategy. We examine here two models for evolutionarily stable phenotype …

The role of recombination and sexual reproduction in enhancing adaptation and population
persistence in temporally varying environments is investigated on the basis of a quantitative …

Although many studies have shown that a population initially well adapted to its environment
can evolve rapidly when conditions suddenly change, the... Although a number of studies …