Phenotypic Plasticity

Phenotypic plasticity in environmentally cotingent trait expression. It's a simple concept with profound implications. Because alternative environments typically require different trait values to maximize performance, phenotypic plasticity can be a powerful means of adaptation. Plasticity also provides an important source of genetically based variation that can facilitate adaptive genetic differentiation between populations, which may also lay a path towards speciation The editors have been careful not to present only "the usual view." Instead, they have emphasized a combinationof received wisdom and fresh, sometimes controversial views. Contributors and topics have been selected to illuminate the core of the field, but also to extend the intellectual reach of these ideas. The chapters connect to the core of plasticityfrom several subdisciplines, including organismal ecology, developmental biology, genetics, behvioral ecology and evolutionary theory. One chapter presents a detailed chronology of the field. Finally, the contributors to this volume have also tried to look forward, by including ideas on future directions. Thus, this book should be timely for years to come and provides information not yet found in primary literature.