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Cited by 652Animal Behavior and ReproductionMorphological variations and asymmetryInsect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior

Development and evolution of adaptive polyphenisms

Nijhout, H. Frederik·2003·Evolution & Development
DOI 10.1046/j.1525-142x.2003.03003.x
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Abstract

SUMMARY Phenotypic plasticity is the primitive character state for most if not all traits. Insofar as developmental and physiological processes obey the laws of chemistry and physics, they will be sensitive to such environmental variables as temperature, nutrient supply, ionic environment, and the availability of various macro‐ and micronutrients. Depending on the effect this phenotypic plasticity has on fitness, evolution may proceed to select either for mechanisms that buffer or canalize the phenotype against relevant environmental variation or for a modified plastic response in which some ranges of the phenotypic variation are adaptive to particular environments. Phenotypic plasticity can be continuous, in which case it is called a reaction norm, or discontinuous, in which case it is called a polyphenism. Although the morphological discontinuity of some polyphenisms is produced by discrete developmental switches, most polyphenisms are due to discontinuities in the environment that induce only portions of what is in reality a continuous reaction norm. In insect polyphenisms, the environmental variable that induces the alternative phenotype is a token stimulus that serves as a predictor of, but is not itself, the environment to which the polyphenism is an adaptation. In all cases studied so far, the environmental stimulus alters the endocrine mechanism of metamorphosis by altering either the pattern of hormone secretion or the pattern of hormone sensitivity in different tissues. Such changes in the patterns of endocrine interactions result in the execution of alternative developmental pathways. The spatial and temporal compartmentalization of endocrine interactions has produced a developmental mechanism that enables substantial localized changes in morphology that remain well integrated into the structure and function of the organism.

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  • Neuroendocrine systems are crucially involved in developmental plasticity in most species, integrating environmental variation and shaping development.

    “More generally, it is becoming increasingly clear that neuroendocrine systems are crucially involved in the expression of developmental plasticity in most species, integrating and “interpreting” environmental variation and adaptively shaping the development of the whole organism (Dufty et al., 2002; Kaplan and Gangestad, 2005; Nijhout, 2003; Ricklefs and Wikelski, 2002).”

    From The Adaptive Calibration Model of stress responsivity (2011) · cites this paper as Nijhout, 2003

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Authors
Nijhout, H. F.
Affiliations
Duke University (US)
Corresponding author
Nijhout, H. Frederik
ORCID
Nijhout, H. Frederik
Venue
Evolution & Development
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2002-12-19
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
9-18
ISSN
  • 1520-541X (ISSN-L)
  • 1525-142X
DOI
10.1046/j.1525-142x.2003.03003.x
OpenAlex
W2145100222
Cited by
652
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 29
FWCI
1.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Evolution & Development (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Geometry and Topology › Morphological variations and asymmetry
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
Keywords
polyphenism, phenotypic plasticity, reaction norms, insect development, metamorphosis, hormonal regulation, developmental switch, environmental cues, canalization, evolution of plasticity
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Coleoptera, Ecology, Environment, Biological Evolution, Female, Genotype, Male, Metamorphosis, Biological, Phenotype, Seasons, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental

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