Trends in Ecology & Evolution
OpinionThe physiology/life-history nexus
Section snippets
What do we mean by physiology?
When referring to physiology, we include aspects of organism function, such as metabolism, nutrition and thermal relationships. These have been considered traditionally in the context of the physiological ecology paradigm, which focuses on particular systems (e.g. the lungs, blood and muscle with regard to the respiratory metabolism of activity) or the integration of systems within the organism (symmorphosis) [10]. With the development of population biology, evolutionary ecology and
What do we mean by life history?
Life history is commonly defined as a set of evolved strategies, including behavioral, physiological and anatomical adaptations, that more or less influence survival and reproductive success directly. The reaction norm, or phenotypic response to environmental variation, is usually included in the definition of life history. As adaptations, life-history traits should be distinguished clearly from the life-table variables, such as birth rates and death rates, which they influence. Life tables
Birds as model systems
Several comparative studies of birds and mammals have emphasized the existence of a single strong axis of life-history variation 1., 2., 21.. Birds in particular are well suited for such analyses because life-history variation is well documented worldwide in diverse environments. Indeed, bird studies have been at the forefront of the development of a mechanistic understanding of life-history diversification in a natural context 5., 6., 22..
However, despite decades of research, no consensus has
The physiology/life-history nexus
A nexus, from the Latin ‘to bind’, is a connection or link. By controlling the responses of organisms to variation in their environments, physiological mechanisms link the performance of the organism and the life table of the population to the environment (Box 1).
To understand how physiology mediates the relationship between life history and the environment, we develop an argument founded upon five principles: (1) individual organisms respond to variation in their environments; (2) responses,
Conclusions
Individuals vary widely, both within and between populations, with respect to life-history traits. Much of this variation is the result of direct physiological sensitivity to the environment – phenotypic plasticity – that might be modified secondarily by evolutionary responses that refine phenotype-environment relationships. Behavioral control mechanisms that are part of the neuroendocrine system constrain the potential range of variation in life histories tightly at all levels. These control
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