Plasticity and evolution in correlated suites of traits

When organisms are faced with new or changing environments, a central challenge is the coordination of adaptive shifts in many different phenotypic traits. The actual relationships among traits may facilitate or constrain evolutionary responses to selection, depending on whether the direction of selection is aligned or opposed to the pattern of trait correlations. Attempts to predict evolutionary potential in correlated traits generally assume that correlations are stable across time and space; however, increasing evidence suggests that this may not be the case, and flexibility in trait correlations could bias evolutionary trajectories. We examined genetic and environmental influences on variation and covariation in a suite of behavioral traits to understand if and how flexibility in trait correlations influences adaptation to novel environments. We tested the role of genetic and environmental influences on behavioral trait correlations by comparing Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticul...

当生物体面临全新或动态变化的环境时，其核心挑战之一是协调多种不同表型性状（phenotypic traits）的适应性转变。性状间的实际关联可能会促进或限制演化对选择的响应，具体取决于选择方向与性状关联模式是一致还是相悖。过往预测关联性状演化潜力的研究通常假设，性状关联在时间与空间维度上均保持稳定；但越来越多的证据表明这一假设并不成立，性状关联的可塑性可能会偏倚演化轨迹。本研究针对一系列行为性状的变异与协变情况展开分析，以探究性状关联的可塑性是否以及如何影响生物体对新环境的适应性。本研究通过对比特立尼达孔雀鱼（Poecilia reticul...），检验遗传与环境因素对行为性状关联的调控作用。