title: Evaluating 'Plasticity-First' Evolution in Nature: Key Criteria and Empirical Approaches.
abstract: Many biologists are asking whether environmentally initiated phenotypic change (i.e., 'phenotypic plasticity') precedes, and even facilitates, evolutionary adaptation. However, this 'plasticity-first' hypothesis remains controversial, primarily because comprehensive tests from natural populations are generally lacking. We briefly describe the plasticity-first hypothesis and present much-needed key criteria to allow tests in diverse, natural systems. Furthermore, we offer a framework for how these criteria can be evaluated and discuss examples where the plasticity-first hypothesis has been investigated in natural populations. Our goal is to provide a means by which the role of plasticity in adaptive evolution can be assessed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Campus Box 3280, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: nicholasalevis@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nicholas A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Levis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Campus Box 3280, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Pfennig
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D005075:Biological Evolution; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010641:Phenotype