For wild creatures, the rate of environmental change presents significant difficulties. When exposed to a new environment individual plants and animals can potentially adjust their biology to better cope with new pressures they are exposed to – this is known as phenotypic plasticity. Plasticity is likely to be important in the early stages of colonizing new places or when exposed to toxic substances in the environment. New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, shows that early plasticity can influence the ability to subsequently evolve genetic adaptations to conquer new habitats.
About the Author
