Genetic architecture describes the characteristics of genetic variation that are responsible for
heritable phenotypic variability. It depends on the number of genetic variants affecting a trait …

Phenotypic plasticity is defined as the property of organisms to produce distinct phenotypes
in response to environmental variation. While for more than a century, biologists have …

Resilience is the capacity of an animal to be minimally affected by disturbances or to rapidly
return to the state pertained before exposure to a disturbance. However, indicators for …

It was first noticed 100 years ago that mutations tend to affect more than one phenotypic
characteristic, a phenomenon that was called'pleiotropy'. Because pleiotropy was found so …

Adaptation to a sudden extreme change in environment, beyond the usual range of
background environmental fluctuations, is analysed using a quantitative genetic model of …

Robustness is characterized by the invariant expression of a phenotype in the face of a
genetic and/or environmental perturbation. Although phenotypic variance is a central …

Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by
analyzing the ecological factors that shape age-specific schedules of growth, reproduction …

According to life‐history theory, growth rates are subject to strong directional selection due
to reproductive and survival advantages associated with large adult body size. Yet, growth is …

Biology presents many wonders, but one of the most remarkable is how a complex
multicellular organism grows from a single cell. Until recently, the processes involved …

The ability to adapt to marginal habitats, in which survival and reproduction are initially poor,
plays a crucial role in the evolution of ecological niches and species ranges. Adaptation to …