The Evolution of Behavioral Norms of Reaction as a Problem in Ecological Genetics: Theory, Methods, and Data (original) (raw)

Geographic Variation in Behavior, 1999

Abstract

Behavior, like other phenotypic traits, varies as a function of genes and environment. Variation occurs at all demographic levels, within individuals over time, between individuals, and between populations and species. Whether variation is important will depend on the behavior and its context. For example, whether a bird scratches its head by extending a leg above or below the adjacent wing may not have profound fitness consequences, although species differences in this character may shed light on phylogenetic relationships (e.g., Wallace 1963; Simmons 1964). In contrast, other behaviors, such as the instantaneous decision to migrate or not, may affect fitness directly by altering the schedule of fecundity or mortality (Dingle et al. 1982). Such strategic behaviors (Maynard Smith 1982), which often depend for their expression on the assessment of local cues (Moran 1992), are complicated and important evolutionary traits. The phenotypic variability that defines them, however, has hin...

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