Definition
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a genotype to vary its phenotype in different environments, thereby maintaining high performance across those environments.
Introduction
Phenotypic plasticity offers both a proximate and ultimate explanation for why individuals show stable, consistent differences in behavior. Organisms can develop or express different behavioral, morphological, or physiological traits in different environments, thus maintaining high performance across environments that vary over space and time (West-Eberhard 2003; Snell-Rood 2013). There are several well-studied mechanisms that facilitate the development of different phenotypes across environments; these same mechanisms are also likely to lead to the development and maintenance of consistent individual differences in behavior.
Background and Mechanisms of Plasticity
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a genotype to adjust its...
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Snell-Rood, E., Steck, M. (2017). Phenotypic Plasticity. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1557-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1557-1
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