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Phenotypic plasticity refers to some of the changes in an organism's behavior, morphology and physiology in response to a unique environment. [1] [2] Fundamental to the way in which organisms cope with environmental variation, phenotypic plasticity encompasses all types of environmentally induced changes (e.g. morphological, physiological, behavioural, phenological) that may or may not be ...
Similar genotypic changes may result in similar phenotypic alterations, even across a wide range of species. [1] The genotype–phenotype distinction is drawn in genetics. The "genotype" is an organism's full hereditary information. The "phenotype" is an organism's actual observed properties, such as morphology, development, or behavior.
[4] [3] However, during developmental periods, synaptic plasticity is of particular importance, as changes in the network of synaptic connections can ultimately lead to changes in developmental milestones. For instance, the initial overproduction of synapses during development is key to plasticity that occurs in the visual and auditory cortices ...
Phenotypic or developmental plasticity is the alteration of development through environmental factors. [2] These factors can induce multiple types of variants that increase the fitness of an organism based on the environment they are in. These alterations can be for defense, predation, sex determination, and sexual selection. [2]
The Baldwin effect has been confused with, and sometimes conflated with, a different evolutionary theory also based on phenotypic plasticity, C. H. Waddington's genetic assimilation. The Baldwin effect includes genetic accommodation, of which one type is genetic assimilation. [28]
Waddington called the effect he had seen "genetic assimilation". His explanation was that it was caused by a process he called "canalization".He compared embryonic development to a ball rolling down a slope in what he called an epigenetic landscape, where each point on the landscape is a possible state of the organism (involving many variables).
A mechanism has been proposed for the evolutionary development of polyphenisms: [7] A mutation results in a novel, heritable trait. The trait's frequency expands in the population, creating a population on which selection can act. Pre-existing (background) genetic variation in other genes results in phenotypic differences in expression of the ...
Developmental systems theory (DST) is an overarching theoretical perspective on biological development, heredity, and evolution. [1] It emphasizes the shared contributions of genes , environment, and epigenetic factors on developmental processes.