The flexible phenotype : a body-centred integration of ecology, physiology, and behaviour / Theunis Piersma & Jan A. van Gils.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-218) and indexes.

Introduction -- pt. I. Basics of organismal design -- Maintaining the balance of heat, water, nutrients, and energy -- Symmorphosis : principle and limitations of economic design -- pt. II. Adding environment -- Metabolic ceilings : the ecology of physiological restraint -- Phenotypic plasticity : matching phenotypes to environmental demands -- pt. III. Adding behaviour -- Optimal behaviour : currencies and constraints -- Optimal foraging : the dynamic choice between diets, feeding patches, and gut sizes -- pt. IV. Towards a fully integrated view -- Beyond the physical balance : disease and predation -- Population consequences : conservation and management of flexible phenotypes -- Evolution in five dimensions : phenotypes first!

Print version record.

The Flexible Phenotype attempts a true synthesis of physiology, behaviour, and ecology by developing an empirical argument that describes the intimate connections between phenotypes and their environments. It portrays an ecological angle to the rapidly growing extended synthesis in evolutionary biology that incorporates developmental processes, self-organization, and the multiple dimensions of inheritance. The book starts with a synthesis of the principles guiding current researchin ecophysiology, functional morphology, and behavioural ecology. Each aspect is illustrated with the detailed resu.

English.

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