Climate change, adaptation, and phenotypic plasticity: the problem and the evidence

• Published in: Evolutionary applications Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 1 - 14
• Main Authors: Merilä, Juha, Hendry, Andrew P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2014; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Adaptation; Climate change; environmental change; evolution; Evolution & development; genetics; global change; individual plasticity; Insects; natural selection; Phenology; Phenotypic plasticity; Trends; genetics; natural selection; evolution; global change; environmental change; individual plasticity

Many studies have recorded phenotypic changes in natural populations and attributed them to climate change. However, controversy and uncertainty has arisen around three levels of inference in such studies. First, it has proven difficult to conclusively distinguish whether phenotypic changes are gene...