TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantifying the effects of embryonic phenotypic plasticity on adult phenotypes in reptiles
T2 - A review of current knowledge and major gaps
AU - Mitchell, Timothy S.
AU - Janzen, Fredric J.
AU - Warner, Daniel A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2018/4/1
Y1 - 2018/4/1
N2 - Studies of reptiles have contributed greatly to understanding the impacts of developmental environments on offspring phenotypes. A major challenge for these studies, however, is quantifying the effects of embryonic environments on adult phenotypes and reproductive success. Such measurements may be necessary to gain full insight into the evolution of plasticity, as well as the long-term consequences of plasticity under environmental change. Unfortunately, most studies of reptile developmental plasticity only measure phenotypic traits of offspring at hatching, and rarely evaluate effects on subsequent adult phenotypes. This lack of information highlights a major gap in this active field. In this review, we first discuss conceptual issues regarding the ecology and evolution of plasticity to provide justification for long-term studies necessary to measure adult phenotypes. Second, we review case studies of reptiles that assessed the effects of developmental environments on adult phenotypes and/or reproduction, and we highlight the valuable insights that they provide. Importantly, we illustrate that terminating studies during early-life stages can lead to incomplete or even misleading interpretations. Third, we discuss the pros and cons of different experimental approaches for quantifying long-term effects of developmental environments. Overall, devoted long-term studies on taxa with diverse ecologies and life histories will provide major advances in the field of developmental plasticity.
AB - Studies of reptiles have contributed greatly to understanding the impacts of developmental environments on offspring phenotypes. A major challenge for these studies, however, is quantifying the effects of embryonic environments on adult phenotypes and reproductive success. Such measurements may be necessary to gain full insight into the evolution of plasticity, as well as the long-term consequences of plasticity under environmental change. Unfortunately, most studies of reptile developmental plasticity only measure phenotypic traits of offspring at hatching, and rarely evaluate effects on subsequent adult phenotypes. This lack of information highlights a major gap in this active field. In this review, we first discuss conceptual issues regarding the ecology and evolution of plasticity to provide justification for long-term studies necessary to measure adult phenotypes. Second, we review case studies of reptiles that assessed the effects of developmental environments on adult phenotypes and/or reproduction, and we highlight the valuable insights that they provide. Importantly, we illustrate that terminating studies during early-life stages can lead to incomplete or even misleading interpretations. Third, we discuss the pros and cons of different experimental approaches for quantifying long-term effects of developmental environments. Overall, devoted long-term studies on taxa with diverse ecologies and life histories will provide major advances in the field of developmental plasticity.
KW - developmental plasticity
KW - egg incubation
KW - temperature-dependent sex determination
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U2 - 10.1002/jez.2187
DO - 10.1002/jez.2187
M3 - Review article
C2 - 29869377
AN - SCOPUS:85053373211
SN - 2471-5638
VL - 329
SP - 203
EP - 214
JO - Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
JF - Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
IS - 4-5
ER -