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Selection on Heritable Phenotypic Plasticity in a Wild Bird Population
Daniel H. Nussey,1,2*Erik Postma,1Phillip Gienapp,1Marcel E. Visser1
Theoretical and laboratory research suggests that phenotypicplasticity can evolve under selection. However, evidence forits evolutionary potential from the wild is lacking. We presentevidence from a Dutch population of great tits (Parus major)for variation in individual plasticity in the timing of reproduction,and we show that this variation is heritable. Selection favoringhighly plastic individuals has intensified over a 32-year period.This temporal trend is concurrent with climate change causinga mismatch between the breeding times of the birds and theircaterpillar prey. Continued selection on plasticity can actto alleviate this mismatch.
1 Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Post Office Box 40, 6666 ZG Heteren, Netherlands. 2 Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: d.h.nussey{at}sms.ed.ac.uk
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