The Flexible Phenotype: A Body-Centred Integration of Ecology, Physiology, and Behaviour

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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 research
in ecophysiology, functional morphology, and behavioural ecology. Each aspect is illustrated with the detailed results of empirical work on as wide a range of organisms as possible. The integrated story of the flexible phenotype is woven throughout the book on the basis of the authors' long-term
research on migrant shorebirds and their invertebrate prey. These birds travel vast distances from one environment to another, and the changing nature of their bodies reflects the varied selection pressures experienced in the course of their globe-spanning migrations. In essence, the authors argue for the existence of direct, measurable, links between phenotype and ecology, mediated by developmental processes. Their book outlines a more encompassing approach to evolutionary ecology, based on
first principles in physiology, behaviour, and ecology. It aspires to encourage a further integration of ecology and physiology, as well as fostering a collaborative research agenda between ecologists, physiologists, and developmental biologists.

The Flexible Phenotype: A Body-Centred Integration of Ecology, Physiology, and Behaviour Review

The phenotype is definitely at the center of this exploration, and the insights just keep coming. The excitement that the authors have is palpable, and this stems in part from their chosen species of study - red knots, a migratory shorebird that makes four migrations a year from Africa to the Arctic with a stop in the Dutch tidal flats (for their subspecies). Red knots thus have highly variable phenotypes that can be measured thermally, energetically, chemically coming and going as behavioral intakes, storage, costs, and outputs. The red knots form the "empirical backbone" of the book, but each facet of phenotypic flexibility (as opposed to plasticity which is less reversible over the life cycle) leads across large seas of literature, other relevant species, and open-ended theorizing. Their analysis leads them to support an inseparability of bodies and environments. The arguments, the graphs, the studies cited, and the clarity of the exposition at less than 200 pages makes for a gem of a book that pushes the radical end of the envelope in the evo-devo discussion.

Delightful and expansive.

Parenthetically, I find it confusing that the paperback edition shows such a strikingly different cover with what appears to be a library. My hardback cover has the birds in flight at the top as does the hardback image posted on Amazon. Postscript -- after writing this review from the hardback library copy, I decided that this book was so good that it was worth keeping. I bought the paperback copy from Amazon, and the paperback cover is not as it appears on Amazon (interior of a classic library) but is like the cover of the hardback (birds on top, barnacle on bottom).

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