Phenotypic adjustments following environmental change are ubiquitous, and trait changes arising through phenotypic plasticity often lag behind their environmental stimuli. Evolutionary biologists seeking to understand how adaptive plasticity can evolve have extensively studied this phenomenon. However, the ecological consequences of common features of plastic responses to environmental variability, including gradual phenotypic change (i.e., slower than the pace of environmental change), are underappreciated. We present a framework based on the unifying concept of phenotype × environment performance landscapes that encompasses gradual plasticity. Then, we experimentally investigate the environmental contexts where gradual plasticity is important, using freshwater phytoplankton populations exposed to thermal variation. Finally, based on our conceptual framework, we develop a mathematical model of gradual plasticity that explains population dynamics in variable environments better than common alternative models. Understanding and accounting for the ecological effects of plasticity in variable environments is critical to making vital predictions and advancing ecology.

中文翻译：

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解决可变环境中种群逐渐表型可塑性的后果

环境变化后的表型调整无处不在，通过表型可塑性引起的性状变化往往滞后于环境刺激。寻求了解适应性可塑性如何进化的进化生物学家已经广泛研究了这种现象。然而，塑料对环境变化的反应的共同特征的生态后果，包括逐渐的表型变化（即，慢于环境变化的速度），被低估了。我们提出了一个基于表型 × 环境性能景观的统一概念的框架，该框架包含渐进的可塑性。然后，我们使用暴露于热变化的淡水浮游植物种群，通过实验研究逐渐可塑性很重要的环境背景。最后，基于我们的概念框架，我们开发了一个渐进可塑性的数学模型，它比常见的替代模型更好地解释了可变环境中的种群动态。了解和解释可变环境中可塑性的生态影响对于做出重要预测和推进生态学至关重要。