Stasis and the phenotypic gambit

Genomics: moving behavioural ecology beyond the phenotypic gambit.

Researchers studying the adaptive significance of behaviour typically assume that genetic mechanisms will not inhibit evolutionary trajectories, an assumption commonly known as the 'phenotypic gambit'. Although the phenotypic gambit continues to be a useful heuristic for behavioural ecology, here we discuss how genomic methods provide new tools and conceptual approaches that are relevant to beh...

Beyond the phenotypic gambit: molecular behavioural ecology and the evolution of genetic architecture.

Most studies of behaviour examine traits whose proximate causes include sensory input and neural decision-making, but conflict and collaboration in biological systems began long before brains or sensory systems evolved. Many behaviours result from non-neural mechanisms such as direct physical contact between recognition proteins or modifications of development that coincide with altered behavio...

Exploring the genetics of nestling personality traits in a wild passerine bird: testing the phenotypic gambit

When several personality traits covary, they form a behavioral syndrome. Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of a behavioral syndrome requires knowledge of its genetic underpinning. At present, our understanding of the genetic basis of behavioral syndromes is largely restricted to domestic and laboratory animals. Wild behavioral syndromes are mostly inferred on the basis of phenotypic corre...

Special Issue: Kin Selection Genomics: moving behavioural ecology beyond the phenotypic gambit

The Pleistocene re-wilding gambit.

Re-wilding parts of North America with exotic Old-World species is an exciting but controversial conservation proposal hijacked by opinions over appropriate conservation baselines and details of implementation. Debate over its worth has become partisan. Here, I summarize the multifaceted issues surrounding Pleistocene re-wilding and edge debate from hazy conceptual arguments to empirical questi...