TY - JOUR
T1 - Sex differences in phenotypic plasticity affect variation in sexual size dimorphism in insects
T2 - From physiology to evolution
AU - Stillwell, R. Craig
AU - Blanckenhorn, Wolf U.
AU - Teder, Tiit
AU - Davidowitz, Goggy
AU - Fox, Charles W.
PY - 2010/1/1
Y1 - 2010/1/1
N2 - Males and females of nearly all animals differ in their body size, a phenomenon called sexual size dimorphism (SSD). The degree and direction of SSD vary considerably among taxa, including among populations within species. A considerable amount of this variation is due to sex differences in body size plasticity. We examine how variation in these sex differences is generated by exploring sex differences in plasticity in growth rate and development time and the physiological regulation of these differences (e.g., sex differences in regulation by the endocrine system). We explore adaptive hypotheses proposed to explain sex differences in plasticity, including those that predict that plasticity will be lowest for traits under strong selection (adaptive canalization) or greatest for traits under strong directional selection (condition dependence), but few studies have tested these hypotheses. Studies that combine proximate and ultimate mechanisms offer great promise for understanding variation in SSD and sex differences in body size plasticity in insects.
AB - Males and females of nearly all animals differ in their body size, a phenomenon called sexual size dimorphism (SSD). The degree and direction of SSD vary considerably among taxa, including among populations within species. A considerable amount of this variation is due to sex differences in body size plasticity. We examine how variation in these sex differences is generated by exploring sex differences in plasticity in growth rate and development time and the physiological regulation of these differences (e.g., sex differences in regulation by the endocrine system). We explore adaptive hypotheses proposed to explain sex differences in plasticity, including those that predict that plasticity will be lowest for traits under strong selection (adaptive canalization) or greatest for traits under strong directional selection (condition dependence), but few studies have tested these hypotheses. Studies that combine proximate and ultimate mechanisms offer great promise for understanding variation in SSD and sex differences in body size plasticity in insects.
KW - Body size
KW - Development
KW - Rensch's rule
KW - Sexual dimorphism
KW - Sexual selection
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U2 - 10.1146/annurev-ento-112408-085500
DO - 10.1146/annurev-ento-112408-085500
M3 - Review article
C2 - 19728836
AN - SCOPUS:77449149504
SN - 0066-4170
VL - 55
SP - 227
EP - 245
JO - Annual Review of Entomology
JF - Annual Review of Entomology
ER -