Physiological regulatory networks: Ecological roles and evolutionary constraints
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
8-1-2012
Abstract
Ecological and evolutionary physiology has traditionally focused on one aspect of physiology at a time. Here, we discuss the implications of considering physiological regulatory networks (PRNs) as integrated wholes, a perspective that reveals novel roles for physiology in organismal ecology and evolution. For example, evolutionary response to changes in resource abundance might be constrained by the role of dietary micronutrients in immune response regulation, given a particular pathogen environment. Because many physiological components impact more than one process, organismal homeostasis is maintained, individual fitness is determined and evolutionary change is constrained (or facilitated) by interactions within PRNs. We discuss how PRN structure and its system-level properties could determine both individual performance and patterns of physiological evolution. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Volume
27
Issue
8
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Cohen, Alan A., Lynn B. Martin, John C. Wingfield, Scott R. McWilliams, and Jennifer A. Dunne. "Physiological regulatory networks: Ecological roles and evolutionary constraints." Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27, 8 (2012). doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2012.04.008.