Theory 39/Plasticity vs Canalisation/Evolutionary ecology
Plasticity Delays Adaptation
The claim
Phenotypic plasticity trades against local adaptation, because a plastic genotype can persist across habitats without selection fixing a locally optimal form.
01Mechanism
Plasticity buffers fitness differences between habitats; weaker selection means slower divergence.
02Prediction
Divergence should be slower in more plastic lineages.
03Refutation
Divergence independent of plasticity would remove the trade-off.