Download Biol 258: PP seminar

Biol 258: PP seminar
Fall 2002
21 Aug meeting notes
Bob Podolsky
1) Introductions
2) Goal?
 To have you leave knowing more about PP than when you came in.
 To appreciate how an understanding of PP is important to many fields of biology, and
how an understanding of many fields is needed to appreciate and understand PP.
3) Please register for the class
4) Schedule time
5) Book purchase $48
6) General structure of seminar--books and accompanying articles
 Chapter each week; article each week except for chapters 1 and 4
 Must have read chapter by week before, have paper in mind for assignment
 Rest of group: come up with paper we'd like for follow up reading
7) Questions--not optional. Submit >=36 h before discussion.
8) Website will list readings. Will post pdf of readings if available.
9) First week reading (chapter 1 of Pigliucci): major themes
 What is plasticity? Single genotype, change environment. Deceptively simple.
 Complexities
a. G -> P mapping function. Fundamental to biology.
b. Evolution: need genetic variation for trait.
 Deals with variation: not genetic, not environmental, but interaction. Must
take account of both
 Plasticity is property of genotype. GxE property of population.
 What are consequences for evolution?
 What are consequences for heritability?
c. Characterization.
 Reaction norm, mean and variance within, mean and variance between
environments.
 How to characterize relationships when > 2 environments?
 What are quantitative approaches?
d. Types and time scales: morphological, physiological acclimation, behavior
 time scale of response vs. time scale at which response is useful
e. Mechanism: "can't make evolutionary predictions unless you know the
mechanisms involved"
f. Pattern  Process  Mechanism
 reaction norm  differential selection, physiology  gene regulation, Q10