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Life in fluctuating environments.

  • Bernhardt JR Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
  • O'Connor MI Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z4.
  • Sunday JM Department of Biology, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada H3A 1B1.
  • Gonzalez A Department of Biology, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, Montreal, Canada H3A 1B1.
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  • 2020-11-02
Published in:
  • Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences. - 2020
anticipatory systems
environmental noise
environmental variability
feedback
feedforward
phenotypic plasticity
English Variability in the environment defines the structure and dynamics of all living systems, from organisms to ecosystems. Species have evolved traits and strategies that allow them to detect, exploit and predict the changing environment. These traits allow organisms to maintain steady internal conditions required for physiological functioning through feedback mechanisms that allow internal conditions to remain at or near a set-point despite a fluctuating environment. In addition to feedback, many organisms have evolved feedforward processes, which allow them to adjust in anticipation of an expected future state of the environment. Here we provide a framework describing how feedback and feedforward mechanisms operating within organisms can generate effects across scales of organization, and how they allow living systems to persist in fluctuating environments. Daily, seasonal and multi-year cycles provide cues that organisms use to anticipate changes in physiologically relevant environmental conditions. Using feedforward mechanisms, organisms can exploit correlations in environmental variables to prepare for anticipated future changes. Strategies to obtain, store and act on information about the conditional nature of future events are advantageous and are evidenced in widespread phenotypes such as circadian clocks, social behaviour, diapause and migrations. Humans are altering the ways in which the environment fluctuates, causing correlations between environmental variables to become decoupled, decreasing the reliability of cues. Human-induced environmental change is also altering sensory environments and the ability of organisms to detect cues. Recognizing that living systems combine feedback and feedforward processes is essential to understanding their responses to current and future regimes of environmental fluctuations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Integrative research perspectives on marine conservation'.
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  • English
Open access status
hybrid
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/280763
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