About this Research Topic
The union of developmental biology, concerned with the origins of phenotypes, and evolution, the study of population dynamics on longer time scales, has been a fruitful enterprise, as it has generated research programs and a plethora of questions. Yet, some of those questions have highlighted the need to understand the intricate ways by which the environment interacts with development and, thus, evolutionary dynamics. Examples comprise the evolution of life-history traits, environmentally-induced phenotypic plasticity, the outsourcing of developmental information to environmental factors, and symbiotic relationships, among others. The discipline of eco-evo-devo has been proposed to encompass this promising research, suggesting it may have an important place within the structure of biological theory. In addition, given the current relevance of ecological changes on populations of organisms, understanding this interplay is also likely to have high relevance for environmental policies.
Eco-evo-devo, as an emerging discipline, aims at uncovering general principles by the study of multi-scale mechanisms underlying the extant phenotypic diversity, encompassing a plethora of different phenomena and organisms. In other words, it inherently pursues both convergent and divergent objectives, highlighting commonalities and key differences. Thus, an article collection containing the diverse current research lines of this exciting emergent field may help compare and contrast different studies by juxtaposing them in one volume, and synthesizing the current state of the art. This might both instigate new interdisciplinary approaches within the evo-devo and ecology communities and enhance the visibility of this increasingly important new field of biology in front of a wider audience.
We welcome contributions that study the dynamic interactions between evolutionary, developmental, and ecological processes. Areas of interest may include but are not limited to:
- Research studying phenotypic plasticity
- Insights into developmental symbiosis and parental determinants of development
- Evolution of life-history traits
- Studies highlighting ecological or behavioral induction of variation
- Novel research studying polyphenisms and reaction norms
- Holobiont research
- Research into genetic assimilation
- Studies on niche creation and non-genetic heredity
- New insights into adaptation, the origins of novelties, and speciation dynamics
We welcome different article types including Original Research, Reviews and Mini-Reviews, Methods, Brief Research Reports, and Perspectives. A full list of accepted article types, including descriptions, can be found at this link.
Eco-evo-devo, as an emerging discipline, aims at uncovering general principles by the study of multi-scale mechanisms underlying the extant phenotypic diversity, encompassing a plethora of different phenomena and organisms. In other words, it inherently pursues both convergent and divergent objectives, highlighting commonalities and key differences. Thus, an article collection containing the diverse current research lines of this exciting emergent field may help compare and contrast different studies by juxtaposing them in one volume, and synthesizing the current state of the art. This might both instigate new interdisciplinary approaches within the evo-devo and ecology communities and enhance the visibility of this increasingly important new field of biology in front of a wider audience.
We welcome contributions that study the dynamic interactions between evolutionary, developmental, and ecological processes. Areas of interest may include but are not limited to:
- Research studying phenotypic plasticity
- Insights into developmental symbiosis and parental determinants of development
- Evolution of life-history traits
- Studies highlighting ecological or behavioral induction of variation
- Novel research studying polyphenisms and reaction norms
- Holobiont research
- Research into genetic assimilation
- Studies on niche creation and non-genetic heredity
- New insights into adaptation, the origins of novelties, and speciation dynamics
We welcome different article types including Original Research, Reviews and Mini-Reviews, Methods, Brief Research Reports, and Perspectives. A full list of accepted article types, including descriptions, can be found at this link.
Keywords: evo-devo, ecology, evolution, development, phenotypic variation, extended synthesis, phenotypic plasticity, life-history traits, niche construction, symbiosis
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
