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Integrative and Comparative Biology Advance Access published online on August 22, 2006
Integrative and Comparative Biology, doi:10.1093/icb/icl026
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Integrating Function over Marine Life Cycles

Integrating function across marine life cycles

Robert D. Podolsky 1 * and Amy L. Moran 2
1 Grice Marine Laboratory, College of Charleston, 205 Fort Johnson, Charleston, SC 29412, USA
2 Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Robert D. Podolsky, E-mail: podolskyr{at}cofc.edu


  Abstract

Synopsis Complex life cycles involve a set of discrete stages that can differ dramatically in form and function. Transitions between different stages vary in nature and magnitude; likewise, the degree of autonomy among stages enabled by these transitions can vary as well. Because the selective value of traits is likely to shift over ontogeny, the degree of autonomy among stages is important for understanding how processes at one life-history stage alter the conditions for performance and selection at others. We pose 3 questions that help to define a research focus on processes that integrate function across life cycles. First, to what extent do particular transitions between life-history stages allow those stages to function as autonomous units? We identify the roles that stages play in the life history, types of transitions between stages, and 3 forces (structural, genetic/epigenetic, and experiential) that can contribute to integration among stages. Second, what are the potential implications of integration across life cycles for assumptions and predictions of life-history theory? We provide 3 examples where theory has traditionally focused on processes acting within stages in isolation from others. Third, what are the long-term consequences of carryover of experience from one life cycle stage to the next? We distinguish 3 scenarios: persistence (effects of prior experience persist through subsequent stages), amplification (effects persist and are magnified at subsequent stages), and compensation (effects are compensated for and diminish at subsequent stages). We use these scenarios to differentiate between effects of a carryover of state and carryover into subsequent processes. The symposium introduced by our discussion is meant to highlight how discrete stages can be functionally coupled, such that life cycle evolution becomes a more highly integrated response to selection than can be deduced from the study of individual stages.

From the symposium "Integrating Function over Marine Life Cycles" presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, January 4-8, 2006, at Orlando, Florida.
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