What’s hiding in Waddington’s epigenetic landscape? A case study in baby cichlids

by Karina Vanadzina

In his 1957 book entitled The Strategy of the Genes, British scientist Conrad Hal Waddington noted that the genetic sequence does not map directly onto the phenotype we can observe in nature. Contrary to the gene-centric views held by many of his contemporaries, Waddington emphasised that phenotypes ultimately depend on the interaction between genes and

Behavioral and developmental plasticity enable dung beetles to cope with temperature stress within and across generations

by Anna LM Macagno, Eduardo E Zattara, Armin P Moczek & Cris C Ledón-Rettig

While the climate is changing in complex patterns around our planet, there is strong consensus that global average temperatures are rapidly on the rise. Global climate change forces organisms to either cope with changing temperature regimes in their native habitats, or to face extinction. Furthermore, the resulting environmental changes can cause many areas to become

Rapid evolution and phenotypic plasticity: insights from horned beetles

by Sofia Casasa & Armin P Moczek

All organisms face the challenge of having to cope with variable environments. Diverse factors, from food and water availability to temperature, predation pressures, or conspecific densities, may impact an organism’s development, survival, and reproduction. Phenotypic plasticity is one mechanism that allows individuals to cope with variable environmental conditions within their life time, and most organisms

Coral reefs and niche construction: quantifying patterns

by Viviana Brambilla

Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems in the world. Scleractinian corals act as ecosystem engineers and build the three-dimensional framework that provides shelter and food for themselves and all the other species that inhabit the reef. They are characterised by high diversity in terms of species, growth forms and demographic

“Here I Go Again”—will Waddington’s hopes finally be fulfilled? Part III

by Erik L Peterson

Question 3: Why didn’t Waddington’s attempts fix the division? Answer 3: It’s complicated, but two factors jump out. I devoted chapters of a book to this question, so forgive me for not doing it justice here. I want to focus just on two important reasons. The first is that Waddington and epigenetics became