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Trappes R, Nematipour B, Kaiser MI, Krohs U, van Benthem KJ, Ernst UR, Gadau J, Korsten P, Kurtz J, Schielzeth H, Schmoll T, Takola E. OUP accepted manuscript. Bioscience 2022; 72:538-548. [PMID: 35677293 PMCID: PMC9169896 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Organisms interact with their environments in various ways. We present a conceptual framework that distinguishes three mechanisms of organism–environment interaction. We call these NC3 mechanisms: niche construction, in which individuals make changes to the environment; niche choice, in which individuals select an environment; and niche conformance, in which individuals adjust their phenotypes in response to the environment. Each of these individual-level mechanisms affects an individual's phenotype–environment match, its fitness, and its individualized niche, defined in terms of the environmental conditions under which the individual can survive and reproduce. Our framework identifies how individuals alter the selective regimes that they and other organisms experience. It also places clear emphasis on individual differences and construes niche construction and other processes as evolved mechanisms. The NC3 mechanism framework therefore helps to integrate population-level and individual-level research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Behzad Nematipour
- Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Marie I Kaiser
- Department of Philosophy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Ulrich Krohs
- Department of Philosophy, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Koen J van Benthem
- Department of Theoretical Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany, and with the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ulrich R Ernst
- Universität Hohenheim, Apicultural State Institute (Landesanstalt für Bienenkunde), Stuttgart, Germany
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, in Münster, Germany
| | - Jürgen Gadau
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, in Münster, Germany
| | - Peter Korsten
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Joachim Kurtz
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Holger Schielzeth
- Population Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Tim Schmoll
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Elina Takola
- Population Ecology Group, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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