Table 1.

Working definitions used throughout the text

Phenotype: the result of development of a specific trait, encoded by a particular genotype, which may be influenced by the environment.

Invariant phenotype: the phenotype produced by a genotype is relatively constant (low variance), and insensitive to differences in the environment.

Phenotypic plasticity: the phenotype produced by a genotype changes reproducibly in response to a difference in the environment [see Gianoli and Valladares (2012) for a discussion of a broader definition relevant for ecological studies].

Variable phenotype: the phenotype produced by a genotype differs between individuals in the same environment.

Bet-hedging: A strategy that reduces the variance in fitness over time and comes at a cost of a reduced arithmetic mean fitness. A fraction of individuals of a particular genotype have a non-optimal phenotype in the mean environment, and the presence of this phenotype allows survival of at least some of the population in unpredictable and extreme conditions.