Endocrine Flexibility: Optimizing Phenotypes in a Dynamic World?

Responding appropriately to changing conditions is crucial in dynamic environments. Individual variation in the flexibility of physiological mediators of phenotype may influence the capacity to mount an integrated response to unpredictable changes in social or ecological context. We propose here a conceptual framework of rapid endocrine flexibility that integrates ecological endocrinology with theoretical and empirical studies of phenotypic plasticity and behavioral syndromes. We highlight the need for research addressing variation in the scope and speed of flexibility, and provide suggestions for future studies of these potentially evolving traits. Elucidating the causes and consequences of variation in endocrine flexibility may have important implications for the evolution of behavior, and for predicting the response of individuals and populations to rapidly changing environments.