Fluctuating Asymmetry, Developmental Instability and Developmental Stress: Insights from Zebra Finches, Sticklebacks, Rabbits, Humans and Opuntia Cacti †
Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
†
Presented at Symmetry 2017—The First International Conference on Symmetry, Barcelona, Spain, 16–18 October 2017.
Proceedings 2018, 2(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2010054
Published: 3 January 2018
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The First International Conference on Symmetry)
The use of fluctuating asymmetry as a measure of developmental instability and stress experienced during development has become one of the most controversial topics in evolutionary biology and ecology. While this controversy likely has understandably demotivated some researchers to invest more time and effort into this area of research, it has also stimulated studies in new areas, using large sample sizes and the development and application of new methods. In this presentation, I will present and discuss results from a number of large studies in which I have been involved, in a variety of model systems, including human and rabbit fetuses, opuntia cacti, sticklebacks and zebra finches. The focus will be on what we can expect from asymmetry measurements and how these results fit in the overall literature.
© 2018 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Dongen, S.V. Fluctuating Asymmetry, Developmental Instability and Developmental Stress: Insights from Zebra Finches, Sticklebacks, Rabbits, Humans and Opuntia Cacti. Proceedings 2018, 2, 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2010054
AMA Style
Dongen SV. Fluctuating Asymmetry, Developmental Instability and Developmental Stress: Insights from Zebra Finches, Sticklebacks, Rabbits, Humans and Opuntia Cacti. Proceedings. 2018; 2(1):54. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2010054
Chicago/Turabian StyleDongen, Stefan Van. 2018. "Fluctuating Asymmetry, Developmental Instability and Developmental Stress: Insights from Zebra Finches, Sticklebacks, Rabbits, Humans and Opuntia Cacti" Proceedings 2, no. 1: 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2010054
