All organisms have a stress response system to cope with environmental threats, yet its precise
form varies hugely within and across individuals, populations and species. While the
physiological mechanisms are increasingly understood, how stress responses have evolved
remains elusive. Here, we show that important insights can be ...
All organisms have a stress response system to cope with environmental threats, yet its precise
form varies hugely within and across individuals, populations and species. While the
physiological mechanisms are increasingly understood, how stress responses have evolved
remains elusive. Here, we show that important insights can be gained from models that
incorporate physiological mechanisms within an evolutionary optimality analysis (the ‘evo-mecho’ approach). Our approach reveals environmental predictability and physiological
constraints as key factors shaping stress response evolution, generating testable predictions
about variation across species and contexts. We call for an integrated research programme
combining theory, experimental evolution and comparative analysis to advance scientific
understanding of how this core physiological system has evolved.