How do morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits of organisms interact?
Much of classical biology is concerned with the relationship between structure and function. The relationship of the morphology of organisms to the tasks they performhow they resist physical stresses, how they capture prey, or how they attract matesis at the core of the study of nature. In the growing field of biomechanics, novel applications of physics and engineering principles and use of new technology have permitted significant advances in understanding the functional costs and benefits of morphological variation in organisms. New applications of stable isotope analyses in plant ecology have the potential to link physiological and environmental processes in new ways. Modern approaches have succeeded in placing traditional questions within a proper evolutionary framework (e.g., Jacob 1977). Recognition of the importance of frequency dependence has led to numerous recent advances in the application of game theory to behavioral and evolutionary problems. Such perspectives have motivat
