Compensation for a bad start: grow now, pay later?

Nutritional conditions during key periods of development, when the architec ture and modus operandi of the body become established, are of profound imp ortance in determining the subsequent life-history trajectory of an organis m. If developing individuals experience a period of nutritional deficit,the y can subsequently show accelerated growth should conditions improve, appar ently compensating for the initial setback. However, recent research sugges ts that, although compensatory growth can bring quick benefits, it is also associated with a surprising variety of costs that are often not evident un til much later in adult life. Clearly, the nature of these costs, the times cale over which they are incurred and the mechanisms underlying them will p lay a crucial role in determining compensatory strategies. Nonetheless, suc h effects remain poorly understood and largely neglected by ecologists and evolutionary biologist.