Ane Liv Berthelsen

Keywords epigenome individualized niche phenotype−environment match niche processes transgenerational effects evolution Individualization and epigenetics Considering individual phenotypic differences within and between populations enhances our understanding of ecological and evolutionary phenomena [1–3]. Differences in individual needs also shape how phenotypes respond to environmental changes [4].

How do individuals perceive their environment? ‘Perception' is the process through which an animal receives, processes, and interprets information about its surroundings in order to inform behavioural decisions. Such information about the environment is gained using different ‘sensory modalities' (see Glossary for definition of terms), such as chemical, tactile, acoustic, visual, or electric cues (Table 1).

1 Introduction Diversity within the scientific community is essential for advancing science because it facilitates the inclusion of a wide range of perspectives and contributions. There is growing evidence that increased gender and/or ethnic diversity can benefit science as a whole (Nielsen et al. 2017) by increasing productivity (Martin 2014; Saxena 2014), delivering higher quality science (Campbell et al. 2013), and producing papers with higher scientific impact (AlShebli et al. 2018).