Department of Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana 47809, USA.
Am Nat. 2010 Mar;175(3):382-90. doi: 10.1086/650443.
Predation risk has long been known to exert a strong influence on behavior, but no study to date has determined whether predators influence offspring antipredator behavior via maternal effects. Here, we provide a unique example of a transgenerational maternal effect in antipredator behavior that takes the form of a "warning" about predators that female fall field crickets Gryllus pennsylvanicus transmit to their offspring. Specifically, the offspring of gravid crickets exposed to a wolf spider Hogna helluo exhibit greater antipredator immobility in response to Hogna chemical cues than do offspring of nonexposed females. These "forewarned" crickets exhibit greater survival in the presence of Hogna than do those not forewarned. Accordingly, gravid crickets from areas with significant Hogna populations produce offspring that are more responsive to Hogna cues than do those from nearby Hogna-free areas. Such transgenerational maternal effects may be more common than currently realized.
捕食风险长期以来一直被认为对行为有强烈的影响，但迄今为止尚无研究确定捕食者是否通过母体效应影响后代的防御行为。在这里，我们提供了一个关于防御行为的跨代母体效应的独特例子，这种效应表现为雌性秋蟋 Gryllus pennsylvanicus 向其后代传递的关于捕食者的“警告”。具体来说，与未暴露于狼蛛 Hogna helluo 的雌性所产的后代相比，暴露于狼蛛 Hogna helluo 的怀孕蟋蟀的后代对 Hogna 的化学线索表现出更大的防御性不动性。与未受警告的蟋蟀相比，这些“预先警告”的蟋蟀在 Hogna 存在的情况下具有更高的存活率。因此，来自有大量 Hogna 种群的地区的怀孕蟋蟀所产的后代对 Hogna 的线索比来自附近无 Hogna 地区的蟋蟀更敏感。这种跨代母体效应可能比目前认识到的更为普遍。
