Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
J Evol Biol. 2013 Oct;26(10):2161-70. doi: 10.1111/jeb.12212. Epub 2013 Aug 13.
The evolution of adaptive phenotypic plasticity relies on the presence of cues that enable organisms to adjust their phenotype to match local conditions. Although mostly studied with respect to nonsocial cues, it is also possible that parents transmit information about the environment to their offspring. Such 'anticipatory parental effects' or 'adaptive transgenerational plasticity' can have important consequences for the dynamics and adaptive potential of populations in heterogeneous environments. Yet, it remains unknown how widespread this form of plasticity is. Using a meta-analysis of experimental studies with a fully factorial design, we show that there is only weak evidence for higher offspring performance when parental and offspring environments are matched compared with when they are mismatched. Estimates of heterogeneity among studies suggest that effects, when they occur, are subtle. Study features, environmental context, life stage and trait categories all failed to explain significant amounts of variation in effect sizes. We discuss theoretical and methodological reasons for the limited evidence for anticipatory parental effects and suggest ways to improve our understanding of the prevalence of this form of plasticity in nature.
适应表型可塑性的进化依赖于存在提示，使生物体能够调整其表型以适应当地条件。尽管主要是针对非社会性提示进行研究，但父母也有可能向其后代传递有关环境的信息。这种“预期的父母效应”或“适应性跨代可塑性”可能对异质环境中种群的动态和适应潜力产生重要影响。然而，这种形式的可塑性有多普遍仍然未知。我们使用具有完全因子设计的实验研究的荟萃分析表明，与环境不匹配相比，当父母和后代环境匹配时，后代表现出更高的性能只有微弱的证据。研究之间的异质性估计表明，当这种效应发生时，是微妙的。研究特征、环境背景、生命阶段和性状类别都未能解释效应大小的大量变异。我们讨论了对预期的父母效应的有限证据的理论和方法学原因，并提出了改善我们对这种形式的可塑性在自然界中普遍性的理解的方法。
