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cje ›› 2005, Vol. ›› Issue (7): 812-816.

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Maternal effect and its role in population regulation of small mammals

ZHANG Zhiqiang1,2, WANG Dehua 1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China;
    2. Graduate School of Chinese of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
  • Received:2004-01-05 Revised:2004-06-15 Online:2005-07-10

Abstract: Maternal effect refers to parental phenotypes having a direct influence on their offspring phenotype.It is a phenotypic response of maternal offspring to different environmental conditions and an important source of evolutionary dynamics.It might be related to the population cycles of some small mammals.This paper introduced the development of the concept of maternal effect and the factors of nutrition and non-nutrition which influenced its performance.We focused on the role of photoperiod and hormone manipulation.At the population level,some measurement indexes were reviewed and the average individual mass was considered to be a proper candidate as the reflection of population mass.The main content of senescence-maternal effect hypothesis was summarized and its relationship with population dynamics was explicated.For small mammals,some evidences of both experimental manipulation and field studies showed that the changes of maternal mass might played an important role in periodical population fluctuations.The hypothesis focused on individual heterogeneity and highlighted the changes of physiology among individuals.It proposed that the changes of maternal mass miqht affect the reproduction and survival of its offspring and this effect could last for 2 to 3 generations.Maternal effect combined with the senescence effect could interpret the phenomenon of population cycles in some small mammals.The evolutionary and adaptive implications of maternal effects were also discussed.

Key words: Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination, Wastewater irrigation, Paddy soil, Microbial population, Soil enzyme activity

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