Wells, JCK;
(2019)
Developmental plasticity as adaptation: adjusting to the external environment under the imprint of maternal capital.
Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences
, 374
(1770)
, Article 20180122. 10.1098/rstb.2018.0122.
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Abstract
Plasticity is assumed to enable beneficial adjustment to the environment. In this context, 4 developmental plasticity is generally approached within a two-stage framework, whereby 5 adjustments to ecological cues in stage 1 are exposed to selection in stage 2. This conceptual 6 approach may have limitations, because in species providing parental investment, 7 particularly placental mammals such as humans, initial adjustments are not to the 8 environment directly, but rather to the niche generated by parental phenotype (in 9 mammals, primarily that of the mother). Only as maternal investment is withdrawn is the 10 developing organism exposed directly to prevailing ecological conditions. A three-stage 11 model may therefore be preferable, where developmental trajectory first adjusts to 12 maternal investment, then to the external environment. Each offspring experiences a trade13 off, benefitting from maternal investment during the most vulnerable stages of 14 development, at the cost of exposure to investment strategies that maximise maternal 15 fitness. Maternal life history trade-offs impact the magnitude and schedule of her 16 investment in her offspring, generating life-long effects on traits related to health outcomes. 17 Understanding the imprint of maternal capital on offspring is particularly important in 18 species demonstrating social hierarchy. Interventions targeting maternal capital might offer 19 new opportunities to improve health outcomes of both mother and offspring.
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