国产精品99一区二区三_免费中文日韩_国产在线精品一区二区_日本成人手机在线

Early life stress alters helping behavior of meerkat offspring: study

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-26 07:41:26|Editor: Li Xia
Video PlayerClose

CHICAGO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- When Kalahari meerkat mothers feel stressed, they can alter the growth and behavior in their daughters in such a way that benefits the mothers at their children's expense, according to a study posted on the website of the University of Michigan (UM) Monday.

For the study, UM researchers observed seven meerkat groups that produced 26 litters across three years. Some pregnant mothers were given cortisol, which didn't affect the pups' survival rates.

Tracking the pups' weight and behavior, they found the daughters whose mothers were treated with cortisol grew slowly, but were more willing to help raise other pups produced by their mother in the future.

Fathers can't nurse the pups, but they do "babysit" and feed offspring. These males did not have any role in the effects observed by the researchers who only treated the mothers.

Contrary to most studies that focus on positive impact of mothers on their offspring, this study highlighted that stressed mothers could affect offspring in such a way that primarily benefits the mothers by increasing the likelihood that the offspring stick around to help care for their future siblings.

"Because early life growth or body mass in daughters is a major determinant of their future reproductive potential, our results highlight that early life stress should reduce the future reproductive success of daughters," said Ben Dantzer, assistant professor of psychology and ecology and evolutionary biology at UM and the study's lead author.

Maternal characteristics can have a profound influence on offspring, which are referred to as maternal effects.

Many studies involving humans show that early life adversity, such as abuse or maternal stress, has long-term consequences on offspring.

The study has been published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001378505671
主站蜘蛛池模板: 色达县| 南通市| 小金县| 田东县| 京山县| 闻喜县| 和林格尔县| 上虞市| 兴和县| 鹤岗市| 旅游| 丰顺县| 内乡县| 永和县| 扶风县| 闽清县| 永仁县| 上犹县| 白河县| 深州市| 舞钢市| 和平区| 明溪县| 桂平市| 威信县| 陇南市| SHOW| 都江堰市| 温宿县| 定边县| 皮山县| 保亭| 措勤县| 板桥市| 仁布县| 长岭县| 龙胜| 日土县| 北京市| 遂昌县| 油尖旺区|