Parent-Offspring Conflict and Coadaptation

Speak to Me, Mama Maternal effects are effects of the mother (for example, hormones) on her offspring that are independent of genetic inheritance, but related to the mother's phenotype and her environment. Despite their universal occurrence, little is known about the evolutionary influence of maternal effects. Hinde et al. (p. 1373 ; see the cover) modeled maternal effects in birds and showed that nestling begging, as well as provoking feeding, also provides parents with information about offspring vigor. Conversely, maternal effects provide information to the unborn offspring about parental quality. Experimental studies with canaries provided support for the theoretical predictions, and together these studies show that parent-offspring conflict (that is, the conflict between the offspring for its immediate needs and the need of the parent to conserve resources for any future offspring) is resolved by the reciprocal exchange of information before and after birth. Hormonal signaling ensures a match between parental capacity for resource provisioning and offspring behavior and development after hatching that meet the mother's capacity to provide resources.