Eco-physiological study on phase polyphenism in locusts

飞蝗（Locusta migratoria）表现为多相性，其形态、生理生化和行为特征随种群密度的变化而不断变化。本研究通过观察孵化幼鸟的形态和行为特征来研究拥挤刺激的跨代传递。结果表明，亲代的饲养密度影响子代幼体的体尺，并与子代成体阶段的一个阶段依赖性形态计量性状显著相关。在沙漠蝗Schistocerca gregaria中，观察到类似的现象，但有一些差异。本研究揭示了亲、子代种群密度对蝗虫阶段性形态和行为性状的控制作用。

The migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, displays phase polyphenism in which various morphological, physiological, biochemical and behavioral traits vary continuously in response to population density. The present study examined the transgenerational transmission of crowding stimuli by looking at morphological and behavioral traits of hatchlings. It was found that the rearing density in the parental generation affected hatchling body size of the progeny, which showed a significant correlation with a phase-dependent morphometric trait at the adult stage in the progeny generation. In the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, a similar phenomenon was observed with some differences. The present study has revealed that population density in both parental and progeny generations plays an important role in the control of phase-dependent morphological and behavioral traits in locusts.