Eco-physiological study on phase polyphenism in locusts

蝗虫的形态、生理、生化和行为特征随着种群密度的变化而不断变化，表现出明显的多物性。本研究通过观察雏鸟的形态和行为特征，研究了拥挤刺激的跨代传递。结果表明，亲代饲养密度影响子代幼体大小，与子代成虫阶段的形态计量性状呈显著正相关。在荒漠蝗虫中，也观察到了类似的现象，但存在一定的差异。本研究表明，亲代和子代的种群密度在控制蝗虫形态和行为的相依性状方面起着重要作用。

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.