R. Boonstra et Wm. Hochachka, MATERNAL EFFECTS AND ADDITIVE GENETIC INHERITANCE IN THE COLLARED LEMMING DICROSTONYX GROENLANDICUS, Evolutionary ecology, 11(2), 1997, pp. 169-182
We examined patterns of inheritance of size, growth and behavioural tr
aits of collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus). Work was conduc
ted on field-caught parents from the Canadian Arctic and their lab-bor
n progeny. We partitioned inherited variance in traits into additive g
enetic and maternal effects components by using a half-sib breeding ex
periment in which each sire was mated to two dams. We found no evidenc
e of statistically significant amounts of additive genetic variance in
any of the traits measured. However, significant maternal effects wer
e detected for several size- and growth-related traits. Three behaviou
ral traits involving aggression, dispersal and activity showed no stat
istically significant inheritance of any kind. The presence of materna
l effects may have consequences for population dynamics by causing 'la
gs' resulting in inappropriate phenotypes being produced under regimes
of fluctuating selection pressure. We recommend that maternal effects
should be investigated as a potential general cause of population cyc
les in small mammals.