Nongenetic inheritance of behavioural variability

1. Environmentally-mediated nongenetic inheritance extends the concept of phenotypic plasticity across generations, allowing for the experience of parents to influence the physiology, life-history and behaviour of their offspring.

2. We assess whether the perceived social environment of mothers and fathers impacts offspring behaviour in the Australian field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus).

3. We varied parents’ perception of the density of conspecific males by exposing parents to either the presence or absence of male song throughout rearing. Following mating in a factorial design, the offspring of the parental pairs were also reared across the two acoustic environments and their behaviour assessed as adults.

4. When reared in a no-song environment, offspring of both sexes were more active, emerging from a shelter sooner and displaying greater mobility in search of male song.

5. Offspring behaviour was not directly impacted by either the maternal or paternal social environm...