Environmental stability via sexual reproduction of cyclical parthenogenetic rotifers affects offspring’s population performances: maternal effects on population dynamics

Huanhuan XU; Yingying GE; Kangning LIU; Cuijuan NIU

doi:10.1007/s00343-025-4268-0

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Environmental stability via sexual reproduction of cyclical parthenogenetic rotifers affects offspring’s population performances: maternal effects on population dynamics

Ecology | Updated：2025-12-16

- Environmental stability via sexual reproduction of cyclical parthenogenetic rotifers affects offspring’s population performances: maternal effects on population dynamics
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 43, Issue 6, Pages: 1892-1901(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
  2.College of Fisheries, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
  3.Observation and Research Station on Water Ecosystem in Danjiangkou Reservoir of Henan Province, Nanyang 474450, China
- Author bio：
  
  cjniu@bnu.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-4268-0
  CLC：
- Received：15 October 2024，
  
  Online First：14 February 2025，
  
  Published：01 November 2025
- Accepted：
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XU Huanhuan,GE Yingying,LIU Kangning,et al.Environmental stability via sexual reproduction of cyclical parthenogenetic rotifers affects offspring’s population performances: maternal effects on population dynamics[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(06):1892-1901.
DOI：

XU Huanhuan,GE Yingying,LIU Kangning,et al.Environmental stability via sexual reproduction of cyclical parthenogenetic rotifers affects offspring’s population performances: maternal effects on population dynamics[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(06):1892-1901. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-025-4268-0.

摘要

Abstract

Environmental fluctuations are a pervasive natural phenomenon that typically favor diverse maternal investment strategies. Organisms across various evolutionary lineages have acquired the ability to enter the dormancy state to tolerate conditions that are unsuitable for normal life activities. In cyclical parthenogenesis

sexual reproduction is generally linked with dormancy

thereby enhancing the long-term fitness of populations through positive feedback mechanisms. This study evaluates the impact of environmental variability on offspring population dynamics through sexual reproduction in the rotifer

Brachionus

calyciflorus

. We found that mictic females (sexual females) exposed to low-predictability environments produced resting eggs with a sporadic hatching pattern

reduced hatching rate

and smaller sizes of resting egg

embryo

and stem females

while increasing variations in fertilization among individuals to maximize population fitness. Variations in population growth could be manifested in enhanced reproductive capacity 2–3 d post-hatching

along with differences in fecundity among individuals. This suggests that dormant eggs from unstable environments may prioritize offspring survival and adjust to increased fertilization among individuals. This adaptive strategy enables rotifer populations to rapidly adjust to environmental changes

thus avoiding extinction and thriving in diverse habitats. Our systematic study enhances the understanding of how environmental stability affects long-term population fitness in cyclical parthenogens.

关键词

Keywords

references

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