Intergenerational plasticity in growth in sheepshead minnow

Intergenerational effects arise whenever parental phenotypes affect offspring fitness. Maternal effects, for example, have been well documented in the literature.  Much less attention, however, has been given to the possibility of intergenerational effects on phenotypic plasticity.  Here we address this general issue by focusing on whether the temperature experienced by parents prior to spawning affects the temperature dependence of growth in their offspring.  Using sheepshead minnows as a model system, we conducted experiments in which parental fish were reared at three temperatures.  We then measured growth in their offspring at each of these temperatures over the first 30 days on unlimited rations and constant photoperiod (12L:12D). We discuss the implications of this phenomenon for the management of fish species and the complications it creates for the study of evolution in wild populations.