Environmental influences on development - a ZSL Scientific Meeting

This ZSL scientific meeting will focus on the very different effects of early experience in animals and on what can go wrong when the weather forecast in early life turns out to be incorrect.

Individuals with exactly the same genes can develop in dramatically different ways depending on their experience in early life.

Some adverse conditions can disrupt developmental processes without necessarily leading to death and the individuals cope with their challenges. Many other differences between individuals found within a species are highly adaptive so long as the conditions of early life successfully predict the environment in which the individual will eventually live.

In humans, the consequences for adult health of a mismatch between adult characteristics and the environment can be very severe, particularly in rapidly developing countries. The meeting will also explore the how sexual development and patterns of reproduction can be greatly affected by what happens at the beginning of development.

Organised by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS, University of Cambridge & President, ZSL and Professor Bill Holt, Institute of Zoology, ZSL.

TALKS:
The different effects of early experience on development;
Parental influences on offspring growth and survival in the seahorse Hippocampus kuda;
Developmental plasticity and risk of chronic disease; and
Early life experience and reproductive timing in humans.

Chair: Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS

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