adaptive maternal effects induce phenotypic changes in offspring that result in an increase in fitness. these changes arise from mothers sensing environmental cues that work to reduce offspring fitness, and then responding to them in a way that then “prepares” offspring for their future environments. a key characteristic of “adaptive maternal effects” phenotypes is their plasticity. phenotypic plasticity gives organisms the ability to respond to different environments by altering their phenotype. with these “altered” phenotypes increasing fitness it becomes important to look at the likelihood that adaptive maternal effects will evolve and become a significant phenotypic adaptation to an environment.