ABSTRACT
Cannon (1932) in the fi eld of physiology developed the concept of physiological homeostasis. In general, it may be said, that the “homeostasis refers to the property of the organism to adjust itself to variable conditions, or to the self-regulatory mechanisms of the organism which permit it to stabilize itself in fl uctuating inner and outer environments” (Lerner 1970). Homeostasis may be attributed to different systems: to human society, to some properties of chemical substances (buffers), etc. So, in a certain sense we may talk of ecological homeostasis and genetic homeostasis (GH). The GH can be defi ned as the property of the population to equilibrate its genetic composition and to resist sudden changes (Lerner 1970). The GH includes not only group effects on the population level but also regulation at the individual level, including developmental homeostasis.
