BIOB51H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Sexy Son Hypothesis, Life History Theory, Sapelo Island
Document Summary
Life history & parental care-chapter 12 (lecture notes) What indirect benefit do females gain by choosing showy males according to the. Life history: the pattern of investment organism makes in growth/reproduction. Traits include age at first reproduction, the duration and schedule of reproduction, the number and size of offspring, and life span. Life history strategies are subject to evolutionary forces. Life history strategies vary widely among different species. Life history traits life history traits involve trade-offs: limited amount of energy to invest in survival, maintenance, reproduction. Natural selection optimizes life history considering trade-offs: maximizes number of offspring surviving to maturity, depends on likelihood of survival to different age classes. Mainland opossums: opossums seem to age and decline rapidly, 18 months old, cataracts, arthritis, most dead by 2yrs old, predators kill 80% of opossums on mainland. No predators on sapelo island (5000 years: survive 20 months longer than mainland, smaller litters (so more survive, reduced signs of muscle degradation.
