Lecture 11- Life History, r/K Health And Lifespan

Question 1

What happens to males if their father is absent? (5)

Answer 1

Tend to be more aggressive and verbal
Focuses on winning male vs. Male confrontation
Invest time and effort in mating not child rearing
Little time or effort in rearing their own offspring
Might not know the identity of their child

Question 2

What happens to females if their father is absent?

Answer 2

Tend to not seek stable marriage type relationships
Series of short term partners with high status men (good genes)
Raise children with little or no help from the father

Question 3

What is the male / female role in African bushmen?

Answer 3

Males are warriors

Women do everything else, raise children get food, they simply use the males for sex

Question 4

What is the overall premise of life history theory?

Answer 4

Adult personality is effected by childhood experience during sensitive periods, in an evolutionarily adaptive way. (Their reproductive strategy)

Life history describes the way in which organisms allocate limited resources between different possible ways of increasing fitness in response to differences in their perceived environment.

Question 5

What are the two types of life history?

Answer 5

Fast and slow

Question 6

What is the aim of fast life history ? What sort of environment do you need for this strategy?

Answer 6

Maximising reproduction (number of offspring) 
Happens when you have an unpredictable environment

Question 7

What is slow life history strategy like? When is it used?

Answer 7

Aims to maximise parental care and longevity of life.
Happens when the environment is predictable
Also when the environment becomes flooded with competitors of the same species because you’re not going to be eaten, but everyone’s trying to produce the optimum offspring and you have to keep up

Question 8

Which strategy is r selected and which is K selected?

Answer 8

r = fast 
K = slow

Question 9

What are some of the features of the offspring with a fast life history?

Answer 9

Mature very quickly
Become independent very quickly 
Early sexual activity
Short generation time 
Short life span , you don't need to make individuals very well

Question 10

Give example of some organisms with a r selected life history?

Answer 10

Bacteria, insects, fish, frogs - anything that lays many eggs all at one time

Question 11

What are some of the characteristics of animals with slow life history?

Answer 11

Slow maturing
Need parental care
Later sexual activity
Slower reproduction - larger generation gap
Longer lifespan and better health 

Quality not quantity model

Question 12

Give some examples of organisms with K selected life history

Answer 12

Humans, primates, elephants, Dolphins , parrots

Question 13

Are all animals just K or r selected?

Answer 13

No there is a continuum between each, so some humans might have a faster K selected life history. But overall humans are all Slow life history.
So father absence can switch humans to a fast K selected route

Question 14

How does having a faster or slower K effect health and lifespan?

Answer 14

The higher your K :

The longer and healthier your life
Later your 1st child
Fewer sexual partners
Stable marriages

Question 15

What factors of modern society are leading us to having an ultra high K?

Answer 15

Contraception and abortions

Means that humans can have sex but next babies

Question 16

But modern society also has aspects of a fast K, give examples

Answer 16

Low age for sexual activity

Lots of sexual activity

Question 17

There is a mismatch between the amount of sex being had and the amount of reproduction going on. What is an explanation for this?

Answer 17

There is a mismatch in the evolved human psychology and the new features in the modern environment, like contraception.

Question 18

In 1982 draper and harpending bought out a paper, what was the main question it was asking?

Answer 18

Does having your father present or absent during a sensitive part of your pre pubertal childhood Effect your reproductive strategy ?