Life History Flashcards
What is life history?
A life history is a description of the major characteristics of an organism from its birth to its death
What are the key life history traits?
Body size
Fecundity
Parity
Maturity
Aging
What is fecundity?
number of offspring per episode
What is parity?
number of episodes for reproduction
What is semelparity?
One reproduction event per life
What is iteroparity?
Multiple reproduction events per life
What are monocarpic plants?
Flowers and set seeds only 1x
What are polycarpic plants?
Flowers and set seeds multiple times
What are annual plants?
Completes life cycle in one growing season
What are perennial plants?
Completes life cycle in multiple growing seasons
What is allometry?
The study of scaling between body size and various biological traits and functions
What is the offspring size vs number tradeoff?
Larger organisms produce less offspring
What is the seed size and dispersal distance tradeoff?
larger the seed mass, the wider plants can disperse
What is the offspring size vs gene flow tradeoff?
Species producing smaller and more eggs have smaller larvae and long larval phase, drift far away, low genetic isolation
Species producing larger and fewer eggs have larger larvae and short larval phase, do not drift far, high genetic isolation
What is the survival vs age at maturity tradeoff?
Organisms that invest early in reproduction cannot allocate more energy to growth and survival
Organisms that opt for a higher survival rate reproduce later in life
What is the size vs maturity and behaviour tradeoff?
Variation within species can be substantial
What is r selection?
High population growth rate
Not strongly favoured competitive ability
Rapid development
Early production
Small body size
Single reproduction
Many, small offspring
What is K selection?
Low population growth rate
Highly favoured competitive ability
Slow development
Late reproduction
Large body size
Repeated reproduction
Few, large offspring
What are ruderal plants?
Thrive under high disturbance and low stress
Grow rapidly
Produce large amounts of tiny seeds
Short life spans
Invest little in maintenance and growth of large structures
What are stress-tolerant plants?
Occupy environments of high stress and low competition
Grow slowly
Invest in physiological stress-tolerance rather than growth
What are competitive plants?
Occupy environments of low disturbance and high productivity
Grow fast
What is periodic life history?
Low survival, late maturity, high fecundity
Seasonal environment
Reproduce en masse when timing is right
What is opportunistic life history?
Low survival
Early maturity
Low fecundity
Environment is variable, get ready to reproduce fast
What is equilibrium life history?
High survival
Late maturity
Low fecundity
Stable environment
High competition
Invest in juvenile survival
