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
