Date: 10/04/2026 09:43:38
From: esselte
ID: 2378685
Subject: re: today I learned

The Rev Dodgson said:


esselte said:

SCIENCE said:

it can’t, it’s deity

Life history theory

The selection pressures that determine the reproductive strategy, and therefore much of the life history, of an organism can be understood in terms of r/K selection theory. The central trade-off to life history theory is the number of offspring vs. the timing of reproduction. Organisms that are r-selected have a high growth rate ® and tend to produce a high number of offspring with minimal parental care; their lifespans also tend to be shorter. r-selected organisms are suited to life in an unstable environment, because they reproduce early and abundantly and allow for a low survival rate of offspring. K-selected organisms subsist near the carrying capacity of their environment (K), produce a relatively low number of offspring over a longer span of time, and have high parental investment. They are more suited to life in a stable environment in which they can rely on a long lifespan and a low mortality rate that will allow them to reproduce multiple times with a high offspring survival rate….

K-selected organisms usually:

-mature more slowly and have a later age of first reproduction
-have a longer lifespan
-have few offspring at a time and more reproductive events spread out over a longer span of time
-have a low mortality rate and a high offspring survival rate
-have high parental investment

Also see r/K selection theory

That all makes sense for animals like elephants and humans, but I’m struggling to see how it could make a development period of 150 years the one that results in the greatest number of offspring who have offspring.

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