LIFESCI 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Conservation Biology, Metapopulation, Insular Biogeography
Document Summary
Instructor: tonya kane: r-strategists = produce large number of offspring, but don"t support them. Used by species that live in unpredictable environments. Or when resources are patchily distributed and abundant only for short time. Chances of young surviving to adulthood is low. Limited chances of success = produce lots of young, but each has an extremely small chance of survival. Used by type iii (mortality curve) strategists = few young live, so parents invest very little in their offspring. Organisms reproduce at rates approaching the intrinsic rate of growth: k-strategists = produce relatively few young but invest considerable resources into their support. Results in few, larger, better-cared for offspring. Better protected from predators, able to compete with others, survive bad weathers. Large animals = more likely to survive to reproductive age than offspring of small animals. Population densities lie near carrying-capacity k when resources become scarce.
