Trade-offs between growth, reproduction and survival shape clutch size and lifespan.
Traits include age at maturity, number and size of offspring, and lifespan. Semelparity (one reproductive episode, such as Pacific salmon) versus iteroparity. High adult mortality favours early reproduction.
Life history traits trade off. Predation risk shapes ageing. Annual versus perennial strategies differ.
Remember: reproduction costs survival.
Trade-offs between growth, reproduction and survival shape clutch size and lifespan.
Life History Strategies is one of the 53 topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity. It is rated Advanced, so it suits learners who want specialist depth. Related topics in this area include Parental Care Evolution, Parasitism in Animals, Animal Migration.
Elephants are slow-growing; mice are fast.
Work through the Beginner topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity first, such as Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, Sponges, then return to Life History Strategies. Advanced topics assume the Intermediate vocabulary.
The closest topics to Life History Strategies are Parental Care Evolution, Parasitism in Animals, Animal Migration, Fish. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Life History Strategies. To practise the whole of Zoology & Animal Diversity, use the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz.
Life History Strategies: Trade-offs between growth, reproduction and survival shape clutch size and lifespan. Parental Care Evolution: Care by one or both parents evolves when benefits to offspring outweigh costs to parents. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Parental Care Evolution and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Care by one or both parents evolves when benefits to offspring outweigh costs to parents.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityParasites such as ticks and tapeworms live on or in hosts, harming them.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversitySeasonal long-distance movement guided by magnetic, celestial and olfactory cues.
🦁 Zoology & Animal DiversityAquatic, gill-breathing vertebrates, including jawless, cartilaginous and bony fishes.
🦁 Zoology & Animal Diversity