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    K and R Reproductive Strategies

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    johnosborne
    The document discusses r-selection and K-selection, which describe growth and reproductive strategies of organisms. R-strategists live in unstable environments and reproduce rapidly with many offspring. K-strategists live in stable environments and invest more in fewer offspring. Examples of r-strategists include salmon and bacteria, while elephants and humans are K-strategists.

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    K and R Reproductive Strategies

    Uploaded by

    johnosborne
    219 views2 pages
    The document discusses r-selection and K-selection, which describe growth and reproductive strategies of organisms. R-strategists live in unstable environments and reproduce rapidly with many offspring. K-strategists live in stable environments and invest more in fewer offspring. Examples of r-strategists include salmon and bacteria, while elephants and humans are K-strategists.

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    How K and r strategists differ

    Original Title

    K and r Reproductive Strategies

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    The document discusses r-selection and K-selection, which describe growth and reproductive strategies of organisms. R-strategists live in unstable environments and reproduce rapidly with many offspring. K-strategists live in stable environments and invest more in fewer offspring. Examples of r-strategists include salmon and bacteria, while elephants and humans are K-strategists.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    219 views2 pages

    K and R Reproductive Strategies

    Uploaded by

    johnosborne
    The document discusses r-selection and K-selection, which describe growth and reproductive strategies of organisms. R-strategists live in unstable environments and reproduce rapidly with many offspring. K-strategists live in stable environments and invest more in fewer offspring. Examples of r-strategists include salmon and bacteria, while elephants and humans are K-strategists.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    K and r Reproductive Strategies

    The terms r-selection and K-selection are used by ecologists to describe the
    growth and reproductive strategies of various organisms.

    Those organisms described as r-strategists typically live in unstable,


    unpredictable environments. Here the ability to reproduce rapidly (exponentially)
    is important. Such organisms have high fecundity (glossary) and relatively little
    investment in any one progeny individual, they are typically weak and subject to
    predation and the vicissitudes of their environment. The “strategic intent” is to
    flood the habitat with progeny so that, regardless of predation or mortality, at
    least some of the progeny will survive to reproduce. Organisms that are r-
    selected have short life spans, are generally small, quick to mature and waste a
    lot of energy. Typical examples of r-strategists are salmon, corals, insects and
    bacteria.

    K-strategists, on the other hand occupy more stable environments. They are
    larger in size and have longer life expectancies. They are stronger or are better
    protected and generally are more energy efficient. They produce, during their
    life spans, fewer progeny, but place a greater investment in each. Their
    reproductive strategy is to grow slowly, live close to the carrying capacity of
    their habitat and produce a few progeny each with a high probability of survival.
    Typical K-selected organisms are elephants, and humans. The table below
    summarizes some of the differences between r-organisms and K-organisms.

    Characteristics of r- and K-selected organisms


    r-organisms K-organisms
    short-lived long-lived
    small large
    weak strong or well-protected
    waste a lot of energy energy efficient
    less intelligent more intelligent
    have large litters have small litters
    reproduce at an early age reproduce at a late age
    fast maturation (precocial) slow maturation
    little care for offspring much care for offspring
    strong sex drive weak sex drive
    small size at birth large size at birth

    It is not surprising that many organisms cannot be categorized neatly into this r
    vs. K scheme. Many organisms adopt an intermediate strategy or even adopt
    different strategies depending on local conditions at any given time. In fact, an
    organism capable of alternating between an r-strategy and a K-strategy might
    well be the best-fit organism over all because its adaptability permits survival
    under a broader range of conditions.
    SURVIVORSHIP CURVES
    Survivorship curves are tightly linked to K or r reproductive strategies. Have a
    look at the graph plots below.

    POPULATION GROWTH CURVE


    The concept of K and r reproductive strategies is linked to another graph – the
    population curve, where K is the carrying capacity of a given habitat and r is an
    exponential growth curve.

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