Read Reproductive Strategy and Fitness
Life-history traits shape survival and reproductive contribution under different environmental conditions.
Life History is the central idea in this question pattern. Identify the condition in the stem before applying the method below.
Match strategy to conditions
High reproductive output can help populations recover quickly where mortality is high or environments are unstable.
Define fitness
Darwinian fitness is relative reproductive success—the contribution of viable offspring and genes to future generations—not body strength or lifespan alone.
r/K strategies and parental investment
K-selected species tend to produce fewer offspring, invest more parental care and have lower offspring mortality. Mating systems can influence which parent provides care: male-only care is often associated with polyandry, biparental care with monogamy, and female-only care with polygyny. These are common associations, not universal rules.
K-selected life histories
K-selected species tend toward fewer offspring, later maturity, longer lifespan and greater parental investment, often with lower juvenile mortality. Contrast the full life-history pattern rather than relying on one trait.
Read predation regime, not one trait
In a life-history graph, age at maturity is an outcome, not the explanation. Compare which predators act, their intensity and the ages or sizes they target. Here Miyake-jima shows later maturity with lower fecundity, while the islands' different predator regimes explain the divergence. Choose B and D.
OlympIQ exam lens
- ✓High reproductive rate can offset high mortality.
- ✓Fitness is reproductive success.
- ✓K-selection: fewer offspring, greater investment, lower juvenile mortality.
- ✓Parental-care patterns can suggest mating systems but are not absolute laws.
- ✓Treat maturity age as a response to the predation regime, not its cause.
Fitness is measured by contribution to later generations, not an individual’s physical condition alone.
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