Definition
The number of offspring individual females are predicted to produce in a given breeding attempt (clutch) when there is a trade-off between the number of offspring in a clutch and the quality of each offspring.
Introduction
The study of life history evolution explores how species maximize fitness when traits directly linked with fitness (e.g., life span, fecundity, offspring quality and quality) are negatively correlated with each other. One of the best-studied life history trade-offs is the relationship between offspring quantity and quality, in which additional investment in any one offspring will generally reduce the number of offspring a parent can produce. Economic models have been used to predict the clutch or litter size that will maximize evolutionary fitness. These predictions depend on shape of the relationship between offspring quality and fitness and offspring quality and quantity. In animals...
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References
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Davis, J. (2017). Optimal Clutch Size. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2749-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2749-1
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