The book describes in particular the ways in which. The evolution of lifehistories since successful reproduction results in genetic. Fish life history patterns and reproductive strategies life history theory the analysis of the phenotypic causes of variation in fitness and exposes the pervasive tension between adaptation and constraint stearns 1992. This book introduces the evolution of life histories. Population growth rate, r and the net reproductive rate of increase, r 0 are useful measures of fitness and can be calculated from life tables. The physiologylife history nexus a nexus, from the latin to bind, is a connection or link. S c stearns offers a summary of life history evolution, a field that holds a central position in modern ecology and evolutionary biology. We call such limits evolutionary constraints stearns 1992, houle 2001. Smith d j 2006 predictability and preparedness in influenza control science 312 from bio 182 at university of arizona. This line of inquiry traces to the work of lamont cole 1954 who was among the first to advocate a comparative approach to the study of animal demographics. Email citation an accessible and relatively concise introduction to the theory that is the foundation of life history studies. This book introduces life history evolution to postgraduate students just beginning their research in. Size and temperature in the evolution of fish life histories 1.
Clearly, phylogenetic comparative analyses at the interspeci. The evolution of life histories since successful reproduction results in genetic contributions to future generations evolutionary fitness, analysis of these behaviors often lead to evolutionary arguments life history patterns a variety of traits that may differ among individuals or among species size of eggs produced. Life history characters covary and function together, and so constitute complex adaptations because they are interdependent frazetta 1975. The tradeoff between number and size of offspring in. It discusses major analytical tools, gives examples of their applications, and provides problems for discussion at the end of each chapter. Life tables are an easy to use tool to study age dependes of survival and fecundity. Reproductive constraints and the evolution of life histories. As theory predicts, higher extrinsic mortality rates did lead to the evolution of higher intrinsic mortality rates, to shorter lifespans, and to decreased age and size at eclosion. The evolution of lifehistory traits in parasitic and free. In rk selection theory, selective pressures are hypothesised to drive evolution in one of two generalized directions.
Events in between usually include birth, childhood, maturation, reproduction, and senescence, and together these comprise the life history strategy of that organism. Life history theory is the principal analytical framework concerned with the study of this variation, and since its inception has fuelled an extensive research programme in evolutionary and behavioural ecology lessells, 1991. Within each species, the associations between components of. Integrating mechanistic and evolutionary analysis of life. Indeterminate or continued growth after the initiation of reproduction is. Mechanisms of life history evolution hardcover thomas. Life history theories seek to explain the evolution of organism traits as adaptive responses to environmental variation and differential mortality or resource allocation to life stages roff 1992. Ant and grasshopper life history strategies in saccharomyces cerevisiae authors. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Stearns zoological institute, university of basle, reinsprung 9, ch4051 basle, switzerland introduction tradeoffs represent the costs paid in the currency of fitness when a beneficial change in one trait is linked to a detrimental change in another. In other words, life history theory is an attempt to account for the tremendous variation of life histories within and among di.
The evolution of life histories, stearns, stephen c. Buy the evolution of life histories by stearns, stephen c. On a more positive note, stearns 1992 thought it was worth trying to relate habitat to life histories in a twostep procedure, i. These terms, r and k, are drawn from standard ecological algebra as illustrated in the simplified verhulst model of population dynamics. Such sets of covarying traits are often referred to as strategies or tactics in the literature of ecology and evolution, meaning that they are coadapted traits designed, by natural selection, to solve particular ecological problems stearns 1976. However, whether such analyses are likely to yield signi. Stearns 1992, ukpaperback the lowestpriced brandnew, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable.
Classical life history theory, summarized in roff 1992 and stearns 1992, is based on optimization models. Life history theory is concerned with strategic decisions over an organisms lifetime. This book introduces life history evolution to postgraduate students just beginning their research in population biology, ecology, or evolutionary biology. Fish life history patterns and reproductive strategies. In particular, most theoretical explorations of the importance of predation have not explicitly considered the way in which the population dynamics that result from. Stearns born december 12, 1946, in kapaau, hawaii and raised in hawi, hawaii is an american biologist, and the edward p. The design is a solution to an ecological problem posed by the environment and subject to constraints intrinsic to the organism. Bass professor of ecology and evolutionary biology professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. Stearns this book is the first comprehensive summary of life history evolution, a field that holds a central position in modern ecology, evolution, and population biology. The successful predictions of optimality models that are amply demonstrated in the book indicate the fruitfulness of this approach. Stearns, the evolution of life histories, oxford university press, oxford, 1992.
The evolution of life histories does this by showing that natural selection is the principal underlying force molding life history variation. He has written several thematic studies in world history, including the industrial revolution in world history 2nd ed. Since the fittest are those which provide more descendants to future generations than their competitors, and fitness is largely determined by the agedependent schedule of behavior, birth, death, and development rates, life histories are adaptations of unique importance to the analysis of darwinian evolution. Although life history theory has made enormous progress in explaining the diversity of life history strategies among. The book justifiably focuses on the evolution of lifehistory traits. Life history evolution what is life history evolution. The ambition of this book is to familiarize a nonscientific audience with the central themes of modern biological research. The evolution of life histories paperback stephen c. All organisms follow a specific sequence in their development, beginning with gestation and ending with death, which is known as the life cycle. Life history strategies, population regulation, and. This book is the first comprehensive summary of life history evolution, a field that holds a central position in modern ecology, evolution, and population biology. Life history theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Stearns the evolution of life histories by stephen c. The evolution of ageing the evolution of life histories 2 demography of ageing 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 age % surviving males females 0.
The application of optimal control theory to life history evolution in species with discrete. He is known for his work in life history theory and evolutionary medicine. Yale university box 208106 yale university new haven, ct 065208106 usa phone. The evolution of life histories demography of ageing one. Life history and evolutionary psychology 2 life history theory and evolutionary psychology the evolution of life is the result of a process in which variant forms compete to harvest energy from the environment and convert it into replicates of those forms. Provides a useful introductory discussion of the meanings of adaptation and fitness, and their application to the study of life. Recent applications of life history theory stearns 1992 to distinctive features of the human life course for example, smith and tompkins 1995. For more indepth coverage we refer to stearns 1992, ro. The challenge for evolutionary biology is to explain how such diversity arises. Life history theories also examine how traits are intercorrelated and constrained by. While life history theory has made enormous progress in explaining the diversity of life history strategies among. This model explained the evolution of life histories as influenced by the mode of population regulation. Jul 31, 2001 a prominent feature of comparative life histories in fish and other indeterminate growers is the approximate invariance across species of certain dimensionless numbers made up from reproductive and timing variables.
Stearns, 1992 that s is solely a function of i, and adult mortality m is solely a function of the rate of resource allocation by adults r. By controlling the responses of organisms to variation in their environments, physiological mechanisms link the performance of the organism and the life table of the population to the environment box 1. Pdf life history theory tries to explain how evolution designs organisms to achieve reproductive. The book offers an uptodate description of the analytical tools used in. Bass professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at yale university. Original articles life history variables and risktaking propensity x. The evolution of life histories life history traits are shaped by differential fecundity and survival.
It aims to explain variation in size at birth, growth. The book offers an uptodate description of the analytical tools used in evolutionary explanation. Structured for teaching, with problem sets at the end of each chapter, it. The events of life history govern natality and mortality cole 1954. We show here that tradeoffs between survival and reproduction have special signi. Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by analysing the ecological factors that shape agespecific schedules of growth, reproduction, and survival and by investigating the tradeoffs that constrain the evolution of these traits. The evolution of human life history school for advanced. A fundamental assumption of life history theory is that tradeoffs exist between energy expended on growth and factors influencing mortality on the one hand and reproduction on the other williams 1957.
Lifehistory evolution and the origin of multicellularity. The book justifiably focuses on the evolution of life history traits. For example, why do some organisms take years to mature and. Life history models assume that parents make investment decisions that maximize reproductive success fitness in the face of constraints whereby energy, effort, resources or time invested in the provisioning of offspring cannot be invested in producing more offspring stearns 1992. History and is currently editing an encyclopedia of modern world history. Experimental evolution of aging, growth, and reproduction. There are many different types of organisms in the world. Every species also has distinct life history traits, that is, major events that occur between the conception and death of an organism. Therefore, studies of life histories should deal with natural selection as a process to explain and. Recent applications of life history theory stearns 1992 to distinctive features of the human life course for example, smith and tompkins. As a consequence, one of the life s most fundamental tradeoffs is between the number and. In the early 1990s the three books roff 1992, stearns 1992, charnov 1993 came out and laid out the theoretical grounds for the study of life histories. Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by analyzing the ecological factors that shape agespecific schedules of growth, reproduction, and survival and by investigating the tradeoffs that constrain the evolution of these traits. Scheiner, northern illinois university, science, vol.
Evidence is accumulating about the way in which these decisions depend on the organisms physiological state. Stearns stands as a signpost to the resolution of the debate. Especially, cole sought to understand the adaptive significance of. This course presents the principles of evolution, ecology, and behavior for students beginning their study of biology and of the environment. One of the most important types of constraint are life history tradeo. In behavioral ecology life history traits are vital to understanding evolutionary decisions of organisms, i. The fitness of organisms is the primary focus of evolutionary biology.