Ecological Strategies and Population Parameters

Southwood, T. R. E.; May, Robert M.; Hassell, M. P.; Conway, Gordon

doi:10.1086/282955

Cited by 258 publications

(130 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

123

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These characters are maximised in r-strategists. Associated characters, summarised by Southwood (1976), include small body size, a short period of parental care, short generation time, unstable populations in which food Department of Internal Affairs Wildlife Service Publication No. 223 supplies are the main arbiter of a high and variable annual mortality, great resistance to total (though not local) extinction, and the ability to persist in diverse and changeable habitats.…”

Section: Life-history Tactics In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are all large species (females are over 1 kg) with fairly general (or even, in the badger, omnivorous) food habits, and when undisturbed have relatively stable populations in which density-and age-dependent mortality are probably important. They tend to become closely adapted to particular habitats, and to lose the ability to live elsewhere if their requirements are not met (Southwood 1976). When their populations are depressed too far below equilibrium level they are slow to recover, and are particularly susceptible to both local and species extinction.…”

Section: Life-history Tactics In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most important, large-scale deforestation, merely reinforced the effects of persecution, and for the same reasons. In contrast to stoats and weasels, martens are particularly sensitive to destruction or dissection of their habitat, because inability to adapt rapidly to changes in habitat and food supply is also a consequence of the K-type life-history strategy (Southwood 1976). Badgers were much less affected by deforestation (Corbet 1974), and otters less still.…”

Section: Effects Of Control On Species Withmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The life-history tactics of mustelids, and their significance for predator control and conservation in New Zealand

King¹,

Moors

1979

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intensive predator control on game estates in 19th-century England is believed to be largely responsible for the decline of two large native mustelids, the pine marten and polecat. Two small, related, species, the stoat and weasel, were also killed in large numbers but are still common in England, and have been introduced into New Zealand. The theory of life-history tactics offers an explanation for the different effects of persecution on large and small mustelids. It also suggests that stoats in New Zealand national parks cannot be exterminated by trapping, and that the first priority for the conservation of rare native birds such as the takahe is active management to stimulate breeding.

show abstract

Section: Life-history Tactics In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Life-history Tactics In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Effects Of Control On Species Withmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The life-history tactics of mustelids, and their significance for predator control and conservation in New Zealand

King¹,

Moors

1979

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fenchel (1974) showed that the intrinsic Malthusian parameter scales to the negative 1/4-power of body mass, and Southwood (1981) suggested that this relation arose from a similar scaling of the relative metabolic rate and its known negative correlation with longevity. These relationships indicate a possible selection for a continued increase in metabolic rate if the frequency-independent fitness definition is to be taken literally.…”

Section: Metabolic Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

Inevitable evolution: back toThe Originand beyond the 20th Century paradigm of contingent evolution by historical natural selection

Witting¹

2008

Biological Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since neo-Darwinism arose from the work of Darwin and Mendel evolution by natural selection has been seen as contingent and historical being defined by an a posteriori selection process with no a priori laws that explain why evolution on Earth has taken the direction of the major evolutionary trends and transitions instead of any other direction. Recently, however, major life-history trends and transitions have been explained as inevitable because of a deterministic selection that unfolds from the energetic state of the organism and the density-dependent competitive interactions that arise from self-replication in limited environments. I describe differences and similarities between the historical and deterministic selection processes, illustrate concepts using life-history models on large body masses and limited reproductive rates, review life-history evolution with a wider focus on major evolutionary transitions, and propose that biotic evolution is driven by a universal natural selection where the long-term evolution of fitness-related traits is determined mainly by deterministic selection, while contingency is important predominately for neutral traits. Given suitable environmental conditions, it is shown that selection by energetic state and densitydependent competitive interactions unfolds to higher level selection for life-history transitions from simple asexually reproducing self-replicators to large bodied organisms with senescence and sexual reproduction between males and females, and in some cases, to the fully evolved eusocial colony with thousands of offspring workers. This defines an evolutionary arrow of time for open thermodynamic systems with a constant inflow of energy, predicting similar routes for long-term evolution on similar planets.

show abstract

“…Stability is a major concern of ecologists (Holling 1974;May 1973;Usher and Williamson 1974) and it will be defined here as the degree of permanence and predictability in a system (May 1973Southwood et al 1974.…”

Section: Ecological Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimum Diet Models and Prehistoric Hunter‐Gatherers: A Test on Martha's Vineyard

Perlman

1981

Cent Issues Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Ecological Strategies and Population Parameters

Cited by 258 publications

References 20 publications

The life-history tactics of mustelids, and their significance for predator control and conservation in New Zealand

The life-history tactics of mustelids, and their significance for predator control and conservation in New Zealand

Inevitable evolution: back toThe Originand beyond the 20th Century paradigm of contingent evolution by historical natural selection

Optimum Diet Models and Prehistoric Hunter‐Gatherers: A Test on Martha's Vineyard

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About