Question

1. List a pair of animals or plants that you are familiar with that have very different life history strategies. Which one is more r-selected? Which one is more K-selected? List several traits of the more r-selected organism that are typical of r-selected life histories, and list several traits of the more K-selected organism that are typical of K-selected life histories.

Answer 1

R type organisms – mice, rabbits, weeds and bacteria. They have large number of offspring but shorter life span

K type organism – Include both large and small organisms such as elephants, humans, whales, Arctic terns, parrots, eagles etc. They have small number of offspring but higher life span

Differences between R and K type of species

R Type – Survive in Unstable environment and do not depend on density.	K Type – Survive in stable environment and depend on density dependent factors and interactions
All the organism are small in size	Vary from large to medium and small sized organisms
Low energy producing individuals	High energy producing individuals
Produce large number of offspring	Produce few offspring
Take less time to get mature	Take large amount of time to get mature
short life expectancy	long life expectancy
type III survivorship pattern	type I or II survivorship pattern