Primate life history patterns

How do different types of maturity progress throughout life?

Physical and social maturity do not always line up

What is the possible range in mammalian lifespans?

From a couple of years in rodents to 200 years in whales

What two key characteristics of mammals have clear correlation with respect to life history?

Average lifespan and average adult mass- bigger animals tend to live for longer

Why do larger mammals have a longer post-growth lifespan?

To give them time to reproduce

What variable needs to be controlled for when comparing life history data?

Body size accounts for a lot of trends in LH, such as life expectancy

What do we call anything that body mass does not account for?

Residual values

Why do LH values vary within species?

Each organism will have a degree of plasticity in response to the environment

What environmental factor is being small a response to?

A high mortality environment will have more smaller organisms because there is no time for these organisms to grow big, so it’s worth spending more time reproducing instead

How are life history values linked to each other?

Life history values have links such as a bigger litter size resulting in less time as a juvenile etc. (all about energy distribution)

What is the difference between R-selected species and K-selected species?

• R selected species are adapted for high mortality- small size, rapid development, large litters

• K selected species involves larger size, slower development and smaller litters

List life history characteristics of anthropoid primates

Singleton litters, prolonged dependency, highly social, large brains and long lifespans

What is one suggestion as to why primates have a longer life history?

They tend to be arboreal, therefore face fewer predators

What is one key LH difference between humans and other primates?

Interbirth intervals in humans are a lot shorter that what is usual for primates

How does evolution shape LH characteristics?

LH is the result of selective optimisation

How can LH be linked to environmental factors?

People who live in unpredictable environments, such as higher mortality environments, are more likely to focus in immediate rewards, reproduce early and take more risks (and vice versa)

What is allometry?

The study of an organisms size in relation to its life history

What are phylogenetic constraints?

normal levels of variation for the specific species. LH can’t exceed the constraints

What is the grandmother hypothesis?

Once a woman is no longer in the reproductive stage of her life, she indirectly aids the reproduction of her genes by helping her children’s children.