life history

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering life history concepts, evolutionary trade-offs, reproductive strategies, complex life cycles, and ecological classifications.

Life History

A record of events relating to an organism's growth, development, reproduction, and survival.

Life History Strategy

The overall pattern in the timing and nature of life history events throughout an organism's lifetime.

Fitness

An organism's genetic contribution to future generations.

Phenotypic Plasticity

The capacity of a single genotype to produce different phenotypes under different environmental conditions.

Polyphenism

A form of phenotypic plasticity where a single genotype produces several distinct, discrete morphs (e.g., small omnivore morphs vs. faster-growing carnivore morphs in spadefoot toad tadpoles).

Heteroecious Species

A species that alternates between two distinct host plant species across its life cycle, such as the soybean aphid utilizing a primary host (Buckthorn / Rhamnus spp.) and a secondary host (Soybean).

Isogamy

The production of gametes that are equal in size and structure, found in certain organisms such as green algae.

Anisogamy

The production of gametes of different sizes, in which the female gamete (egg) is much larger and contains nutritional material to support development compared to the smaller male sperm.

Complex Life Cycle

A life cycle that consists of at least two distinct stages with different body forms that live in different habitats.

Metamorphosis

An abrupt transition in body form and ecology between the larval and juvenile/adult stages.

Alternation of Generations

A life cycle found in plants, algae, and some protists characterized by alternating multicellular diploid sporophyte and multicellular haploid gametophyte generations.

Semelparous

An organism that reproduces only once in its lifetime before dying (e.g., Agave plants).

Iteroparous

An organism capable of reproducing multiple times throughout the course of its life (e.g., pines, spruces, and most large mammals).

r-Selection

Selection favoring high population growth rates ($r$), characteristic of opportunistic species in disturbed habitats that have small body sizes, fast development, and high fecundity.

K-Selection

Selection favoring slower population increase and efficiency near carrying capacity ($K$), typical of stable environments with high intraspecific competition, long lifespans, and high parental investment.

Stress (Plant Ecology)

Any abiotic factor that limits the growth of a plant.

Disturbance (Plant Ecology)

Any biotic or abiotic process that destroys plant biomass.

Competitive Plants

Plants possessing superior abilities to acquire light, minerals, water, and space, granting them a selective advantage under conditions of low stress and low disturbance.

Ruderal Plants

Weedy plants adapted to high disturbance and low stress, characterized by short lifespans, rapid growth rates, and heavy investment in seed production.

Stress-Tolerant Plants

Plants adapted to high-stress and low-disturbance habitats that exhibit phenotypic plasticity, slow resource utilization, and defenses making them unpalatable to herbivores.

Life History Trade-Off

An allocation constraint where organisms invest limited energy or resources into one biological function at the expense of another.

Lack Clutch Size

The maximum clutch size or number of offspring that a parent can successfully feed and rear to independence.

Provisioning

The maternal investment of resources into eggs or seeds (such as yolk, protective layers, or endosperm) to sustain vulnerable, small early life stages.

Parental Care

An investment of time and energy after fertilization to feed, guard, and protect offspring.

Dormancy

A state of suspended growth and development that allows an organism to survive unfavorable environmental conditions (e.g., seeds remaining viable in seed banks for centuries).

Niche Shift

A developmental switch in an organism's habitat or resource use, which should occur when conditions become more favorable in the adult habitat than in the larval habitat.

Paedomorphosis

The retention of larval morphology and aquatic habitat in a sexually mature adult organism.

Sequential Hermaphroditism

A life history phenomenon where an individual changes biological sex during its lifespan to optimize reproductive potential across different body sizes.