Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California-Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2013 Sep 1;190:76-80. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.04.003. Epub 2013 Apr 20.
Opportunistic breeding has been hypothesized to evolve in response to rare or unpredictable resource pulses. In this traditional view of opportunism, individuals invest heavily in reproduction whenever conditions are permissive for breeding, perhaps at the expense of investment in survival. We term this strategy 'obligate opportunism' (OBO). We also present an additional strategy that could account for the evolution of opportunism. High mobility may allow individuals to move between rich patches of resources that are spatially or temporally unpredictable, reducing exposure to food scarcity and taking advantage of breeding opportunities. This strategy, which we term 'rich patch exploiter' (RPE), predicts that investment in survival-enhancing processes may occur at the expense of reproduction despite high resource availability. We review examples to determine which opportunists better match predictions from the OBO strategy or the RPE strategy and then review endocrine profiles in the context of the two strategies.
机会主义繁殖被假设为是对稀有或不可预测的资源脉冲的一种适应进化。在机会主义的这种传统观点中，个体只要繁殖条件允许，就会大量投资于繁殖，这可能是以牺牲对生存的投资为代价的。我们将这种策略称为“强制机会主义”（OBO）。我们还提出了另一种策略，它可以解释机会主义的进化。高机动性可以使个体在空间或时间上不可预测的丰富资源斑块之间移动，从而减少对食物短缺的暴露，并利用繁殖机会。我们将这种策略称为“丰富斑块利用者”（RPE），它预测尽管资源丰富，但为了提高生存能力而进行的投资可能会以牺牲繁殖为代价。我们回顾了一些例子，以确定哪种机会主义者更符合 OBO 策略或 RPE 策略的预测，然后在这两种策略的背景下回顾内分泌特征。
