Department of Biological Sciences, USF St. Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Florida, 33701, USA.
Sci Rep. 2019 Apr 16;9(1):6111. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-42562-7.
Reproduction is a defining process of biological systems. Every generation, across all species, breeding females repopulate ecosystems with offspring. r/K selection was the first theory to classify animal species by linking the rates with which breeding females repopulated ecosystems, to the stability of ecosystems. Here, I introduce a species classification scheme that extends the reach of r-K selection and CSR selection by linking breeder investments in offspring quantity, quality, and diversity to specific natural selection pressures. The species classification scheme is predicated on the assumption that high rates of predation favor breeders that invest more in offspring quantity than quality; and that spatiotemporal scarcity favors breeders that investment more in offspring quality than quantity. I present equations that convert the species classification scheme into a maternal risk-management model. Thereafter, using the equations, I classify eighty-seven animal species into the model's natural selection categories. Species of reptiles, fish, and marine invertebrates clustered in the predation selection category. Species of birds and mammals clustered in the scarcity selection category. Several species of apex predators clustered in the weak selection category. Several species of social insects and social mammals clustered in the convergent selection category. In summary, by acknowledging breeding females as the individuals upon which natural selection acts to repopulate ecosystems with offspring, the proposed maternal risk-management model offers a testable, theoretical framework for the field of ecology.
生殖是生物系统的一个决定性过程。每一代，在所有物种中，繁殖的雌性动物都会用后代重新填充生态系统。r/K 选择是第一个通过将繁殖雌性动物重新填充生态系统的速度与生态系统的稳定性联系起来，对动物物种进行分类的理论。在这里，我介绍了一种物种分类方案，该方案通过将繁殖者在后代数量、质量和多样性上的投资与特定的自然选择压力联系起来，扩展了 r-K 选择和 CSR 选择的范围。该物种分类方案基于以下假设：高捕食率有利于那些在后代数量上投入多于质量的繁殖者；时空稀缺有利于那些在后代质量上投入多于数量的繁殖者。我提出了一些方程，将物种分类方案转化为母体风险管理模型。然后，使用这些方程，我将八十七种动物物种分类到模型的自然选择类别中。爬行动物、鱼类和海洋无脊椎动物的物种聚集在捕食选择类别中。鸟类和哺乳动物的物种聚集在稀缺选择类别中。几种顶级掠食者的物种聚集在弱选择类别中。几种社会昆虫和社会哺乳动物的物种聚集在趋同选择类别中。总之，通过承认繁殖雌性动物是自然选择作用于用后代重新填充生态系统的个体，所提出的母体风险管理模型为生态学领域提供了一个可测试的理论框架。
