Life History Invariants Some Explorations of Symmetry in Evolutionary Ecology

by Charnov, Eric L.

• ISBN13: 9780198540717
• ISBN10: 019854071X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-08-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In this book, noted biologist Eric Charnov uses ideas about symmetry, invariance, and scaling laws to explain many formerly puzzling regularities in population biology. Aspects of life history evolution and population dynamics are illuminated by his synthesis of symmetry and symmetry-breaking arguments. For example, he develops sex allocation evolution to reveal how symmetry-breaking leads to biased sex ratios, and also demonstrates how the process plays an important role in the evolution of alternative male life histories. A detailed evolutionary theory is developed and tested for the allometric structure of life histories in female mammals. The symmetry perspective is also applied to studies of aging as well as to the study of allometry in population dynamics. This work will attract interest among a wide range of students and researchers in ecology, evolution, behavior, and other fields within organismal biology.

Table of Contents

Introduction: invariants imply deeper symmetries	1	(24)
Introduction (with examples)	1	(5)
Population dynamics	6	(1)
Fitness and life history evolution	7	(3)
Inheritance and sex allocation	10	(2)
Relative timing (and body size) variables	12	(2)
Life history theory for the αM number	14	(3)
Allometry	17	(4)
Phylogenetic methods	21	(1)
Book layout: a short summary	22	(2)
Sex allocation	24	(21)
Introduction and overview	24	(5)
Sex allocation under the Fisher inheritance symmetry	29	(1)
Simultaneous hermaphroditism	30	(5)
Sex reversal: breeding sex ratio	35	(4)
Dioecy: population sex ratio with environmental sex determination	39	(3)
Summary	42	(3)
Alternative life histories, mostly about males	45	(15)
Introduction	45	(1)
Bluegill sunfish	46	(2)
Salmon	48	(2)
ESS theory: symmetric beginnings	50	(1)
ESS theory: asymmetric beginnings	51	(4)
One non-intuitive prediction	55	(1)
Summary	56	(1)
Appendix	56	(4)
Indeterminate growth	60	(27)
Introduction	60	(3)
Fish	63	(6)
Clupeomorpha	63	(1)
M / k for fish in general	64	(2)
Walleye and brown trout: violation of the Beverton-Holt invariance	66	(3)
Aquatic invertebrates	69	(2)
Sea urchins	69	(1)
Pandalid shrimp	70	(1)
Reptiles	71	(5)
A life history theory for the Beverton-Holt invariants	76	(9)
Summary	85	(2)
Determinate growth, mostly about mammals	87	(27)
Introduction	87	(1)
Empirical patterns for female mammals	88	(1)
Theory: the basic 0.25 scaling	89	(8)
Stable demography	89	(2)
Growth versus body size	91	(2)
Offspring production versus adult body size	93	(2)
Natural selection on the age at maturity	95	(2)
Average immature mortality Z follows directly from R0 = 1	97	(1)
Theoretical interpretations	97	(4)
Eliminate adult body size	97	(2)
What if adult body size is held constant?	99	(1)
General theoretical interpretations	100	(1)
One special invariant: αM	101	(7)
What is the average value of δ?	102	(1)
Is αM the same for primates?	102	(2)
Does αM change with δ?	104	(2)
Phylogenetic contrasts and αM	106	(1)
What determines δ?	107	(1)
A mortality cost of reproduction?	108	(1)
Sexual dimorphism in adult body size	109	(3)
Summary	112	(2)
Population dynamics	114	(15)
Introduction	114	(1)
rmax allometry	114	(10)
The data	115	(2)
Why rmax allometry?	117	(3)
How high is the mammal rmax line?	120	(1)
How high is the ectotherm rmax line?	121	(1)
Mammals once again: primates versus others	122	(2)
Fowler's rules	124	(3)
Summary	127	(2)
Senescence (ageing)	129	(7)
Introduction	129	(1)
Determinate versus indeterminate growth	130	(1)
Sex-changing fish	131	(2)
Pollen grains	133	(1)
Alternative male life histories	134	(1)
Summary	135	(1)
Finis	136	(10)
Glossary of major parameters and functions	146	(1)
References	147	(14)
Author index	161	(4)
Subject index	165