r/K selection theory

An evolutionary theory that contrasts selection for rapid reproduction in unstable environments with selection for competitive efficiency in stable ones. It describes a continuum of life-history strategies rather than a strict division between species.

Life history theory: The study of how organisms allocate resources among growth, survival, and reproduction across their lives. Provides the broader framework for comparing reproductive schedules and survival.
Density-dependent selection: Evolutionary change caused by fitness differences that vary with population density. Explains how selection can favor different strategies at low density and near carrying capacity.
C-S-R theory: A plant strategy framework distinguishing competitors, stress-tolerators, and ruderals. It offers a separate way to classify strategies, including stress tolerance absent from the basic r/K contrast.
Robert MacArthur: An American ecologist whose mathematical work helped establish modern community ecology. His ecological theory helped develop the framework linking competition and life-history strategies.
Ecological succession: The change in species composition and community structure over time after disturbance or habitat formation. Successional stages have often been interpreted as shifting from ruderal toward competitive strategies.
r/K selection: A classification of selection pressures favoring either intrinsic population growth or competitive ability near carrying capacity. Names the two ends of the contrast at the theory’s core.
Fecundity: An organism’s capacity to produce offspring, often measured as offspring number or reproductive output. High fecundity represents one route to rapid population increase.
Fast-slow continuum: A broad pattern linking rapid development and reproduction with slower life histories and longer lifespan. Modern comparisons often treat life histories as a continuum rather than two discrete types.
E. O. Wilson: An American biologist known for research on ants, biodiversity, and sociobiology. Wilson helped popularize r/K selection in a broad account of ecological strategies.
Invasive species: A species introduced beyond its native range that establishes and causes ecological or economic harm. Rapid reproduction can aid establishment, though it does not by itself predict invasiveness.

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