Life History Evolution - Principles of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior

Explore the fundamental concepts of life history evolution in this 46-minute lecture from Yale University's "Principles of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior" course. Delve into three main classes of life history traits: age and size at maturity, number and size of offspring, and lifespan and reproductive investment. Understand how organisms make evolutionary tradeoffs among these traits, leading to equilibrium at intermediate values. Examine how life history traits serve as evolutionary solutions to ecological challenges of mortality risk and food acquisition. Learn about reaction norms and their role in determining an organism's traits based on genetic and environmental interactions during development. The lecture covers the history of ideas in life history evolution, age and size at maturity, size and number of offspring, and lifespan and aging, concluding with a comprehensive summary. Access complete course materials through the Open Yale Courses website for further study of this Spring 2009 recording.