BioEd Online Slides: k-selection, r-selected strategies, population

search: k-selection results: 3

of 3

K-selected Reproductive Strategy

Population Ecology (Evan Siemann, PhD)

environment | K-selected strategies carrying capacity | population | r-selected strategies | ecology

In contrast, k-selected species have more constant mortality and population sizes that often are close to carrying capacity. Intraspecific competition tends to be strong. Selection favors slower development, late, repeated reproduction, long lives, and efficient use of resources.

Pianka, E. (1970). On r- and K selection. American Naturalist, 104, 592-597.

Young, M. (2004). K-selected reproduction. Center For Educational Outreach, Houston. TX:Baylor College of Medicine.


BioEd Online is funded by grants from Houston Endowment Inc.; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Science Education Partnership Award program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH; National Space Biomedical Research Institute; National Science Foundation (Divisions of Graduate Education and Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings); Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; RGK Foundation; The Powell Foundation; and the Houston Independent School District. © 2004—2010 Baylor College of Medicine. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy fruit fly image © 2001 Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.