| department of population ecology | ::: | institute | ::: | university | ::: |  |
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dr hab. Mariusz Cichoń
cichon@eko.uj.edu.pl |
Dep. of Population Ecology Inst. of Environmental Sciences Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków Poland tel. + 48 12 664 52 01 fax + 48 12 664 69 12 |
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Cichoń M.
ACTA OECOLOGICA
1999; 20 (1): 25-28
Abstract:
Patterns of optimal resource allocation to growth and reproduction were investigated using a numerical simulation. As in most previous analyses, cessation of growth when reproduction begins (the determinate strategy) appeared optimal. Here it was additionally found that fitness was only slightly lower for individuals that continue to grow after maturation. Therefore it is argued that selection for a determinate strategy might be too weak to overwhelm the random processes like environmental stochasticity or genetic drift that shape patterns of growth, especially under low mortality. The consequences of an indeterminate strategy for optimal size at maturity and final size were investigated: prolonging the period in which growth and reproduction co-occurred decreased size at maturity only slightly but markedly affected the final size of an individual.
d e s i g n e d b y P a w e ł K a p u s t a