Natural selection involves energetic trade- offs between which of the following?
A) increasing the number of individuals produced during each reproductive episode and a corresponding decrease in parental care
B) choosing how many offspring to produce over the course of a lifetime and how long to live
C) producing large numbers of gametes when employing internal fertilization versus fewer numbers of gametes when employing external fertilization
D) high survival rates of offspring and the cost of parental care
E) the emigration of individuals when they are no longer reproductively capable or committing suicide

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Natural selection involves a trade-off between producing high survival rates of offspring and the cost of parental care. If parents invest a lot of energy and resources in caring for their offspring, the survival rates of the offspring increase, but the parents will have fewer resources available for producing more offspring. If parents produce many offspring, they may not be able to provide enough care for all of them, which may decrease the survival rates of the offspring. Therefore, there is a balance between parental investment and reproductive success.

Natural Selection Involves Energetic Trade- Offs Between Which of the Following