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

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Natural selection involves a trade-off between producing more offspring versus providing more parental care to increase survival rates of offspring. High survival rates of offspring come with a cost of parental care, which can limit the number of offspring produced in a given reproductive episode. Therefore, the trade-off between survival rates of offspring and the cost of parental care is an important factor in natural selection. The other choices are not accurate descriptions of trade-offs involved in natural selection.

Natural Selection Involves Energetic Trade-Offs Between