The Optimal Balance between Size and Number of Offspring
1974/07/01 by Christopher C. Smith, Stephen D. Fretwell · 2,970 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Balance (ability) #Biology #Demography #Developmental psychology #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Genetics #Offspring #Parent–offspring conflict #Paternal care #Pregnancy #Primate Behavior and Ecology #Psychology #Sibling
paper · open access · doi:10.1086/282929
published in The American Naturalist 108(962), 499-506 (University of Chicago Press)
openalex publication_date 1974/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract
(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) The relationship between the energy expended per offspring, fitness of offspring, and parental fitness is presented in a two-dimensional graphical model. The validity of the model in determining an optimal parental strategy is demonstrated analytically. The model applies under various conditions of parental care and sibling care for the offspring but is most useful for species that produce numerous small offspring which are given no parental care.
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