1993/01/01 by Eric L. Charnov, David Berrigan · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · Psychology · #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Primate Behavior and Ecology #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
paper · doi:10.1002/evan.1360010604
openalex publication_date 1993/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract A major goal of life history studies is to identify and explain features of the life history of individual species that follow broad rules across many groups of organisms, features that are characteristic of particular phylogenetic lineages, and features that are specific adaptations, to local ecological situations. In recent years we have developed a general theory of life history that interrelates many aspects of ontogeny and reproduction across a wide range of organisms. Contrasted to most other mammals, primates have long average adult lifespans and few babies per year for their adult body size. This new theory suggests that these aspects of life history follow directly from the fact that primates have slow individual growth rates. This slow growth rate is thus the basic phenomenon that needs explanation to understand primate slowness.