What is K-selection and how does it relate to mammal life history?

• A. A strategy involving semelparity and single breeding event.
• B. A strategy focusing on rapid reproduction in small-bodied mammals.
• C. A strategy of producing few offspring with high parental investment and long development time.
• D. A strategy of producing many offspring with low parental investment.

Answer: (C)

K-selection is a life-history strategy where organisms produce relatively few offspring and invest heavily in each one, with a longer development period. This approach fits stable environments near carrying capacity, where competition is high and the survival of each offspring matters more, so parents invest more effort to ensure that few offspring reach maturity. In mammals, this manifests as longer gestation and lactation, extended juvenile development, and substantial parental care, all contributing to higher survival of each offspring but slower population growth. The description of producing few offspring with high parental investment and long development time captures this pattern exactly, distinguishing it from strategies that favor many offspring with little investment or single-shot breeding. Semelparity and single breeding events are not typical of mammals, rapid reproduction in small-bodied mammals aligns with a different, more r-selected pattern, and producing many offspring with low parental investment is classic r-selection.