ABSTRACT
The natural history of an organism is rarely discussed without including a description of its reproductive biology. An understanding of reproduction is critical for two primary reasons. First, although reproduction is not essential for the immediate survival of an individual, it is essential for the persistence of the species and is the currency of an individual’s fitness. Second, reproduction can come at a sizable energetic cost to organisms, particularly females, and these costs can represent a substantial part of annual expenditures in species where maintenance costs are relatively low (e.g., ectotherms). Therefore, reproduction typically is not a continuous endeavor, and appropriate timing of reproductive effort is critical.
