ABSTRACT
The life history of an organism is its lifetime pattern of growth and reproduction. Key components of life histories are size, growth rates, reproduction and longevity. The perfect hypothetical organism will have every trait required to maximize reproductive output – it will reach a large adult size shortly after birth, produce many large offspring and live to a great age. Many perennial garden plants will exhibit enhanced survival and future flower production if they are stopped from allocating resources to reproduction by removal of seed-heads. All organisms have to compromise between the energy allocated to current reproduction and that which is allocated to survival and thus future reproduction. The difference in reproductive values between individuals provides a powerful predictor of life history strategy. ‘Bet-hedging’ theory contrasts the variability of habitats in terms of the impacts upon different parts of the life history.
