- Exam
- NEET
- Year
- 2016
- Subject
- Zoology
- Chapter
- Organisms and Populations
NEET 2016 · Zoology · Organisms and Populations
Which of the following is correct for r-selected species?
Options
- ALarge number of progeny with small size
- BLarge number of progeny with large size
- CSmall number of progeny with small size
- DSmall number of progeny with large size
Correct answer
A. Large number of progeny with small size
Step-by-step solution
Population evolve to maximize their reproductive fitness in the habitat in which they live. This fitness towards maximizing reproductive is called as Darwinian fitness (high r-value). According to this, under a particular set of selection pressures, organism evolves towards the most efficient reproductive strategy. Some of these are as follows:
(i) BREEDING HABIT: Some organisms breed only once in their lifetime (pacific salmon fish) while others breed many times during their lifetime (most bird and mammals)
(ii) NUMBER AND SIZE OF OFFSPRING: Some produce a large number of small-sized offspring (oysters, pelagic fishes) while others produce a small number of large-sized offspring (birds and animals).