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Dryad

Why we cannot always expect life history strategies to directly inform on sensitivity to environmental change

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Dec 19, 2023 version files 88.29 KB

Abstract

Speed of life and reproductive strategy form the two major axes that organize variation in life history strategies across plant and animal species. The position of a species along these axes can inform on their sensitivity to environmental change. This provides a tantalizing link between sets of traits and population responses to change, contained in a highly generalizable theoretical framework. The underlying mechanisms are assumed to be governed by life history tradeoffs at the individual level. Examples include the tradeoff between current and future reproductive success, and investing energy into growth versus reproduction. But the importance of such tradeoffs in structuring population-level responses to environmental change remains understudied. We aim to increase our understanding of the link between individual-level life history tradeoffs and the structuring of life history strategies across species, and if they link to population responses to environmental change. We find that the classical association between life history strategies and population responses to environmental change breaks down when accounting for individual-level tradeoffs and reproductive decisions. Projecting population responses to environmental change can therefore not always be inferred based on a limited set of species traits alone. We summarize our perspective and a way forward in a conceptual framework.