Life History Evolution Traits, Interactions, and Applications

About this book

Life History Evolution: Traits, Interactions, and Applications presents a cutting-edge synthesis of the mechanisms driving life history strategies that span the breadth of taxa, from bacteria to humans. Integrating classical and contemporary perspectives, this comprehensive volume addresses how organisms evolve traits in response to diverse ecological pressures. Editors Michal Segoli and Éric Wajnberg bring together leading experts to explore the intersection of evolutionary biology, ecology, and applied research, focusing on the evolving complexity of life history traits and their implications.

In-depth yet accessible chapters cover a broad spectrum of life history traits, from classical traits of lifespan and reproduction to more complex interactions like social behaviour, predator-prey dynamics, and human-induced evolutionary processes. The contributing authors explain essential concepts, identify critical knowledge gaps, discuss future research directions, and demonstrate the relevance of life history evolution in addressing climate change, species invasion, pollution, and more.

Providing a well-balanced understanding of life history traits and their implications, Life History Evolution:
- Incorporates recent advances in evolutionary theory, including eco-evolutionary feedback loops and anthropogenic impacts
- Offers diverse perspectives and original research from leading experts in fields such as evolutionary biology, ecology, entomology, zoology, agriculture, and veterinary medicine
- Discusses life history evolution in the context of co-evolved interactions such as predator-prey, parasite-host, plant-herbivore, and endosymbiont-host relationships
- Provides an overview of the foundational theory, recent developments, and current thinking in the field
- Features numerous case studies that highlight real-world applications in biological control, wildlife management, climate change adaptation, and others

Revealing how life history traits shape the evolutionary strategies of organisms, Life History Evolution: Traits, Interactions, and Applications is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers in ecological science. It is an ideal textbook for courses in evolutionary ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation biology, environmental science, and environmental management.

Contents

List of Contributors   xv
Foreword   xix
Preface   xxiii

Part I: Traits   1
1. Body Size and Timing of Maturation / Toomas Tammaru and Tiit Teder   3
2. Evolution of Ageing and Lifespan / Alexei A. Maklakov   29
3. Offspring Size and Life History Theory: What Do We Know?: What Do We Still Need to Learn? / Dustin J. Marshall   49
4. The Evolution of Insect Egg Loads: The Balance of Time and Egg Limitation / Michal Segoli, Miriam Kishinevsky, and George E. Heimpel   61
5. Sex-Specific Life Histories / Hanna Kokko   77
6. Parental Care and Life History / Hope Klug and Michael B. Bonsall   97
7. Sex Allocation / Jun Abe and Stuart A. West   113
8. Life History Evolution: Complex Life Cycles Across Animal Diversity / Andreas Heyland, Konstantin Khalturin, and Vincent Laudet   131
9. Social Living and Life History Evolution, with a Focus on Ageing and Longevity / Judith Korb and Volker Nehring   155
10. Integrating Dispersal in Life History / Dries Bonte   175
11. The Evolution of Human Life Histories / Megan Arnot and Ruth Mace   191

Part II: Interactions   213
12. Life History Traits in the Context of Predator–Prey Interactions / Joseph Travis   215
13. Life History Trait Evolution in the Context of Host–Parasite Interactions / Alison B. Duncan, Giacomo Zilio, and Oliver Kaltz   229
14. How Do Microbial Symbionts Shape the Life Histories of Multicellular Organisms? / Elad Chiel and Yuval Gottlieb   255
15. Ecological and Evolutionary Links Between Defences and Life History Traits in Plants / Xoaquín Moreira and Luis Abdala-Roberts   269
16. Are you in Synch?: How the Timing of Plant and Insect Life History Events Affects Pollination Interactions / Tamar Keasar and Tzlil Labin   285
17. Life Histories in the Context of Mutualism / Renee M. Borges   297

Part III: Applications   315
18. Life History and Climate Change / Juha Merilä and Lei lv   317
19. Environmental Pollution Effects on Life History / Denis Réale, Loïc Quevarec, and Jean-Marc Bonzom   333
20. Life History Evolution on Expansion Fronts / Elodie Vercken and Ben L. Phillips   357
21. Adaptive Evolution of Life History Traits in Urban Environments / Yuval Itescu, Maud Bernard-Verdier, and Jonathan M. Jeschke   375
22. Life History and Biological Control / Paul K. Abram and Ryan L. Paul   403
23. Life History and Exploitative Management of Fish and Wildlife / Marco Festa-Bianchet   425
24. Life History and the Control of Diseases / Jessica E. Metcalf and Justin K. Sheen   439

Index   457

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Biography

Michal Segoli is an evolutionary and behavioural ecologist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, where she teaches courses in life history evolution, evolutionary ecology, and conservation biological control.

Éric Wajnberg is a population biologist affiliated with INRIA and INRAE in France and USP/ESALQ in Brazil. With 40 years of experience, he focuses on population genetics, behavioural ecology, and statistical modeling.