Macroevolution of dimensionless life-history metrics in tetrapods

Life-history traits represent organisms' strategies to navigate the fitness trade-offs between survival and reproduction. Eric Charnov developed three dimensionless metrics quantify fundamental life-history trade-offs. Lifetime reproductive effort (LRE), relative lifespan (RRL) offspring size (ROS), together with body mass can be used classify across four major classes of tetrapods: amphibians, reptiles, mammals birds. First, we investigate how have evolved in concert within tetrapod lineages. In most cases, find evidence for correlated evolution among metrics. Second, compare tetrapods that LRE, RRL ROS delineate a space which occupy mostly unique subspaces. These distinct combinations provide us framework understand impact evolutionary transitions energetics, physiology ecology.