The evolution of alternative reproductive tactics : concepts and questions
نویسندگان
چکیده
Here we outline the meaning of the term alternative reproductive tactics, or ARTs, and discuss why the existence of ARTs is so widespread in animals. We ask what we need to know to understand the evolution of ARTs and the importance of general principles such as frequency dependence, density dependence, and condition dependence, and what we need to know about proximate mechanisms involved in the regulation of ARTs to comprehend evolutionary patterns. We discuss current issues in the study of ARTs and list 12 questions that we think need particular attention. Throughout we shall provide representative examples of ARTs in animals to illustrate the ubiquitous nature of this phenomenon.
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