The relative importance of life-history variables to population growth rate in mammals: Cole's prediction revisited

• Published in: The American naturalist Vol. 161; no. 3; p. 422
• Main Authors: Oli, Madan K, Dobson, F Stephen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2003
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; Biological Evolution; Body Constitution; Body Weight; Ecology; Fertility; Mammals - physiology; Models, Biological; Phylogeny; Population Dynamics; Reproduction; Survival Rate

The relative importance of life-history variables to population growth rate (lambda) has substantial consequences for the study of life-history evolution and for the dynamics of biological populations. Using life-history data for 142 natural populations of mammals, we estimated the elasticity of lam...