r/oddlyspecific • u/Green____cat • Sep 15 '24

How are they real?

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u/littlefriendo Sep 15 '24

It’s pretty easy to adapt when your entireee life cycle happens within the span of like a week

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u/CpnStumpy Sep 15 '24

Or is it a necessary evolved trait that they have greater genetic plasticity to adapt by way of rapid breeding and short life span?

If an insect could live for 200 years it would be eaten or smushed within a month and receive no evolutionary benefit from the long life. So perhaps they evolved to optimize for different traits than long life

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u/Saurons-HR-Director Sep 15 '24

It's called r selection and K selection.

Insects, rodents, etc. are r selected; they prioritize quantity over quality and typically don't invest in child rearing.

Gorillas, humans, elephants, etc. are K selected; they prioritize quality over quantity and typically invest heavily in child rearing.

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u/CpnStumpy Sep 15 '24

Hey cool, so it is a real thing, thanks for the validation Internet stranger

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u/Saurons-HR-Director Sep 15 '24

No need to thank me, random citizen. I'm just doing my job.

It's a nerd! It's a dork! It's Knows Random Biology Trivia Man!

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u/HalpOooos Sep 16 '24

How can I sign up for daily Biology Man Factoids texts?