BROODERS VS SPAWNERS

9/3/97

1. What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of each contrasting strategy?
2. Which would you choose and why?
3. Why are there in-betweens?
4. Which environmental factors influence the success of each strategy? (hint: look at where brooders and spawners are found?)
5. What are the relative costs per surviving offspring for each group?
6. History shows a shift in reproductive strategy in human society. 200 years ago it was not uncommon for a couple to have 10-15 children. Now, the average number of children per family in the United States is close to 2. Why? What was the leading cause of death for women 200 years ago and what is it today?