The influence of immune challenges on the mean and variance in reproductive investment: a meta-analysis of the terminal investment hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: Finding the optimal balance between survival and reproduction is a central puzzle in life-history theory. The terminal investment hypothesis predicts that when individuals encounter a survival threat that compromises future reproductive potential, they will increase immediate reproductive investment to maximise fitness. Despite decades of research on the terminal investment hypothesis, findings remain mixed. We examined the terminal investment hypothesis with a meta-analysis of studies that measured reproductive investment of multicellular iteroparous animals after a non-lethal immune challenge. We had two main aims. The first was to investigate whether individuals, on average, increase reproductive investment in response to an immune threat, as predicted by the terminal investment hypothe

SUBMITTER: Foo YZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10176797 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature