A reproductive strategy is a term used to depict behavioral, morphological, and physiological variations that expedite the process of accessing prospective mates, boost the probabilities of mating and fertilization, and heighten the offspring’s survival. There exist several types of reproductive strategies, including sexual vs. asexual reproduction, semelparous, and iteroparous reproduction. This paper addresses the reproduction strategies as mentioned above in detail.
Semelparous Reproduction Strategy
Semelparity is a term that is biologically used to describe species, plants, and animals, that reproduce once in their lifetime. Species bring together all their resources to maximize the reproduction process before they die, which is their strategy. A considerable number of organisms, under favorable conditions, can separate their only bout into more periods. An excellent example of a semelparous species is the Salmon, a meaty and tasty food source for various animals, including human beings and other predators living in the water. Salmon’s rare, delicious taste has caused this species to be very intelligent but pricey reproduction strategy. Immature salmons begin their marine lives in large schools, mostly in the major world’s oceans. When they grow up and become adults ready for breeding, they revolutionize their full physiology to migrating to freshwaters to lay their bulky nutritious eggs. The adults ready for breeding use smell to locate spawning grounds following the smell of the river they were also conceived at. Spiders, Anguillid lizards, and a few amphibians also experience semelparous reproduction strategies because of their hostile environmental conditions dire to the young ones’ survival.
Iteroparous Reproduction Strategy
Iteroparity is another term that is used to classify a group of species that have multiple reproduction cycles as opposed to Semelparity. In this case, the organisms can reproduce many offspring, which, as a result, ensures success and continuity of parent’s genes to future generations. An example of iteroparity is Sea turtles; after mating, females move to the dry land and prepare a nest to store its dozen frozen eggs. If these eggs get destroyed by predators, the parent does not feel any loss. Instead, she repeats the same egg-laying cycle the next year she mates. Its survival does not just determine the success of a type of animal species but also survives to produce and ensure continuity of its genes and avoid extinction. Iteroparous mammals ensure the continuity of their genes by offering adult security to the young ones.
