Semelparity and iteroparity

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Look up iteroparous in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Semelparity and iteroparity are two contrasting reproductive strategies available to living organisms. A species is considered semelparous if it is characterized by a single reproductive episode before death, and iteroparous if it is characterized by multiple reproductive cycles over the course of its lifetime. Iteroparity can be further divided into continuous iteroparity (primates, including humans and chimpanzees) and seasonal iteroparity (birds, dogs, etc.) Some botanists use the parallel terms monocarpy and polycarpy. (See also plietesials.)

In truly semelparous species, death after reproduction is part of an overall strategy that includes putting all available resources into maximizing reproduction, at the expense of future life (see § Trade-offs). In any iteroparous population there will be some individuals who happen to die after their first and before any second reproductive episode, but unless this is part of a syndrome of programmed death after reproduction, this would not be called "semelparity".

This distinction is also related to the difference between annual and perennial plants: An annual is a plant that completes its life cycle in a single season, and is usually semelparous. Perennials live for more than one season and are usually (but not always) iteroparous.[1]

Semelparity and iteroparity are not, strictly speaking, alternative strategies, but extremes along a continuum of possible modes of reproduction. Many organisms considered to be semelparous can, under certain conditions, separate their single bout of reproduction into two or more episodes.[2][3]

  1. ^ Gotelli, Nicholas J. (2008). A Primer of Ecology. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. ISBN 978-0-87893-318-1.
  2. ^ Futami, Kyoko; Akimoto, Shin-ichi (December 2005). "Facultative second oviposition as an adaptation to egg loss in a semelparous crab spider". Ethology. 111 (12): 1126–1138. Bibcode:2005Ethol.111.1126F. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2005.01126.x. ISSN 1439-0310.
  3. ^ Hughes, P. William; Simons, Andrew M. (August 2014). "Changing reproductive effort within a semelparous reproductive episode". American Journal of Botany. 101 (8): 1323–1331. doi:10.3732/ajb.1400283. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 25156981.