What is R/K selection theory?
{{lowercase title}} '''r/K selection theory''' describes the way a [[species]] controls its number of [[offspring]]. '''r-selection''' species produce many offspring. '''K-selected''' species focus on a few. Neither method is in itself superior, and they may occur in the same habitat; e.g., [[rodents]] (r-selection) and [[elephants]] (K-selection). The theory was popular in the 1970s and 1980s, but several studies criticized it.<ref>{{cite book |first=Derek A. |last=Roff |title=Evolution of life histories: theory and analysis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_pv37gw8CIoC |year=1993 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-412-02391-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Stephen C. |last=Stearns |title=The evolution of life histories |url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionoflifeh0000stea |year=1992 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-857741-6 }}</ref> The study of life histories has replaced the r/K selection paradigm.<ref>Reznick D; Bryant M.J. and Bashey F. 2002. r-and K-selection revisited: the role of population regulation in life-history evolution. ''Ecology'', '''83''' (6): 1509–1520. [http://www2.hawaii.edu/~taylor/z652/Reznicketal.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001203637/http://www2.hawaii.edu/~taylor/z652/Reznicketal.pdf |date=2017-10-01 }}</ref> The terminology of r/K-selection was coined by the ecologists Robert MacArthur and [[E.O. Wilson]],<ref name=Pianka>{{cite journal | last1 = Pianka | first1 = E.R. | year = 1970 | title = On r and K selection | journal = American Naturalist | volume = 104 | issue = 940 | pages = 592–597 | url = http://www.zoology.siu.edu/sears/Pianka1970.pdf | doi = 10.1086/282697 | s2cid = 83933177 | access-date = 2014-06-10 | archive-date = 2020-01-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200127130029/https://zoology.siu.edu/sears/Pianka1970.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> based on their work on [[island biogeography]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacArthur |first1=R. |last2=Wilson |first2=E.O. |title=The theory of island biogeography