Growth strategies of ectothermic animals in temperate environments
Karl Gotthard
Abstract
Individual growth is a fundamental biological process and a typical component of juvenile development. The study of juvenile growth and development has long been of interest for a range of biological sub-disciplines including physiology, ecology and evolution. This chapter mainly concerns evolutionary aspects of juvenile growth, and in particular I will try to relate empirical findings to recent advances in life history theory. I will focus on how the evolution of growth strategies may be influenced by time constraints that are caused by seasonality. To keep this a manageable review I have restricted it to ectothermic animals, mainly because they share physiological features that are important in environments where temperature varies seasonally. I will first review the relevant theory and then discuss empirical results from three major groups of ectothermic animals (insects, fish, amphibians) in the light of the theoretical framework.