Final answer:
Modern humans indeed show a type I survivorship curve. This is characterized by low mortality rates in youth and middle age, with most deaths occurring in the older years. This pattern is due to fewer offspring and high parental care.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question addresses the concept of survivorship curves, a tool used by population ecologists to describe the patterns of mortality and survival within a population across different age intervals. Regarding the statement that modern humans show a type I survivorship curve, the answer is true. The characteristics of a type I survivorship curve include low mortality in early and middle years with an increase in mortality in the older years.
Humans exemplify this pattern because a high percentage of offspring survive to adulthood and most deaths occur among older individuals. This trend is attributed to humans typically producing fewer offspring and providing significant parental care, enhancing the survival rate of the young. This contrasts with other types like type II, where mortality is relatively constant across all age groups, and type III, where there is high infant mortality but lower mortality after reaching maturity, usually in species that produce many offspring with minimal parental care.
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