Final answer:
K-selection and r-selection are concepts that categorize species based on their reproductive strategies, which include how they interact with their environment, allocate resources to offspring, and manage survival and longevity.
Step-by-step explanation:
K-selection and r-selection refer to species reproductive strategy, which is an ecological and evolutionary concept explaining how different species adapt to their environments through reproduction. K-selected species, such as elephants, thrive in stable environments and invest significant resources in fewer offspring. In contrast, r-selected species like dandelions are adapted to unstable environments, producing many offspring with minimal parental investment.
The terms K-selection and r-selection do not solely describe reproductive behaviors but also encompass a species' interactions with their environment and the consequent life history patterns, such as longevity and survival.
Both K-selected and r-selected strategies represent opposite ends of a continuum of life-history strategies, with real species life histories existing somewhere between these two extremes. The continuum reflects the diversity in how species allocate resources to reproduction in response to environmental pressures.