Life history traits are integrated biological characteristics of an organism that determine the timing and allocation of resources to growth, reproduction, and survival, and thus shape its life cycle. They include age and size at maturity, fecundity, reproductive schedule (e.g., semelparity vs. iteroparity), offspring size and number, growth rate, and lifespan. As a composite process outcome of development, physiology, and behavior under genetic and environmental control, life history traits are central to life history theory, which models how natural selection optimizes trade-offs among these traits to maximize fitness in specific ecological contexts.
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