r/K selection theory en · NOUN
Etymology
Coined by the American ecologists Robert H. MacArthur and E. O. Wilson in 1967. The choice of the letter K came from the German Kapazitätsgrenze (“capacity limit”), while r came from rate.
Meanings
- (uncountable) A theory regarding the selection of combinations of traits in an organism that represent a trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring.