Hi Mr Jack,
The many species that scatter their young to the currents generally produce very, very small undeveloped young that are highly disposable.
Yes, but these young are still capable of living on their own - they are still "precocial" in that regard (if the word can be applied to larvae), and - it seems to me - the grown organisms are generally smaller than those that do care for their young, even minimally.
I was thinking more of the contrast between minimal care precocial animals and maximal care altricial animals, rather than in general to all organisms, where the altricial species are generally less developed than the similar precocial species.
Precociality and altriciality - Wikipedia
quote:
In Biology, the term precocial refers to species in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. The opposite developmental strategy is called "altricial," where the young are born helpless. Extremely precocial species may be called "superprecocial." These three categories form a continuum, without distinct gaps between them. Precocial species are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth.
The span between precocial and altricial species is particularly broad in birds. Precocial birds, including many ground-nesting species, have offspring that hatch with well-ossified skeletons, with good sight, and covered with feathers. Very precocial birds can be ready to leave the nest in a short period of time following hatching (e.g. 24 hours). Many precocial chicks are not independent in thermoregulation (the ability to regulate their own body temperatures), and they depend on the attending parent(s) to brood them with body heat for a short period of time. Precocial birds find their own food, sometimes with help or instruction from the parents. Examples of precocial birds include the domestic chicken, many species of ducks and geese, waders, rails and the Hoatzin. The most extreme, superprecocial birds are the megapodes, where the newly-hatched chicks dig themselves out of the nest mound without parental assistance, and fly on the first day after hatching.
Many precocial birds get minimal care from parents, similar to crocodiles, turtles, snakes and lizards
In fact, if anything, the opposite is true: cared for young represent a much larger investment of energy than scattered young.
We also see precocial animals that are large investments of energy, and which receive minimal, if any, care after birth, so it's not a strict linear relationship, more of a scattered one.
Perhaps
Edited by RAZD, : splink
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