Parental investment
- Pronunciation
- /PAR-en-tel in-VES-t-ment/
- Category
- Behavior
Definition
Anything, material or behavioral, that a parent invests in an offspring that increases the offspring's chance of surviving at the cost of the parent being able to invest in other offspring.
Etymology
From Latin 'parent', meaning 'parent', and 'investment', meaning 'act of investing'.
Example
The male katydid provides a large spermatophylax, a protein-rich gift to the female, as an example of parental investment.
Related Terms
- Offspring
- Survival
- Reproductive success