OPTIMAL LIFE STRATEGIES IN ORGANISMS EXPOSED TO RECURRENT CRITICAL EVENTS

The optimal partition of energy between survival and reproduction is c onsidered for a population subject to recurrent and potentially lethal critical events. The best strategy is found by maximizing fitness, a functional derived from the Lotka equation. The dynamics is governed b y a second-order, age-varying, nonlinear system. The energy storage an d the probability of survival are the state variables, while the amoun ts of energy placed into and withdrawn from the storage are the contro ls. The optimal life strategy is shown to be as follows: build up the storage at the very beginning of life, and then progressively deplete it to resist the critical events.