What does the term "fecundity" mean?
Q: What does the term "fecundity" mean?
A: Fecundity generally means the ability to reproduce. In biology and demography, it is the measure of an organism or population's ability to produce offspring, usually measured by the number of gametes (eggs), seed set or asexual propagules.
Q: How is fecundity controlled?
A: Fecundity is under both genetic and environmental control.
Q: What other term refers to fertilisation?
A: Fecundation is another term for fertilisation.
Q: How can fecundity change in a population?
A: Fecundity can increase or decrease in a population according to current conditions and certain regulating factors, such as lack of food which may lead to decreased juvenile and adult fecundity.
Q: In what other context does 'fecundity' have meaning?
A: In the philosophy of science, 'fecundity' refers to the ability of a scientific theory to open new lines of theoretical inquiry. Here, the original meaning is extended by analogy.
Q: What is biological fitness related to?
A: Biological fitness is related to fecundity - its major measure.
