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Extrinsic mortality and life histories: strategic response or accidental association?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2025

Emily Smith-Greenaway Open the ORCID record for Emily Smith-Greenaway [Opens in a new window]
Emily Smith-Greenaway*
Affiliation:
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA smithgre@usc.edu
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*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Ellis, Reid, and Kramer advance a two-tier model of extrinsic mortality and life history strategies, emphasizing that extrinsic mortality can promote higher reproduction. The article implies this second tier operates via conscious, volitional processes. I present evidence that extrinsic mortality events are not merely environmental cues but also bereavement-inducing events that can define histories principally by disrupting, not facilitating, life strategies.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e123
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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