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The two-tier model: an unbalanced view

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2025

Aurelio José Figueredo*
Affiliation:
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA ajf@arizona.edu mpeaher@arizona.edu
Mateo Peñaherrera-Aguirre
Affiliation:
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA ajf@arizona.edu mpeaher@arizona.edu
Steven C. Hertler
Affiliation:
Saint Elizabeth University, Morristown, NJ, USA shertler@steu.edu
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

ER&K recurrently emphasize one side of three equations: (1) extrinsic rather than intrinsic mortality pressures; (2) developmental rather than genetic influence; and (3) individual rather than population-level effects. Furthermore, they insufficiently disambiguate extrinsic from intrinsic mortality, especially confounding how mortality evolutionarily constrains and developmentally calibrates genotypic life history speed, and struggle to explain population-level differences in fast maturation among modern populations.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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