there are costs as well as benefits in laying a large number of eggs. Increased bearing is bound to be paid for in less efficient caring. Lack’s essential point is that for any given species, in any given environmental situation, there must be an optimal clutch size. Where he differs from Wynne-Edwards is in his answer to the question: ‘Optimal from whose point of view?’. Wynne-Edwards would say the important optimum, to which all individuals should aspire, is the optimum for the group as a whole. Lack would say each selfish individual chooses the clutch size that maximizes the number of
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