Construct · 2 fields · 2 citations

Where does fecundity collide?

One name. Different field. Different construct. One map.

● jingle · one word, opposite meanings Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
fecundity2 CONSTRUCTSFecundity (output)COUNT · NOT CAPACITYFecundity (capacity)CAPACITY · NOT COUNT

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1992Fecundity (output)2001Fecundity (capacity)
2026

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Population biology

The number of offspring actually produced

In population biology and life-history theory, fecundity is the realized number of offspring an individual produces (eggs, seeds, or live young), which is the very quantity demographers would instead call fertility. Stearns's The Evolution of Life Histories treats age-specific fecundity as a core component of fitness, traded off against survival and future reproduction. The referent is a counted reproductive output per individual, the opposite pole from the demographic meaning of the same word, which is exactly why "fecundity" is a textbook trap for anyone reading across the two literatures.[1]

Unit
The number of offspring (eggs, seeds, young) actually produced per individual, often per age or season
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Counted directly as offspring, eggs, or seeds produced per individual per unit time or per reproductive bout

Demography

the biological capacity to produce a live birth, as distinct from fertility, the number of births actually occurring.

In demography, fecundity is the biological capacity of a woman, man, or couple to produce a live birth (a potential), which demographers deliberately distinguish from fertility, the number of children actually born. Preston, Heuveline, and Guillot's Demography: Measuring and Modeling Population Processes uses the pair in this direction, so a woman may be fecund (physically able to conceive) yet have low fertility (few or no births). The referent is reproductive potential rather than realized output, which is the exact reverse of how population biologists use the same word.[2]

Unit
The capacity to conceive and bear a live child (a potential, not a count)
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Inferred indirectly, e.g. from fecundability (the monthly probability of conception) and time to pregnancy, since the capacity itself is not counted

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Nearby collisions

replacement3 fields · 3 citationsjingle · one word, three constructsbirth3 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, three constructs

References

  1. Stearns, S. C. (1992). The evolution of life histories. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198577416
  2. Preston, S. H., Heuveline, P., & Guillot, M. (2001). Demography: Measuring and modeling population processes. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 9781557864512

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