Evolutionary assembly rules for fish life histories

We revisit the empirical equation of Gislason et al. (2010, Fish and Fisheries 11:149-158) for predicting natural mortality (M, year)1) of marine fish. We show it to be equivalent to M=[L/L infinity](-1.5)center dot K, where L infinity (cm) and K (year(-1)) are the von Bertalanffy growth equation (VBGE) parameters, and L (cm) is fish length along the growth trajectory within the species. We then interpret K in terms of the VBGE in mass (dW/dT),and show that the previous equation is itself equivalent to a 1-/3 power function rule between M and the mass at first reproduction (W alpha); this new -1/3 power function emerges directly from the life history that maximizes Darwinian fitness in nongrowing populations. We merge this M, W alpha power function with other power functions to produce general across-species scaling rules for yearly reproductive allocation, reproductive effort and age at first reproduction in fish. We then suggest a new way to classify habitats (or lifestyles) as to the life histories they should contain, and we contrast our scheme with the widely used Winemiller.Rose fish lifestyle classification.