What kind of curve does a type three survivorship depict?

A type three survivorship curve is characterized by a concave curve, which reflects a specific pattern of survival throughout the lifespan of a species. This type of survivorship is typically seen in organisms that produce a large number of offspring but invest little in their care. As a result, most offspring do not survive to adulthood; those that do survive often face higher mortality rates early in life due to various environmental factors or predation.

In this curve, the initial steep drop in survivorship indicates that a significant number of individuals die young, leading to a relatively low survival rate until a certain age. Once individuals survive past this early stage, the chance of surviving to older ages increases, creating the distinctive concave shape of the curve.

This pattern contrasts with other types of survivorship curves, such as type one and type two, which are represented differently based on varying reproductive strategies and parental investment. Overall, recognizing the concave nature of a type three survivorship curve helps illustrate the life history strategy of certain species and their reproductive success in relation to survival.