The Application of Optimal Control Theory to the General Life History Problem

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Abstract
The application of optimal control theory to life history evolution in species with discrete breeding seasons and overlapping generations is discussed. For each age class, the objective functional maximized consists of an integral (total reproduction for that age class) plus a final function (residual reproductive value). A simple example, for which monocarpy is the optimal strategy, is given. The present results complement previous studies (e.g., Schaffer 1979) of life history evolution as a problem in static optimization. The works of Leon (1976), who applied control theory to the case of species with continuous reproduction, and Mirmirani and Oster (1978), who did the same organisms with annual life histories, are thus extended.