Meanings
nounr-selection (uncountable)
- uncountablebiologyA theory involving natural selection based on quantity.
Origin
Coined by the American ecologists Robert H. MacArthur and E. O. Wilson in 1967. The choice of the letter r came from rate.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
r-selection. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/r-selection
MLA
“r-selection.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/r-selection. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “r-selection,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/r-selection.
Source: r-selection on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.