Question

An octopus reproduces only once in its life, but it may have more than 100,000 offspring, depending on the species. Certain species of penguin, by contrast, have only one chick at a time. If some species can reproduce as rapidly as the octopus (100,000 offspring every 3 or 4 years).

How is it possible that a species that has only one young at a time is equally successful?

Answer 1

Not all of those offspring are likely to live to adulthood, whereas the parent penguin can pay attention to the one chick it has so it is more likely to live to adulthood

Answer 2

The success of a species depends on the number of offspring that survive long enough to reproduce.