4. The concept of species and courtship Flashcards

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1
Q

A species is:

A

A group of similar organisms

That are able to successfully reproduce

To give fertile offspring

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2
Q

Courtship behaviour 5pts

A

Is species specific – only members of the same species respond.

Allows identification of a mate (of the opposite sex) that is capable of breeding – sexually mature or fertile.

May lead to pair bonding which will increase the survival chances of offspring.

Synchronises mating.

Can causes a potential mate to become able to breed – enter oestrous.

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3
Q

But there are problems with using courtship behaviours alone to classify living organisms.
Which are?

A

Bacteria do not have separate sexes to require the attraction of a mate – they mate by binary fission
It is impossible to observe mating behaviours in extinct organisms
Plants do not display courtship behaviours
Two seemingly different species – a horse and a donkey – may be able to mate but the offspring produced – a mule is infertile – this questions the fundamental definition of species.

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4
Q

Simple courtship behaviours: 3pts

A

Releasing pheromones (chemicals)
Mating calls
Visual displays
can all be used to attract a mate

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5
Q

Complex courtship behaviours:2pts

A

Dancing
Building
can all be used to attract a mate

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6
Q

Questions

A
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7
Q

More questions

A
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8
Q

(f) Suggest two advantages of male snakes courting with longer females.

A

(Parent/offspring)

  1. Produce more / larger offspring / eggs;
  2. Better predators/ fitter/ more successful at gaining food / less likely to be eaten / more able to protect offspring / eggs;

3.(More) sexually mature / fertile;

  1. Have more food stores for offspring / eggs;
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9
Q

Even more

A
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10
Q

. Vibration of the wings by the male allows the female to ….

A

Recognize a male of the same species
Identify a male that is mature enough/capable of mating
Stimulates mating behavior in the female.

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11
Q

Study showed that females mated MOST QUICKLY when played their species-specific song,

A

so the results do support the hypothesis.
- HOWEVER it could have been the sight of the song less male that stimulated the behaviour rather than the synthesized song.
- The results suggest that females of other species also responded but less quickly.

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12
Q

To standardise the song,

A

the song played to all females was the same and the experiment was repeatable so that the experiment would give valid results,
- showing that it was the song that caused the response in the females and not another factor such as pauses in the song.

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