9. the evolution of parental care

Question 1

what are the two costs of reproduction

Answer 1

mating effort and parental care

Question 2

what is mating effort

Answer 2

territory defence, mate guarding, mate attracting…

Question 3

name a species which puts in more mating effort than parental effort

Answer 3

salmon

Question 4

what is the general rule about number of offspring and parental care, give an example

Answer 4

the more offspring the less parental care and vice versa
eg the bluebottle- 200 eggs and abandons them
the tsetse fly lays 1 egg and cares for it greatly

Question 5

define parental investment

Answer 5

resources passed from the parent to the offspring, this increases the offspring viability at a cost to the parent

Question 6

what animals provide extended periods of parental care

Answer 6

humans and chimps

Question 7

what are the two main costs of parental care

Answer 7

1) direct cost

2) loss of future reproductive opportunities

Question 8

how much energy does hard labour take up

Answer 8

4x basal metabolic rate

Question 9

give another example of direct cost other than energy

Answer 9

-sitting on eggs:

cannot forage meaning weight loss and loss of body heat to warm the eggs

Question 10

what happens in red deers during wet summers

Answer 10

survival rate of female mother deers drops during a wet summer, due to feeding calf makes them weaker - a significant cost
-this also increased in those whom reared males as they are bigger and require more resources