C2. Classification Using Courtship Behaviour

Question 1

What is courtship behaviour?

Courtship behaviour is carried out by organisms to …
It can be ______ or ________.

Answer 1

What is courtship behaviour?
Courtship behaviour is carried out by organisms to attract a mate of the right species. It can be fairly simple or quite complex.

Question 2

Simple Courtship behaviours?

Answer 2

• Releasing a chemical-e.g. male bumble bees produce chemicals
  called pheromones to attract female bumble bees to their territory.
• Using sound-e.g. male red deer make a roaring noise to attract a mate.
• Visual displays-e.g. the great tit will attract a mate by puffing out
  its chest to show off its black stripe.

Question 3

Complex Courtship behaviours?

Answer 3

• Dancing-e.g. blue-footed boobies perform a complex dance which involves lifting up their feet to show off the blue colour
• Building-e.g. bowerbirds construct bowers (shelters) made of leaves, twigs, flowers, shells, stones and whatever else the male can find

Question 4

Using courtship behaviour to classify species

Courtship behaviour is _______-________ - only members of the same ________will do and respond to that courtship behaviour. This allows members of the same species to: …(3 things)

Because of this specificity, courtship behaviour can be used to _______organisms. The more closely related species are, the more _______their courtship behaviour.

Answer 4

Courtship behaviour is species specific-only members of the same species will do and respond to that courtship behaviour. This allows members of the same species to:

• recognise each other
• preventing interbreeding
• making reproduction more successful (as mating with the wrong species won’t produce fertile offspring).

Because of this specificity, courtship behaviour can be used to classify organisms. The more closely related species are, the more similar their courtship behaviour.