Chapter 6: Primate Reproductive Strategies

Question 1

what is a mating system?

Answer 1

the ways in which animals find reproductive partners and care for offspring

Question 2

who is typically the primary caregiver of primate offspring?

Answer 2

the female

Question 3

what is a strategy?

Answer 3

a set of evolved traits that solves an adaptive problem

Question 4

what is a tactic?

Answer 4

specific behaviours that aid in the success of a strategy

Question 5

what is a mating effort?

Answer 5

the activities related to conception (e.g. finding a mate)

Question 6

what is a parenting effort?

Answer 6

activities related to offspring care (e.g. nursing, protecting eggs)

Question 7

why is female care critical to primate offspring?

Answer 7

lactation and gestation

Question 8

what condition needs to be present if males are to maximize their effort in finding multiple mates?

Answer 8

• mates need to be easy to find
• offspring can be adequately raised by females

Question 9

what condition needs to be present if males are to maximize their effort in parental care?

Answer 9

• mates are hard to find
• offspring care requires both parents

Question 10

what is the cost of a female investing largely in care of one offspring

Answer 10

this will result in fewer offspring total

Question 11

why are young mothers at risk during pregnancy/offspring care?

Answer 11

• inexperienced
• allocating energy towards their own growth

Question 12

why are old mothers at risk during pregnancy/offspring care?

Answer 12

• they have less time to raise their kids
• higher risk of error in cell division

Question 13

primiparous vs multiparous

Answer 13

primiparous: first time mothers
multiparous: multiple offspring and multiple pregnancies

Question 14

define gragarious

Answer 14

group living

Question 15

define lactational amenorrhea

Answer 15

females are unable to get pregnant while they are breastfeeding their young

Question 16

what are the results of weaning?

Answer 16

• more independent
• female is able to reproduce again

Question 17

what does sexual selection favour?

Answer 17

traits that can increase reproductive success (usually in males)

Question 18

what is intrasexual selection?

Answer 18

when there is male-male competition and the dominant male gets access to females

Question 19

what is intersexual selection?

Answer 19

when the female gets the choice, and chooses the most attractive male

Question 20

does intrasexual OR intersexual selection result in an exaggerated sexual dimorphism?

Answer 20

intrasexual (male vs male)

Question 21

do pair bonds have high or low competition/sexual dimorphism?

Answer 21

low competition, low sexual dimorphism

Question 22

do one male, multifemale groups have high or low competition/sexual dimorphism?

Answer 22

very high competition, extreme dimorphism

Question 23

do multimale - multifemale groups have high or low competition/sexual dimorphism?

Answer 23

some competition, some sexual dimorphism

Question 24

who is the largest threat to the male in one male - multifemale groups?

Answer 24

bachelor males, who belong to no group/small groups and look to challenge the dominant male

Question 25

what sperm count is favoured in multimale-multifemale groups?

Answer 25

higher sperm count = more reproduction

Question 26

what is mate guarding?

Answer 26

when a male defends the females he mates with to ensure that the offspring are his

Question 27

what is alloparenting??

Answer 27

when care is provided by others individuals to the offspring

Question 28

do dominant males have shorter or longer lifespans?

Answer 28

shorter

Question 29

polygamy vs polygeny?

Answer 29

polygamy: multiple spouses
polygyny: male has multiple females

Question 30

what is polygynandry?

Answer 30

when both males and females have multiple partners

Question 31

what is infanticide?

Answer 31

when the male kills offspring in the group in hopes of increasing the number of HIS offspring in the group

Question 32

what is paternity confusion?

Answer 32

when a female mates with multiple males in hopes of confusing who the father truly is

Question 33

when does an aborted pregnancy occur?

Answer 33

when a females stress hormones are so high their body forces an abortion

Question 34

how are male-female friendships useful?

Answer 34

because the female will have greater protection

Question 35

what is the naturalistic fallacy?

Answer 35

the incorrect belief that if something is natural it must be good