Courtship behaviour Flashcards
What is a species?
A group of similar organisms that can breed to make fertile
What must species do? What does this allow for them to do?
Species must reproduce so they can pass advantageous alleles for the survival of their species
What are courtship rituals?
Courtship rituals are a sequence of actions unique to each species
What gender is more likely to perform thecourtship rituals?
Males
What are examples of courtship rituals?
A sequence of dance moves
Sounds
Release of pheromones
Display of colourful feathers or fighting
What do courtship rituals allow for animals to do?
Courtship rituals allow animals to identify members of their own species
What is the importance of courtship rituals?
- To ensure successful reproduction.
- To ensure the offspring survival
What is meant by ensuring successful reproduction?
Courtship rituals enable species to recognise their own species and opposite sex. This is because each species has their own uniques set of sounds/movements
Synchronise mating behaviour, allows species to see sexual maturity and see a female is in season as she is releasing fertile eggs
What is meant by ensuring the survival of offspring?
In some courtship rituals, the secondary purpose is to form a pair bond. This is because some offspring have higher chance of survival with the presence of two parents
Choosing a strong and healthy mate is important. Seeing a mate with brightly coloured feathers shows they can focus on their looks instead of fighting off infections
What do similar courtship sequence suggest about different species?
The more similar a courtship sequence is between different species, the more closely related a species is to eachother
How do courtship rituals show different species are related to eachother?
Courtships are genetically determined so the more similar a species sequence is the more similar their DNA base sequence is
