Parental Care

Question 1

parental care

Answer 1

any behaviour on the part of the parent that appears likely to increase the survival and fitness of offspring

Question 2

flow of influences on reproduction

Answer 2

gametic and parental investment

reproductive rates

operational sex ratio

sexual selection: who competes, who chooses?

Question 3

parental effort

Answer 3

expenditure of parental resources (ex. time and energy) spent on parental care of 1+ offspring.
% of resources a parent can expend will vary with age, size and other biological factors.

Question 4

parental investment

Answer 4

any action on the part of a parent that increases fitness of offspring at a cost to any component of the parent’s fitness

Question 5

benefits of care

Answer 5

increased survival and reproduction (fitness) of offspring

Question 6

treehoppers, what are the benefits of care?

Answer 6

hatching success depends on the amount of care received. When the eggs are abandoned, there are significantly fewer hatching nymphs.

Question 7

what are the conditions for care to be beneficial?

Answer 7

parents must:

• increase offspring survival during the stage in which parents and offspring are associated
• improve offspring quality that leads to increased offspring survival, and/or reproduction in the future when parents are no longer associated with offspring
  and/or
• directly increase offspring reproductive success when parents and offspring remain associated into adulthood.

Question 8

costs of care

Answer 8

decrease in survival, opportunities to feed, and future mating opportunities

Question 9

st. peter’s fish, costs of care

Answer 9

males carry young in their mouths, and lose a significant amount of weight during this period. females also lose weight.
non caring males are able to gain weight.

Question 10

when will care evolve?

Answer 10

benefits > costs

Question 11

what are the forms of care? (4 forms)

Answer 11

• pre fertilization investment (ex. nesting)
• investment between fertilization and hatching (ex. egg care)
• investment between birth and nutritional independence (ex. provisioning and defence)
• investment after nutritional independence (ex. social assistance)

Question 12

a nuptial gift is an example of

Answer 12

pre fertilization investment

Question 13

what do male widow spiders use for nuptial gifts?

Answer 13

they somersault into the mouths of females. (themselves)

Question 14

egg production is an example of

Answer 14

pre fertilization investment

Question 15

what does a larger egg volume usually indicate?

Answer 15

greater % survival

Question 16

fecundity

Answer 16

the ability to produce an abundance of offspring

Question 17

what is the trade off between egg size and fecundity

Answer 17

can either produce many, small eggs. or fewer, larger eggs.

Question 18

how do tree frogs balance egg size and fecundity?

Answer 18

in permanent water bodies, their eggs are one size. In temporary water bodies, the eggs are variable in size.

Question 19

care for eggs is an example of

Answer 19

investment between fertilization and hatching

Question 20

incubation or internal gestation are examples of

Answer 20

investment between fertilization and birth

Question 21

provisioning before birth is an example of

Answer 21

investment between fertilization and hatching

Question 22

what does provisioning after birth look like in a few different animals + what does it mean?

Answer 22

young eat food collected by parents or feed on parental secretions
discus fish - mucus
mammals - milk
birds - regurgitated food

Question 23

suppression of a daughter’s competitor is an example of

Answer 23

care for nutritionally independent young, and a form of social care. occurs in some social primates where daughters and mothers share a home range/group for life

Question 24

how would each sex maximize their reproductive success with respect to parental care?

Answer 24

males: mate with many females, leave each one to care for the offspring

females: mate and then leave male to take care of offspring

Question 25

patterns of care in fishes

Answer 25

no care most common (79% show no care)

if they do share care, most is by one parent
internal fertilizing fish species have female care
external fertilizing fish species have male care
(usually)

Question 26

3 hypotheses that dictate parental care of males

Answer 26

1. paternity certainty hypothesis
2. order of gamete release hypothesis
3. association hypothesis

Question 27

ancestral care mammals

Answer 27

female care

Question 28

ancestral care birds

Answer 28

biparental care

Question 29

ancestral state of care is no care, for these groups

Answer 29

fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects

Question 30

ESS model of parental care want

Answer 30

pair of strats for males and females

Question 31

ESS model of parental care assumptions

Answer 31

reproductive success depends on about of parental care given, and number of eggs laid by females. the more a female invests in egg,s the less she is able to care, and vice versa.

Question 32

if brood size increases, it makes more sense to

Answer 32

increase parental investment

Question 33

if paternity is uncertain, it makes most sense to

Answer 33

reduce parental care

Question 34

why do humans have such a long parental care period?

Answer 34

long development period to support bigger brains which were needed to deal with complexities of social living

Question 35

why do humans have a considerable amount of male care?

Answer 35

females needed provisioning during care, and males need to mate guard

Question 36

why do humans see so much kin support in rearing young?

Answer 36

older individuals with experience can increase fitness of offspring by transferring survival and social skills within kin network

Question 37

cost and benefits determine

Answer 37

if care will evolve
which sex will care
how much care is provided

Question 38

what 3 factors influence parental care

Answer 38

ecological, physiological, evolutionary