Sex And Behaviour Flashcards
what defines parental investment
use of resources by a parent to benefit future or exsiting offspring
what are the benefits of parental investment
increased number of offspring with higher chance of survival, increased evolutionary fitness of parent
what are the selection pressures for gametes
large eggs(more energy supply), fast sperm
describe the paradox of quantity Vs quality in male and female gamete production
males = quantity/ quality, large amount of sperm produced, females = quality/ quantity, fewer eggs over a limited period
describe a sessile organism
a very slow moving or fixed organism
state the three solutions to sessile organisms reproducing
self fertilization, synchronized release of gametes, using animal carriers
give one benefit and cost of internal fertilization
benefit - great control in choosing a mate, cost - increased risk of parasitism
what would be one reason to not choose external fertilization
little choice over mate, more gametes may be required, low success rates
describe characteristics of an r strategist
many offspring produced, unstable environment, little parental care, smaller organisms, higher death rates
if an organism have little offspring but had extensive parental care what would you class them as
k strategists
what is a monogamous organism
an organism who shares gametes with only one other organism
what leads to sexual dimorphism
sexual selection
what sex of the species is often inconspicuous
femalesb
what is sexual dimorphism
stark differences in characteristics between two sexes of the same species
give an example of a species that displays reverse sexual dimorphism
artic wading birds
what are sneaker males
use cunning methods to sneak in and mate with females, aren’t the strongest, often disguise themselves to resemble females
what are males competiting for in male to male rivalry
access and rights to breed with femalesb
what is a lek
small communal area where males display to females
describe lekking
males display in a lek and females come to visit and select between the males, normally one or two dominant males that mate with most females
what are satellite males
alternative strategy to lekking, try to intercept females at the peripheral at the lek and mate with them
when does imprinting occur
during a critical time period in young animals development
what is imprinting
an irreversible rapid development process by which the animal fixates its attention and follows the first object it senses
what may imprinting influence later in life
mate selection
what do honest signals and good phenotypic qualities show the females
male has good genotype and low parasitic burden
