Sexual reproduction Flashcards
Which is an animal example that can change between sexual and asexual reproduction depending on limited resources available?
Green flies
What does Parthenogenesis mean?
Virgin birth. Produce eggs that have been fertilised internally
Example of an animal which does parthenogenesis
Komodo dragon
What does heterozygosity mean?
Possession of two different alleles of a particular gene of an individual
What is the red queen hypothesis?
That an animal needs to keep evolving to maintain a position in an ecosystem
What is exploitation?
The way that each animal tries to maximise their reproductive input
Sexual selection is a form of _________
natural selection
What is effective population size?
Number of breeding individuals within a population
What is intrasexual selection?
Male-male competition
What is intersexual selection?
Female choice co-evolved with trait exaggeration. Females are choosy to gain direct benefits
What is the purpose of a peacocks train?
Not 100% adaptive. It is used to show off to females but it is not a productive as it acs as a handicap
What is material possessions?
Some animals (e.g. hoopoe) give materials to the female to impress her
What is Fisher’s process?
A trait choice is established, males with the trait are fitter, increase in sexual selection for this trait, increase in selective forces and development of more extreme traits
how have elephants sexual selection changed since the 1980s?
Female elephants now go for males with shorter tusks as these are less likely to be killed by humans and so live longer
How can imbreeding be shown through characteristics?
Asymmetric characteristics
How do female peacocks judge attractiveness?
counts the number of eye spots on the males train. She can measure reflectance of his feathers
What is aerobic capacity?
Ability to complete physiological functions as well as cost of courtship
are fiddler crab’s yellow claw an honest or dishonest signal?
Honest- shows a good diet
Dishonest- suggest strong bones which its not
What does progeny mean?
Dissent of an animal, plant or offspring
What is a dimorphic species?
Differences in colour and pattern between male and female (e.g. mandurin duck)
What is assortative mating?
Animals with similar phenotypes reproduce. Look alike so they know they’re the same species
What is monogamy?
One male, one female
What is a precocial youngster?
Does not need much care
What is a altricial youngster?
Needs direct care
Example of precocial
Swans
Example of altricial
Blue tits
What is polygyny?
One male, many females
What are males like in polygyny?
Will help the offspring directly or indirectly. E.g. protecting the land or lek
What do females do to mating males in lekking African antelopes
Disrupt their mating with another female
What is polyandry?
One female, many males
Which bird has different calls to have extra-marital affairs?
Dunnock bird
What is a promiscuous strategy?
Males and females briefly mate, no pair bond is formed
What do humans show a positive correlation with salivary cortisol?
Odour preference
What are Major Histocompatability complexes (MHC) used for?
Determining genetic quality. The more variation, the better
What health benefits are there for a better variation of genes (MHC)?
Better immune system
When are partnerships between male and female animals more stable?
When they have different MHC or different genes
What is a fixed dispersal rate?
Offspring being kicked out from the nest, many species do this
Why does a robin invest more in offspring than an ostrich?
The egg is larger in scale to their body so have to work harder to produce the egg
What are carotenoids?
Pigments of colour resulting from a healthy diet
What did Rintamaki et al find about Grouse Birds?
They will produce mroe eggs with an attractive male than an unattractive male
How do deer decide the sex of their offspring?
If there are good resources around it will be male and if not then female
How do parents invest in their young?
Investment in numbers, egg protection, care of eggs, care of young, post-independent young, cooperative investment, abandoned investment
What is cuckoldry?
The phenomenon that animals look after animals that are not their own
Example of polygyny
Red deer- lekking area and they protect it
Example of polyandry
red-necked pharalope
Example of cooperative investment
Kookaburras will keep their sons and daughters around them to help find food for new chicks. When the parents die, the children take over their location
