Deck 15: Parental Care and Mating Systems

Question 1

Trivers (1972) proposed the following, any investment by parents in an offspring that increases the survival of that offspring while decreasing the ability of the parent to invest in other offspring, as the definition of

A) direct parental care.
B) interbrood conflict.
C) parental investment.
D) polygyny.

Answer 1

parental investment.

Question 2

Which of the following would NOT be an example of direct parental care?

A) grooming young
B) maintaining a nest
C) nursing young
D) transporting young

Answer 2

maintaining a nest

Question 3

Which of the following would NOT be an example of indirect parental care?

A) building a den
B) defense against predators
C) huddling with young
D) territory defense

Answer 3

huddling with young

Question 4

As a rule, patterns of parental investment should be expected to maximize

A) an individual adult's lifetime reproductive success and not necessarily each reproductive event.
B) an individual adult's lifetime reproductive success, which can be accomplished only by means of maximizing each reproductive event.
C) each reproductive event, as long as that serves to maximize the reproductive success of the individual's mate.
D) each reproductive event, even at the expense of an individual's lifetime reproductive success.

Question 5

Parental decisions about how much of their own resosurces to devote to reproduction instead of to their own growth and survival and about how to allocate the available resources among their offspring can lead to

A) interbrood conflict.
B) intrabrood conflict.
C) sexual conflict.
D) all of the above.

Question 6

The fact that the costs of providing care are paid separately by e4ach parent whereas the benefits accrue to both parents irrespective of which one provides the care can lead to

A) interbrood conflict.
B) intrabrood conflict.
C) sexual conflict.
D) all of the above.

Question 7

Young attempting to obtain resources that parents prefer to distribute to other members of the current brood is likely to result in

A) interbrood conflict.
B) intrabrood conflict.
C) sexual conflict.
D) all of the above.

Question 8

In domestic piglets (Sus scrofa) the most intense sibling competition occurs

A) before birth.
B) during the birth process.
C) early in the postnatal period.
D) following the juvenile growth spurt.

Question 9

In domestic piglets (Sus scrofa) frantic battles among littermates that occur shortly after birth are made more intense by their possession of

A) highly variable body sizes.
B) razor-like barbs along their spines.
C) slashing teeth.
D) special edges on the hooves of their hind legs.

Question 10

The notion that the parents have some insurance in case some of the eggs or offspring fail to develop is one proposed possible explanation for why a parent may

A) be especially responsive to young.
B) encourage siblicide.
C) need help with later broods.
D) produce more young than it can raise successfully.

Question 11

When Leach's storm-petrel parents were handicapped by having their wing span shortened, they passed the increased reproductive costs to their offspring and maintained their own nutritional condition. In contrast, when starling or flycatcher parents were handicapped in a way that increased their reproductive costs, they bore at least part of the increased costs themselves and continued to allocate nearly the same amount of resources to their chicks. Given an important difference between the petrels and the starlings and flycatchers, these results most directly support the idea that a parent's allocation of resources is influenced by the

A) certainty of paternity.
B) gender of the offspring.
C) life span of the individuals.
D) all of the above.

Question 12

The degree of certainty that a parent is indeed related to their [purported] offspring is

A) high for females in species that practice internal fertilization.
B) low for males in species that practice internal fertilization.
C) higher for males that practice external fertilization than those that practice internal fertilization.
D) all of the above.

Question 13

Neff and Sherman (2003) demonstrated that male bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) that spawn when sneaker males are present display lower levels of egg defense than control males. In addition, parental males that had 1/3 of their eggs swapped with those of another parental male decreased their level of egg defense more than controls. Together these results indicate that sunfish adjust their level of care depending on

A) certainty of paternity.
B) gender of the offspring.
C) life span of the individuals.
D) all of the above.

Question 14

If you are a male brown songlark nestling (Cinclorhamphus cruralis), a polygynous species that exhibits strong sexual dimorphism in body size, your mother will probably feed you

A) fewer prey in general than your sibling female nestling.
B) fewer spiders than your sibling female nestling.
C) more grasshoppers than your sibling female nestling.
D) more spiders than your sibling female nestling.

Question 15

Which of the following combinations most appropriately describes who typically provides care for offspring for that taxonomic group?

A) birds; 81% of species; female only
B) birds; 81% of species; male only
C) mammals; 91% of genera; female only
D) mammals; 91% of genera; male only

Question 16

A difference between the parental care typically provided by birds and that provided by fishes and amphibians is that, in birds, the care is nearly always biparental; in fishes and amphibians it usually takes the form of solitary male care. Which of the following parental behaviors probably accounts for the difference?

A) feeding offspring
B) guarding offspring
C) providing care for females
D) providing shelter for offspring

Question 17

Several authors have suggested an association between

A) external fertilization and female only care
B) external fertilization and male only care
C) internal fertilization and male only care
D) internal fertilization and no care

Question 18

Which of the following descriptions would be TRUE in a species that exhibits full sex role reversal?

A) Males are generally more selective in their choice of mates than are females.
B) Mating competition is more intense among males.
C) The operational sex ratio becomes male-biased.
D) The potential reproductive rate becomes higher for males than for females.

Question 19

If you are a northern jacana (Jacana spinosa) defending a large territory that encompasses from one to four territories of other individuals, you are almost certainly

A) a cooperative breeder.
B) female.
C) male.
D) very large.

Question 20

If you are an adult female cuckoo, about how long will it take you to lay an egg in a nest?

A) 10 seconds or less
B) 1 - 3 minutes
C) 10 - 15 minutes
D) 20 minutes or more

Question 21

Mating systems are frequently defined in terms of the number of copulatory partners per individual per breeding season. When a male and female have only a single mating partner per breeding season, such as system is referred to as

A) monogamy.
B) polyandry.
C) polygynandry.
D) polygyny

Question 22

Mating systems are frequently defined in terms of the number of copulatory partners per individual per breeding season. When both males and females mate with multiple individuals promiscuously, such as system is referred to as

A) monogamy.
B) polyandry.
C) polygynandry.
D) polygyny

Question 23

Mating systems are frequently defined in terms of the number of copulatory partners per individual per breeding season. When some males copulate with more than one female during the breeding season, such as system is referred to as

A) monogamy.
B) polyandry.
C) polygynandry.
D) polygyny

Question 24

Mating systems are frequently defined in terms of the number of copulatory partners per individual per breeding season. When some females mate with more than one male during the breeding season, such as system is referred to as

A) monogamy.
B) polyandry.
C) polygynandry.
D) polygyny

Question 25

Ecological factors, such as resource quality and distribution and the availability of receptive mates, may influence the mating patterns displayed even within a single species. For example, black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra), found to be primarily polygynous in a deciduous forest habitat, when studied in a riparian habitat which is much more lush, were found to be

A) monogamous.
B) polyandrous.
C) polygynandrous.
D) polygynous.

Question 26

Genetic monogamy is

A) a term that makes no assumptions about mating exclusivity or biparental care.
B) an alternative name for social monogamy.
C) found in only 10% of 180 species of socially monogamous songbirds.
D) the most common mating system found among animals.

Question 27

A male seeking extra-pair matings may

A) be able to boost his reproductive success substantially.
B) lose energy and time in a search for another receptive female.
C) risk his primary mate copulating with another male while he is away.
D) all of the above.

Question 28

When biparental care is necessary or at least important for offspring survival or when females widely dispersed, the mating system that may be favored is

A) monogamy.
B) polyandry.
C) polygynandry.
D) polygyny

Question 29

Male California mice (Peromyscus californicus)

A) are one of the small percentage of monogamous mammals.
B) have the capacity to provide parental care but seldom need to.
C) provide modest additions to the female's care of the young.
D) seek extra-pair matings whenever feasible.

Question 30

Féron and Gouat (2007) found that in mound-building mice (Mus specilegus), the more time a male spent in the nest, the shorter the interval until the next litter. This appears to be a way that both the male and female partners can benefit by exhibiting

A) monogamy.
B) polyandry.
C) polygynandry.
D) polygyny

Question 31

Baeza (2008) studied a symbiotic shrimp (Pontonia margarita) that lives inside the mantle cavity of the pearl oyster (Pinctada mazatlanica). One of his findings was that body sizes of shrimp and host oysters were closely correlated, suggesting that particular associations are long lasting. These data were consistent with social (and perhaps, genetic) monogamy in the shrimp. What other aspect(s) of the shrimps' life style would support that conclusion?

A) If there were two shrimp per host, they were always a male and a female.
B) The oyster hosts are small in size and are rare.
C) The shrimp live in predator-rich waters and would be especially vulnerable when away from their host.
D) all of the above.

Question 32

Kirk's dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii) is a very small African antelope that forms monogamous bonds that last for years, during which time the male prevents other males from knowing when the female is in estrus. The males appear to be absolutely faithful to their mates. They appear to practice monogamy because

A) biparental care is necessary to successfully raise their young.
B) the cost of guarding more than one female is too great.
C) the male's territory is typically in a habitat too harsh to support more than one female.
D) there is an unusually high risk of infanticide in this species.

Question 33

At Vernor and Willson's (1966) polygyny threshold, from a fitness standpoint,

A) a female is better off switching to a monogamous strategy.
B) a female is better off switching to a polygynous strategy.
C) a male is better off switching to a monogamous strategy.
D) a male is better off switching to a polygynous strategy.

Question 34

Pribil and Picman (1966) found that in a Canadian population of red-winged blackbirds, all things being equal, females unanimously preferred to settle on the territory of a bachelor male rather than that of an already mated male. When the quality of the territories was altered to make that of the mated male superior to that of the bachelor male, the females

A) continued to prefer to settle with bachelor males.
B) left the research area in search of bachelor males with higher quality territories.
C) settled first on the territory of a mated male.
D) were evenly divided in their preferences between mated and bachelor males.

Question 35

The idea that access to good genes for offspring might compensate a female for the costs of polygyny is referred to as the

A) direct fitness hypothesis.
B) distribution of females hypothesis.
C) polygyny threshold hypothesis.
D) sexy son hypothesis.

Question 36

Huk and Winkel (2006) studied pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) and found that their data did not support the sexy son hypothesis. This appeared to be due primarily to

A) the inferior quality of the male's territory.
B) the male's inability to adequately support any of his offspring when he had more than one mate.
C) the male's reduced parental care for offspring of secondary females.
D) all of the above.

Question 37

When females live in groups that a male can easily defend, this is known as

A) female defense polygyny.
B) lek polygyny.
C) resource defense polygyny.
D) secondary defense polygyny.

Question 38

When males defend resources essential to female reproduction, this is known as

A) female defense polygyny.
B) lek polygyny.
C) resource defense polygyny.
D) secondary defense polygyny.

Question 39

When males defend symbolic territories that are often located at traditional display sites, this is known as

A) female defense polygyny.
B) lek polygyny.
C) resource defense polygyny.
D) secondary defense polygyny.

Question 40

Males of lek species

A) defend groups of females that are living near one another.
B) defend only their small territory on the lek itself.
C) defend resources that are important to females.
D) display unusually high levels of parental care.

Question 41

Polyandry is now known to

A) be widespread across taxonomic groups.
B) increase access to critical resources for females.
C) increase access to male parental assistance.
D) all of the above.

Question 42

Mattila and Seeley (2007) studied honey bees of the genus Apis, social insects that exhibit polyandry. They established colonies of honey bees that were either genetically diverse (the queen was artificially inseminated with sperm from 15 different drones) or genetically uniform (the queen was inseminated with the same volume of sperm but from a single drone). They found that genetically diverse colonies

A) failed to differ in any significant way from genetically uniform colonies.
B) weighed less than genetically uniform colonies.
C) were less efficient than uniform colonies at building the comb.
D) were more likely to survive the winter.