Deck 14: Reproductive Behavior

Question 1

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe an outcome of a male fiddler crab having a super-sized, major claw and only one small feeding claw?

A) Males gain energy more quickly by feeding at a faster rate and for longer periods of time than females.
B) Males that lose their major claw and then regenerate it incur significant production costs.
C) Males with their major claw have higher metabolic rates than males without their major claw.
D) Males with their major claw have lower endurance capacities than those without their major claw.

Answer 1

Males gain energy more quickly by feeding at a faster rate and for longer periods of time than females.

Question 2

Who was the first to suggest that spectacular structures, such as the enormous claw of the male fiddler crab, could arise and be maintained through the process of sexual selection?

A) Bateman
B) Darwin
C) Tinbergen
D) Trivers

Answer 2

Darwin

Question 3

In fiddler crabs, the male's major claw

A) serves in male-male combat.
B) serves in mate attraction.
C) serves in both of the above functions.
D) is not involved in sexual selection, it's primary function being in feeding.

Answer 3

serves in both of the above functions.

Question 4

Which of the following does NOT accurately represent a portion of the argument in support of differences in gamete production being the basis for different male and female mating strategies?

A) A female will likely maximize her reproductive success by finding the best-quality male to fertilize the limited number of eggs she produces.
B) A female's reproductive success is expected to increase by mating with more than one male.
C) A male's reproductive success is predicted to increase with the number of mates he acquires.
D) Females produce a small number of large, energetically expensive eggs, males produce millions of small, relatively inexpensive sperm.

Question 5

The idea that, in addition to differential investment by the sexes in gamete production, there was differential investment in the offspring themselves and that this too was responsible for competition and mate choice is attributed to

A) Bateman
B) Darwin
C) Tinbergen
D) Trivers

Question 6

In katydids, male parental investment consists of the gift of a protein-rich nuptial meal in the form of a spermatophore.

A) The gift is especially important to females when food is scarce, and during these times females compete for males.
B) The spermatophore is important to successful reproduction because both the number and fitness of the female's offspring are enhanced by the male's gift.
C) When food is plentiful the relative value of the gift declines, and males compete for females.
D) All of the above.

Question 7

Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are cooperatively breeding African mammals in which a single dominant female within a group monopolizes reproduction. Which of the following statements regarding meerkats is FALSE?

A) Competition for reproductive opportunities is more intense among females than among males.
B) Female meerkats that achieve breeder status show changes in their behavior and morphology, such as increases in body mass and levels of aggression.
C) Meerkat reproductive behavior supports the general notion that patterns of parental investment are prime determinants of the nature and strength of sexual selection.
D) Meerkats display the typical mammalian pattern of greater parental investment by females than males.

Question 8

The findings that male field crickets increase the refractory period rather than produce smaller spermatophores between successive matings, that the costs of spermatophore production reduce the life span in male stalk-eyed flies, and that sperm counts decrease in successive ejaculates in male deer mice suggest that

A) costs to males associated with producing sperm and secretions from accessory glands are fairly trivial.
B) male selectivity is rare.
C) males remain undiscriminatingly eager in the allocation of ejaculates.
D) sperm supplies may be limited.

Question 9

Female fireflies (Photinus ignitus) can use the protein from a digested spermatophore to fuel development of their eggs. This suggests that there are exceptions to Bateman's prediction that

A) females are rather passive participants in courtship and mating.
B) female reproductive success should not increase with an increase in number of mates.
C) males incur trivial costs when mating.
D) all of the above.

Question 10

Schütz and Taborsky (2005) directly observed and conducted experiments with cichlid fish (Lamprologus callipterus), a species in which the males are 12 times the size of females. Territorial males guard nests of empty snail shells. Schütz and Taborsky tested four hypotheses concerning sexual size dimorphism (SSD): 1) SSD results from intrasexual selection; 2) SSD results from intersexual selection; 3) SSD results from an ecological constraint on male body size; and 4) SSD results from an ecological constraint on female body size. They found strong support for

A) hypotheses 1 and 2.
B) hypotheses 1 and 3.
C) hypotheses 2 and 4.
D) hypotheses 3 and 4.

Question 11

In species in which males form dominance relationships, such as stumptailed macaques (Macaca arctoides), low-ranking males

A) attempt to interfere with the copulations of the higher ranking males.
B) can successfully monopolize one or more females because they are less aggressive than are higher ranking males, and females prefer their company.
C) experience greater reproductive success than if they were living within a more egalitarian society.
D) mated not at all, or if they did, did so surreptitiously, out of view of the more dominant males.

Question 12

Male bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) may be either a parental male or a cuckholder. Cuckholders, in turn, may be either sneakers or female mimics. Each of these three forms represents an alternative reproductive strategy. The three strategies are

A) determined by the relative abundance of food and nesting resources during that breeding season.
B) displayed as a portion of a discrete life history polymorphism and are, thus, determined by the individual's age and body size.
C) divided approximately evenly across the males in the population, with the form for a particular male being determined at hatching, pretty much randomly.
D) influenced by the number of breeding females available within that population.

Question 13

Males display a number of different adaptations that increase the probability that their sperm, rather than the sperm of a competitor, will fertilize the eggs of a particular female. One of these techniques is mate guarding. Mate guarding

A) is necessary only in instances where females do not store sperm.
B) must occur before copulation to be effective.
C) must occur immediately after copulation to be effective.
D) sometimes occurs both before and after copulation.

Question 14

A male is more likely to decide to guard a particular female if

A) he can be present when her eggs can be fertilized.
B) it is apparent that she has already mated.
C) she is at an early stage in her reproductive cycle.
D) there are few other males in the vicinity.

Question 15

Willis and Dill (2007) observed Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli) to determine whether or not mate guarding occurs in this species. To do so, they compared the behavior of 18 male-female pairs with that of 24 male-male interacting pairs and found that

A) male-female pairs were less likely to surface at the same time than were members of male-male pairs.
B) male-female pairs were more likely than male-male pairs to join other individuals.
C) members of male-female pairs maintained shorter distances between one another than did male-male pairs.
D) when paired with a female, males were less likely to respond aggressively to approaches by other adult males.

Question 16

Komdeur and colleagues (2007) examined the effectiveness of mate guarding in reducing extra-pair fertilizations in the Seychelle's warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). They did so by inducing an experimental group of males to stop guarding their females. The results indicated that

A) 30% of the eggs in the experimental group, but only 10% of the eggs in the control group, were lost to predators.
B) 75% of the nestlings in the experimental group, but only 44% of the nestlings in the control group, were sired by a male other than the female's social mate.
C) none of the unguarded female's eggs hatched.
D) only 10% of the nestlings in the experimental group, but 90% of the nestlings in the control group, were sired by a male other than the female's social mate.

Question 17

Inducing a female to eject the sperm of another male is a type of

A) intersexual competition.
B) mate guarding.
C) sperm competition.
D) all of the above.

Question 18

A phenomenon often linked to sperm competition is sperm heteromorphism. This

A) occurs in a variety of animal species.
B) results in the production of one sperm morph that can fertilize eggs and one that cannot.
C) results in the production of two sperm morphs, eusperm and parasperm.
D) all of the above.

Question 19

Which of the following has been hypothesized to be the function of parasperm? They

A) have no adaptive function.
B) kill or displace the sperm of another male.
C) provide nutrients to the female, her eggs, or to fertile sperm.
D) all of the above hypotheses have been proposed.

Question 20

Linn and colleagues (2007) allowed members of male-female dyads of orb-weaving spiders to mate for either: (1) two natural copulations, (2) 2 hours, or (3) 48 hours (the natural mating period following the female's molt). 93% of group 1 females, 90% of group 2 females, and 28% of group 3 females mated with a second male when provided an opportunity to do so. The female's group membership did not influence the number of sperm found in the female's spermathecae. These results support

A) the hypothesis that prolonged mating reduces the chances that the female will be inseminated by another male.
B) the hypothesis that prolonged mating results in more of the male's sperm being transferred to the female.
C) both of the proposed functions of prolonged mating.
D) neither of the proposed functions of prolonged mating.

Question 21

In some species of spider, the male places a copulatory plug into the genital opening of the female after he mates with her. In some cases this plug consists of

A) a hardened gel.
B) an aphrodisiac.
C) bits of leaves and silk.
D) the male's entire body.

Question 22

Applying repellant odors or copulatory plugs, mate guarding, and satellite behavior are all examples of

A) male intrasexual competition.
B) male intersexual competition.
C) female intrasexual competition.
D) female intersexual competition.

Question 23

An increase in the probability of fertilization, an increase in the genetic diversity of offspring, and/or an increase in the accumulation of material benefits, such as nutritional nuptial gifts, are all potential benefits that have been proposed for a

A) female mating with more than one male.
B) female mating with only a single male.
C) male mating with more than one female.
D) male mating with only a single female.

Question 24

A particularly gruesome form of sexual interference is infanticide. Among Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus), the primate species in which infanticidal male intruders were first reported, it has been found that the behavior

A) increases a male's chance of siring the next infants.
B) is a result of crowded living conditions.
C) is not actually committed by the males that took over the troops.
D) results in infanticidal males killing all infants, whether they are related to him or not.

Question 25

Sato and Goshima (2007) studied mate preferences of female stone crabs (Hapalogaster dentata) in aquaria and found that the females use chemical cues rather than visual cues to make their choice between two males. They did this by

A) applying an antiaphrodisiac to one of the two males.
B) blocking the female's eyes.
C) placing the test males in opaque plastic pipes with very narrow openings in them.
D) using only small males in choice tests rather than large males.

Question 26

Sato and Goshima (2007) studied mate preferences of female stone crabs (Hapalogaster dentata) in aquaria and found that the females use chemical cues rather than visual cues to make their choice between two males. The results indicated that females

A) preferred males that were somewhat sperm-depleted because they had already been found to be attractive to other females.
B) spent more time near unmated males than sperm-depleted males.
C) were unable to detect the difference between an unmated male and a sperm-depleted male by chemical means alone when both males were small.
D) all of the above.

Question 27

Which of the following examples of nuptial gifts doesn't provide energy directly to the mating female, but is valuable to her and to her eggs nonetheless?

A) a portion of the male's body, such as his hindwings or his head
B) a prey item
C) distasteful tasting alkoloids
D) the structure of the spermatophore

Question 28

The ability to provide sufficient sperm, to provide resources such as nuptial gifts, to hold a high quality territory, to provide high quality parental care, or to provide good genes are all examples of

A) adaptations that favor the use of a particular male's sperm when a female mates with multiple males.
B) criteria by which females may choose mates.
C) male intrasexual competition.
D) sexual interference.

Question 29

Takahashi and Kohda (2004) found that female gobies (Rhinogobius brunneus) preferentially choose to mate with males that perform their courtship dance in the fastest water currents. This seems to be related to the fact that males who are unable to court in fast moving water are

A) carrying too heavy a parasite load to be producing healthy sperm.
B) more likely to consume their own eggs during a two week guarding period.
C) not able to successfully defend a territory of sufficient quality to support a viable brood of fry.
D) too weak to keep up with the female's egg production schedule.

Question 30

Hamilton and Zuk (1982) were the first to propose that the elaborate ornaments of males represent reliable signals of health and nutritional status. They tested this by surveying the literature on avian parasites and determining the risk of infection for each bird species. Specifically, they predicted that in species with a low risk of parasite infection,

A) females would be brightly colored.
B) females would not be brightly colored.
C) males would be brightly colored.
D) males would not be brightly colored.

Question 31

Bright coloration, symmetrical body structures or markings, or the elaborateness of a structural display, such as a bower, are indicators that a female might use to judge a male's genetic quality because they

A) are easy for the male to produce and, thus, provide a readily available signaling system.
B) are qualities that the male will reveal only to females with which he wants to mate.
C) cannot be faked by the male.
D) provide direct insight into the male's genotype.

Question 32

Several studies have suggested that some species seem to base their selection of a mate on the makeup of the other individual's major histocompatibility complex (MHC). It appears that a female, for example, will seek an MHC makeup in a potential mate that

A) is different from her own.
B) is indicative of a genetically high quality individual overall.
C) overlaps almost entirely with her own.
D) predicts future high quality parental behavior.

Question 33

Zahavi's handicap principle suggests that females

A) base their mate-choice decisions on a male's ability to attract other females.
B) choose males based on the extent to which direct benefits are received.
C) dismiss males that demonstrate the ability to survive with elaborate traits.
D) use traits that are honest indicators of male quality when choosing mates.

Question 34

Petrie (1994) paired each of several peacocks with four peahens, chosen randomly, in a laboratory. The peacocks varied in terms of the number of eye-spots on their trains. All the offspring were raised under common conditions. When the offspring were 84 days old, the offspring of the males with more elaborate trains weighed more than the offspring of those with less elaborate trains. This difference in offspring viability cannot be due to differences in the quality of the females because the

A) matings were arranged arbitrarily by the experimenter.
B) peacocks rejected any females that weren't of sufficient quality.
C) quality of the females across groups was uniformly high.
D) quality of the females across groups was uniformly low.

Question 35

An attempted explanation of the fact that a female's choice often reflects selection for an exaggerated characteristic in a male is called the

A) mate-choice copying hypothesis.
B) model selection hypothesis.
C) parental investment hypothesis.
D) runaway selection hypothesis.

Question 36

When Jones and colleagues (1998) conducted laboratory experiments designed to evaluate the fitness consequences of mate choice for female sandflies (Lutzomyia longipalpis) and their offspring they found no evidence that mating with attractive males influenced the viability of her offspring. They did find that the mating success of sons increased with the attractiveness of the father. These findings support the

A) good genes model.
B) runaway selection hypothesis.
C) sensory bias model.
D) all of the above.

Question 37

The finding by Madden and Tanner (2003) that female bowerbirds, when given a choice of grapes of different colors, prefer to eat blue ones, and that male bowerbirds prefer to decorate their bowers with blue objects is consistent with the

A) good genes model.
B) runaway selection hypothesis.
C) sensory bias model.
D) all of the above.

Question 38

Cryptic female choice refers to a female's

A) ambiguous behavior regarding willingness to mate with a particular courting male.
B) apparent ability to choose the sperm that will fertilize her eggs after copulating with several males.
C) preference for males that possess protective coloration.
D) selection of a nest site that will allow her the best protection for her eggs following copulation.

Question 39

The term sexual conflict refers to

A) a behavioral incompatibility between a particular male and a particular female.
B) a conflict between the evolutionary interests of males and females.
C) a female's difficulty in choosing among a number of high-quality courting males.
D) the tendency for lower quality males to force copulations with females.