Chapter Eleven: Mating Systems

Question 1

mating systems represent males and females trying to ___

Answer 1

maximize their parental investment

Question 2

males pay a ___, females pay a ___

Answer 2

mating cost
fertility cost

Question 3

one male mating with one female for a reproductive cycle or for life

Answer 3

monogamy

Question 4

more than one mate at a time

Answer 4

polygamy

Question 5

one male mates with multiple females

Answer 5

polygyny

Question 6

one female mates with multiple males

Answer 6

polyandry

Question 7

multiple mates for everyone, “explosive breeding event”

Answer 7

promiscuity

Question 8

what is the most common mating system

Answer 8

polygyny

Question 9

three influences on mating systems

Answer 9

1. ecological factors
2. parental care or other assistance requirement
3. female-enforced systems

Question 10

open areas are more likely to have ____ mating system

Answer 10

polygamy

Question 11

dense forests are more likely to have ____ mating system

Answer 11

monogamy

Question 12

if both parents are needed to care for the young, ___ would be beneficial

Answer 12

monogamy

Question 13

in a female-enforced system, the female forces ___ on male

Answer 13

monogamy

Question 14

monogamy is ___, especially in mammals

Answer 14

rare

Question 15

why is monogamy rare in mammals

Answer 15

female has to stay around to nurse the offspring, she physically can’t leave them, but the male can easily leave and mate with someone else

Question 16

5 cases in which monogamy is beneficial

Answer 16

1. mate assistance theory
2. if the female remains receptive to other mates
3. female enforced monogamy
4. synchronized breeding
5. when it is difficult to find another mate

Question 17

the mate assistance theory states that ____

Answer 17

monogamy is beneficial because the raising the young requires assistance, female can’t do it on her own

Question 18

seahorses are monogamous for life, the males ___ while the female ____

Answer 18

care for young
recovers quickly and can have more babies sooner

Question 19

the hornbill nests in tree cavities that they close off, have to be monogamous because ____

Answer 19

male has to bring the enclosed female meals

Question 20

burying beetle males try to attract other females to a nest, but the original female will _____
this is an example of ____

Answer 20

knock him off his perch
female-enforced monogamy

Question 21

when all females breed within a few days of each other

Answer 21

synchronized breeding

Question 22

synchronized breed occurs in ___ and leads to ____

Answer 22

large communal groups
monogamy

Question 23

why does synchronized breeding lead to monogamy

Answer 23

by the time the male has mated with one female, all the other females have also mated so there are no more available females

Question 24

eagles have a very low ___, so monogamy makes sense

Answer 24

population density

Question 25

what does extra pair copulations mean

Answer 25

cheating on your monogamous partner

Question 26

social monogamy is not always _____

Answer 26

genetic monogamy

Question 27

benefit of extra pair copulations for males

Answer 27

more offspring

Question 28

3 hypothesis of the genetic benefit of extra pair copulations for females

Answer 28

1. fertility insurance hypothesis
2. good genes hypothesis
3. genetic compatibility hypothesis

Question 29

what does the fertility insurance hypothesis state

Answer 29

mating with several males reduces the risk that some of her eggs will remain unfertilized

Question 30

what does the good genes hypothesis state

Answer 30

her social partner is of less genetic quality than other males, so she will mate with other males to improve offspring viability

Question 31

what does the genetic compatibility hypothesis state

Answer 31

mating with several males increases the genetic variety of the sperm available to the female, so it increases the chance that some sperm will have DNA that is an especially good match with the DNA of her eggs

Question 32

4 hypothesis of the material benefit of extra pair copulations for females

Answer 32

1. more resource hypothesis
2. more care hypothesis
3. better protection hypothesis
4. infanticide reduction hypothesis

Question 33

polygyny is related to the ____

Answer 33

distribution of females

Question 34

males fight with other males for females

Answer 34

female defense polygyny

Question 35

female defense polygyny is seen where ____

Answer 35

females congregate for reasons unrelated to reproduction

Question 36

male defends territories and female chooses a male based on the quality of his territory

Answer 36

resource defense polygyny

Question 37

the polygyny threshold model states that there is a resource level where its better to be a ____ than a ____

Answer 37

second female in a good territory
first female in a bad territory

Question 38

simply finding a female first, not territorial, no dominance hierarchy

Answer 38

scramble-competition polygyny

Question 39

in scramble-competition polygyny, the males with the best ____ mate the most

Answer 39

tracking skills

Question 40

males guard a symbolic territory or display that attracts females

Answer 40

lek polygyny

Question 41

a small, symbolic territory that attracts females for mating

Answer 41

lek

Question 42

in lek polygyny, ___ do the majority of the mating

Answer 42

a few of the best males

Question 43

three hypothesis for the benefits of leks to males

Answer 43

1. hotspot hypothesis
2. hotshot hypothesis
3. female preference hypothesis

Question 44

the hotspot hypothesis states that

Answer 44

the lek is a place where females frequent

Question 45

the hotshot hypothesis states that

Answer 45

inferior males will be near the superior male and get the overflow copulations

Question 46

the female preference hypothesis states that

Answer 46

males assemble because females prefer sites with many males rather than just a few

Question 47

polyandry is ___

Answer 47

rare

Question 48

polyandry occurs when there are ___

Answer 48

more males breeding than females

Question 49

two selective pressures of polyandry

Answer 49

nest sites are limited
potential for heavy losses of eggs or clutch size limitations