2.4 b) Sex and Behaviour - Reproductive Behaviours and Mating Systems in Animals

Question 1

Mating systems are based on how many ___ an individual has during one ___ ___.

Answer 1

mates, breeding season

Question 2

What is polygamy?

Answer 2

individuals of one sex have multiple partners

Question 3

What is polygyny?

Answer 3

one male mates exclusively with multiple females

Question 4

What is polyandry?

Answer 4

one female mates with many males within one breeding season

Question 5

What is monogamy?

Answer 5

the mating of a pair of animals to the exclusion of all others

Question 6

Many animals have ___-selection ___ rituals.

Answer 6

mate, courtship

Question 7

Successful courtship behaviour in birds and fish can be a result of ___ specific sign s___ or fixed ___ ___ responses.

Answer 7

species specific sign stimuli, action pattern

Question 8

Fixed action pattern responses are ___, and linked to a ___.

Answer 8

innate, stimulus

Question 9

Sexual selection selects for characteristics which have little or no… but increase their chances of ___.

Answer 9

survival benefit, mating.

Question 10

Many species exhibit ___ ___ as a result of sexual selection.

Answer 10

Sexual dimorphism

Question 11

Sexual dimorphism often results in females which are ___, and males which have…

Answer 11

inconspicuous, conspicuous markings, structures and behaviours (colourful bird hehe)

Question 12

What is reversed sexual dimorphism?

Answer 12

when the female is larger or more conspicuous (than the males of that species)

Question 13

Why are females usually inconspicuous?

Answer 13

being camouflaged allows them to better protect their young

Question 14

Female choice involves females assessing honest ___ of the ___ of males

Answer 14

signals, fitness.

Question 15

Honest signals are a true ___ of an individual’s ___ ___.

Answer 15

indication, biological fitness

Question 16

Honest signals can indicate ___ alleles that increase the chances of ___ of ___, or a low ___ burden, indicating a ___ individual.

Answer 16

favourable, survival, offspring, parasite, healthy

Question 17

In a number of ___ and ___ species, males display communally in a small area called a ___.

Answer 17

bird, insects, lek

Question 18

What is a lek?

Answer 18

a gathering of individuals where males display communally, and females assess the honesty of signals of fitness

Question 19

In a lek, dominant males occupy the ___, while ___ and ___ males stay at the ___, as ‘___’ males.

Answer 19

centre, subordinates, juveniles, edge, ‘satellite’

Question 20

What occurs during the male display at a lek?

Answer 20

Female choice

Question 21

Females visit the lek, and choose among ___ males by assessing whether signals are ___, and are true sign of ___.

Answer 21

displaying, honest, fitness

Question 22

Success in male-male ___ increases access to ___ for mating.

Answer 22

rivalry, females

Question 23

Males will fight for ___ and access to ___, often utilising weapons such as ___, ___ or ___.

Answer 23

dominance, females, antlers, horns, tusks

Question 24

Explain what is meant by a lekking species. (2)

Answer 24

a species in which males gather and display communally
… and females choose (they assess the honesty of the males’ signals)

Question 25

‘Explain how treatment A could be used in a controlled trial to prove that it helps patients’ (2)

Answer 25

give patients treatment A,
compare results to control group (where patients are not given treatment) - if symptoms go away, treatment works

Question 26

2020 P1 Q16:
Backstory: there are some birds and;
When egg-laying is complete, the female may search for another male. Male birds breed with only one female in a breeding season.
Which of the following are features of the red-necked phalarope’s reproductive behaviour?
A. Polygamy and polygyny
B. Polygamy and polyandry
C. Monogamy and polygyny
D. Monogamy and polyandry

Answer 26

A - no (polygyny = one male, multiple females)
B - yes (polyandry = one female, multiple males)
C + D - no (monogamy is the ‘mating of a pair of animals to the exclusion of all others’, thus one individual (IE the male) cannot be monogamous, as the female is mating with multiple males). (I think)