test 3 Flashcards
sexual selection
selection associated with reproduction
what does sexual selection do?
explains extreme traits of males and females
who came up with sexual selection?
darwin
strategy
a behavior (or physiology) that can be different from another
optimality approach (or argument)
identify the strategy with the highest reproductive success
differences between males and females
females make larger gametes that males
sexual chromosomes are not universal
gamete hypothesis
behavior depends on investment in gametes
(aka: sperm takes less energy to make compared to eggs)
sex table (all other things being equal)
gamete size
relative energy per gamete
reproductive success is limited by
care in offspring
total investment
usual sex role
gamete size: eggs large; sperm small
relative energy per gamete: eggs high; sperm low
reproductive success is limited by: number of eggs/young for female; number of mates for male
care in offspring: higher (more often) in females; lower (more often) in males
total investment: usually higher in females; usually lower in males
usual sex role: females are choosers; males are courters
sex table shows that
sexes have different priorities
parental investment
resources parents devote to reproduction
what do parents invest in during parental investment
gametes
care/protection of mates
parental care (caring for eggs/offspring)
what do the sexes’ different priorities depend on?
on the relative investment of resources to producing successful offspring
choosers
select among prospective mates
courters
try to persuade another to be its mate
___________ should be individuals that have lowest parental investment
courters
courters should try to court individuals (of the opposite sex) with the ____________ parental investment
highest
____________ should be the individuals that have the highest parental investment
choosers
when do sex roles reverse?
where males invest more/investment is higher
2 types of sexual selection
male-male competition and female choice
(sexual selection) male-male competition
males compete directly for mates/fertilization
(sexual selection) female choice
females choose among potential mates
(sexual selection) what does female choice lead to?
more elaborate males –> male ornamentation and display
hermaphrodite
produces both eggs and sperm
when mating, it’s better for a hermaphrodite to be _______ since they invest ______ and can invest into _____________ more
male; less; reproducing