Question 1

Kirk's dik-dik is a small African antelope that usually forms male-female pairs. It is possible that monogamy evolved in this species because males are required to protect offspring from other rival males. This would be an example of the

Accepted Answer

The infanticide hypothesis suggests that monogamy evolves because males need to protect their offspring from being killed by rival males, which aligns with the scenario described for Kirk's dik-dik.

Question 2

Kirk's dik-dik is a small African antelope that usually forms male-female pairs. Males place their scent marks over those of the female, which hides the signals of sexual receptivity that females produce when they are fertile. This finding supports the

Accepted Answer

The behavior of males placing their scent marks over those of the female to hide signals of sexual receptivity supports the mate guarding hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that males guard their mates to prevent other males from mating with them, thereby ensuring their own paternity.

Question 3

Kirk's dik-dik is a small African antelope that usually forms male-female pairs. If males are experimentally removed from pairs, females wander from their territories into the territories of other males. This finding supports the

Accepted Answer

The behavior of females wandering into other males' territories after their mates are removed supports the mate guarding hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that males stay with their partners to protect them from being taken by other males, rather than to help raise offspring or because there is a limited number of mates available.

Question 4

Kirk's dik-dik is a small African antelope that usually forms male-female pairs. If males are experimentally removed from pairs, the number of offspring reared by the single female falls sharply due to her inability to provide enough resources. This finding supports the

Accepted Answer

The mate assistance hypothesis suggests that males contribute significantly to the care and provisioning of offspring, thereby increasing their survival. The sharp decline in the number of offspring reared by single females after the removal of males supports this hypothesis, indicating that male dik-diks play a crucial role in assisting females in raising their young.

Question 5

Genetic monogamy is

Accepted Answer

Genetic monogamy is extremely rare in the animal kingdom, as most species exhibit some level of genetic diversity in offspring due to mating with multiple partners.

Question 6

According to the socio-ecological framework, monogamy should evolve when

Accepted Answer

Monogamy is likely to evolve when neither sex can monopolize access to mates or resources, leading to pair bonding as a strategy for ensuring reproductive success.

Question 7

According to the socio-ecological framework, resource defense polygyny should evolve when

Accepted Answer

Resource defense polygyny evolves when resources in the environment are clumped and easily defensible, allowing males to monopolize access to resources that attract females.

Question 8

According to the socio-ecological framework, female defense polygyny should evolve when

Accepted Answer

Female defense polygyny evolves when females are grouped together, making it easier for a male to defend and monopolize access to multiple females, even if resources are evenly distributed.

Question 9

Refer to the figure.
 Based on these results, this species most likely exhibits

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the figure.
 Based on these...

Question 10

Male great tinamous guard a nest into which a female lays an egg from their mating. The next day she mates with a different male; the first male also mates with a different female, which places her egg in his nest. This species exhibits

Accepted Answer

Great tinamous exhibit polygynandry, also known as promiscuity, where both males and females mate with multiple partners, and males are involved in nest guarding and incubation.

Question 11

If you study a pair of European beavers, you will find that all of the young in their colony are genetic offspring of the pair. This species exhibits

Accepted Answer

European beavers are known for forming monogamous pairs, where a male and a female mate exclusively with each other, leading to all offspring in their colony being genetically related to that pair. This behavior is characteristic of monogamy.

Question 12

Long-term storage of sperm in some species of tortoise allows a female to produce a clutch of eggs with offspring fathered by multiple males. This species exhibits

Accepted Answer

The answer of Long-term storage of sperm in some species...

Question 13

Red deer males compete to control access to an entire herd of does, meaning that a single male will mate with multiple females, while other males have zero fitness. This species exhibits

Accepted Answer

Red deer males exhibit polygyny, where one male mates with multiple females, while other males may not mate at all. This mating system is characterized by a single male controlling access to a herd of females.

Question 14

Refer to the figure.
 These results illustrate that in this species,

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the figure.
 These results illustrate...

Question 15

Refer to the figure.
 Which hypothesis for monogamy do these results best support?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the figure.
 Which hypothesis for...

Question 16

Refer to the figure, which shows mean area of comb produced in colonies of a polyandrous bee species. In bees, the comb in the hive is where offspring are reared and food is stored.
 These results best support the

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the figure, which shows mean...

Question 17

Refer to the figure below, which shows the mean area of comb produced in colonies of a polyandrous bee species. In bees, the comb in the hive is where offspring are reared and food is stored.
 While some members of the genus Apis are highly polyandrous, most other bee species are not. These results suggest that polyandry evolved in this genus because

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the figure below, which shows...

Question 18

Male plains zebras defend a harem of females that forms to reduce the risk of predation and avoid harassment by bachelor males. This species exhibits

Accepted Answer

Male plains zebras defend a group of females, which is a characteristic behavior of female defense polygyny. This mating system occurs when males directly defend multiple females to ensure exclusive mating rights with them.

Question 19

Male Grevy's zebras set up territories near water sources where receptive females are likely to cluster. This species exhibits

Accepted Answer

Male Grevy's zebras establish territories around water sources to attract females, which is a classic example of resource defense polygyny. In this mating system, males control resources that females need, thereby gaining mating opportunities with them.

Question 20

Male white-bearded manakins gather in an arena, which contains no resources or practical utility, to display to females on the rainforest floor. This species exhibits

Accepted Answer

The behavior described is characteristic of lek polygyny, where males gather in a specific area (lek) to perform displays for females without defending any resources or practical utility in that area.

Quiz 10: Mating Systems