Question 1

Insects displaying female defense polygyny exhibit which of the following characteristics?

Accepted Answer

Insects displaying female defense polygyny exhibit all of the following characteristics: short lives, closely grouped together in space, low fecundity, and mating shortly after becoming adults.

Question 2

In a polyandrous mating system, you would expect:

Accepted Answer

In a polyandrous mating system, females have multiple male partners, meaning they have sole access to several males.

Question 3

When social pair bonding occurs, individuals establish:

Accepted Answer

A

Question 4

Which of the following techniques has enhanced our understanding of how extrapair matings translate into extrapair fertilizations?

Accepted Answer

DNA fingerprinting allows researchers to identify the genetic parentage of offspring, thus helping to determine which extrapair matings result in extrapair fertilizations.

Question 5

In systems where the potential for intense sperm competition exists, selection should NOT favor:

Accepted Answer

Decreased copulation duration would not be favored in intense sperm competition, as longer copulation can increase the chances of successful fertilization.

Question 6

Which of the following best describes cryptic female choice?

Accepted Answer

Cryptic female choice refers to a situation where the female's mate choice is not apparent or obvious to the males, often occurring after copulation, influencing which male's sperm fertilizes her eggs.

Question 7

Several males form pair bonds with several females simultaneously in which of the following mating systems?

Accepted Answer

Polygynandry is a mating system where multiple males form pair bonds with multiple females simultaneously.

Question 8

Which of the following statements regarding Margie Profet's hypothesis on menstruation is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Profet's hypothesis suggests that menstruation should be more common in systems where females engage with multiple partners due to increased exposure to pathogens, not less common.

Question 9

Which statement does NOT follow from the polygyny threshold model?

Accepted Answer

The polygyny threshold model suggests that a female's decision to occupy a territory depends on both the number of females already present and the quality of the territory.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about breeding systems is true?

Accepted Answer

Genetic analyses of parentage have shown that extrapair copulations are common, leading to a distinction between social and genetic monogamy.

Question 11

As described in the chapter, extra-pair copulations (EPCs) are widespread and, in many cases, the cuckolded male experiences dramatic decreases in fertilization success (and thus, fitness). Because extra-pair copulations pose such imminent risks, one might expect males to adopt tactics that minimize the possibility of cuckoldry. Construct at least two hypotheses regarding how males could reduce the probability of EPCs.

Accepted Answer

The answer of As described in the chapter, extra-pair copulations...

Question 12

Describe, in detail, the assumptions and predictions of the polygyny threshold model and its implications for the distribution of females in a population. Also, keep the polygyny threshold model in mind as you read Chapter 14, in which the concept of ideal free distributions is presented. What characteristics do the polygyny threshold model and the ideal free distribution model share? What sets these two models apart?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe, in detail, the assumptions and predictions...

Question 13

Electrophoresis was introduced as a technique used to determine parentage and/or the frequency of successful but unfaithful copulations. Peruse the current literature and describe at least one additional "cutting-edge" technique that has emerged as a powerful way to examine parentage.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Electrophoresis was introduced as a technique used...

Question 14

Why is it important to make the distinction between social monogamy and genetic monogamy?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is it important to make the...

Question 15

In this chapter of Principles of Animal Behavior, you were familiarized with the topic of sperm competition, whereby the sperm of different males compete to fertilize females' eggs. Is it possible, however, that selection might favor cooperation among closely related sperm and that such cooperation might tip the scales in favor of one male over another? Read the paper by Fisher & Hoekstra (2010), "Competition Drives Cooperation among Closely Related Sperm of Deer Mice" (Nature, vol. 463, pp. 801-803). Describe the main findings of the study. What important insight does this study contribute to our understanding of sexual selection? Develop at least three independent hypotheses aimed at exploring the mechanisms used by sperm to form highly competitive aggregates.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In this chapter of Principles of Animal...

Question 16

What is an androdioecious mating system? Review evidence for androdioecy in animals in the paper by Weeks and colleagues (2006), "When Males and Hermaphrodites Coexist: A Review of Androdioecy in Animals" (Integrative & Comparative Biology, vol. 46, pp. 449-464). What kinds of selection pressures do you think would favor androdioecy? Using the paper by SaumitouLaprade and colleagues (2010) entitled "A Self-Incompatibility System Explains High Male Frequencies in an Androdioecious Plant" (Science, vol. 327, pp. 648-1650) as a springboard, develop at least two hypotheses that might explain the maintenance of males in androdioecious systems.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is an androdioecious mating system? Review...

Quiz 8: Mating Systems