Deck 8: Mating Systems

Question 1

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

A) short lives
B) closely grouped together in space
C) low fecundity
D) mating shortly after becoming adults
E) all of the above

Answer 1

all of the above

Question 2

In a polyandrous mating system, you would expect:

A) males to have sole access to a single female.
B) both males and females to have access to multiple mates.
C) males to have access to several females but females to have only one mate.
D) females to have sole access to several males.
E) females to have sole access to a single male.

Answer 2

females to have sole access to several males.

Question 3

When social pair bonding occurs, individuals establish:

A) a pair bond with one partner but may mate with many partners during the breeding season.
B) pair bonds and matings with multiple partners during the breeding season.
C) exclusive pair bonds and mating with only one partner during the breeding season.
D) multiple pair bonds in a sequential fashion during the breeding season.
E) multiple pair bonds during the mating season but mating with only one partner.

Answer 3

a pair bond with one partner but may mate with many partners during the breeding season.

Question 4

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

A) radioimmunoassay
B) DNA fingerprinting
C) genetic recombination
D) truncation selection
E) quantitative trait loci mapping

Question 5

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

A) sperm with greater velocity and/or endurance.
B) large testes with greater sperm production.
C) specialized sperm morphology.
D) decreased copulation duration.
E) increased time guarding the female after copulation if last-male precedence exists.

Question 6

Which of the following best describes cryptic female choice?

A) Female mate choice occurs only when the females are adequately camouflaged.
B) Males are fully aware of the choices being made by females.
C) Females only choose males that demonstrate that they can blend in with their surroundings.
D) Female mate choice behavior is not obvious to the males.
E) Only one individual knows what a female's choice will be.

Question 7

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

A) polygynandry
B) serial polygamy
C) polyandry
D) sequential polygamy
E) polygyny

Question 8

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

A) There is a link between promiscuous breeding systems and female reproductive health.
B) Sperm is a vector of disease.
C) Menstruation should be least common in breeding systems where females engage in sexual activity with many partners.
D) Promiscuous mating systems might expose females to greater quantities and diversity of sperm.
E) Menstruation is a defense against pathogens carried by sperm.

Question 9

Which statement does NOT follow from the polygyny threshold model?

A) Polygyny should occur in patchy environments where males can defend valuable resources.
B) Moving between territories could decrease reproductive success if all other females stay put.
C) The quality of a male's territory should affect his mating success.
D) When females settle onto territories at the same time, those on monogamous and polygamous territories should have approximately equal fitness.
E) A female's decision to occupy a certain territory depends on the number of females already present but not on territory quality.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about breeding systems is true?

A) Genetic analyses of parentage have not furthered our understanding of mating systems.
B) The occurrence of extrapair copulations triggered ethologists to consider the difference between social and genetic monogamy.
C) Mating systems are classified solely on the basis of pairbond formation.
D) Within a species, only one type of mating system can evolve.
E) All human populations adhere to strict monogamy, that is, both social monogamy 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.

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?

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.

Question 14

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

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.

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.