CLEP CLEP Biology Animal Behavior and Reproduction 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In K-selected species, the reproductive strategy is characterized by:
- Many offspring with minimal parental care
- Few offspring with extensive parental care (Correct answer)
- Rapid maturation and early first reproduction
- Extremely high offspring mortality rates
Correct answer: Few offspring with extensive parental care
K-selected species like elephants and humans produce few offspring but invest heavily in parental care, maximizing each individual offspring's probability of survival.
Question 2: Hermaphroditism is most advantageous in which type of environment?
- Dense populations with many potential mates
- Sparse populations where finding a mate is difficult (Correct answer)
- Environments with extreme sexual dimorphism
- Environments with abundant and predictable resources
Correct answer: Sparse populations where finding a mate is difficult
Hermaphroditism increases reproductive success when finding mates is difficult because any individual encountered can serve as a potential reproductive partner.
Question 3: According to Bateman's principle, the sex with greater parental investment will be:
- More competitive with rivals for access to mates
- More selective when choosing a mate (Correct answer)
- Less ornamented or elaborately colored
- More likely to abandon offspring after birth
Correct answer: More selective when choosing a mate
Bateman's principle states that the sex investing more in offspring (typically females) becomes choosier about mates, while the less-investing sex competes more actively for access.
Question 4: Polyandry refers to a mating system in which:
- One male mates with multiple females
- One female mates with multiple males (Correct answer)
- Males and females form exclusive lifelong pair bonds
- Multiple males freely mate with multiple females
Correct answer: One female mates with multiple males
Polyandry is a mating system where one female mates with multiple males, seen in species like jacanas where males provide most of the parental care.
Question 5: Oviparity as a reproductive strategy is defined as:
- Retaining fertilized eggs inside the body until hatching
- Giving birth to live young nourished via a placenta
- Laying eggs that develop and hatch externally (Correct answer)
- Developing from an unfertilized egg
Correct answer: Laying eggs that develop and hatch externally
Oviparous animals lay externally fertilized or fertilized eggs that develop outside the mother's body, as seen in birds, most reptiles, and the majority of fish species.
Question 6: Parthenogenesis is defined as which type of reproduction?
- Sexual reproduction requiring sperm-egg fertilization
- Development of an unfertilized egg into a new organism (Correct answer)
- Asexual reproduction by binary fission
- Reproduction using sperm stored from a prior mating
Correct answer: Development of an unfertilized egg into a new organism
Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction in which an unfertilized egg develops into a new individual, occurring naturally in some reptiles, insects, and fish.
CLEP CLEP Biology Animal Behavior and Reproduction 2
In K-selected species, the reproductive strategy is characterized by: