BIOB51H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Sexy Son Hypothesis, Nuptial Gift, Parental Investment
16 Apr 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
How can females increase their fitness: increase the # or quality of their offspring: direct benefits: Acquire help in caring for eggs/offspring: indirect benefits (genetics): Direct benefits: females receive some resource from males, resource increases female survival, ability to produce or care for young, females prefer males that provide more or better resources, examples of resources: food, parental care, breeding territory. Female hangflies example: male does provide resource, offers a food. A prey. (nuptial gift: resource = direct benefit for female. Doesn"t need to hunt: females choose based on resource, longer copulation = more sperm transferred. Example: male barn swallows have longer tail streamers than females, long tail streamers hinder flying: hypothesis: dimorphism caused by female choice for indicator of good genes, female barn swallows prefer long-tailed males. Prediction 2: male ornament indicates genetic quality (heritable high fitness). Collect offspring of males with variation in unmanipulated tail length. Cross-foster offspring: to isolate for genetic variation.
