PSYC 2230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 51: Ethology, Fixed Action Pattern, Fecundity
24 Jan 2018
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The more fecund an animal, the more offspring it produces. Any gene that increases fecundity will be retained, while any gene that reduces fecundity will eventually be removed from the gene pool. Although fecundity increases fecundity the number of offspring, many, perhaps most, will not live to reproduce (as can be observed in many species of fish that produce millions of offspring yet few survive to maturity). So the advantage of fecundity is that larger numbers of offspring increase the probability that some will survive to maturity and reproduce. Some species, such as humans, pro duce fewer offspring but invest heavily in those that are produced, increasing the chances that they will live to reproduce. Thus, fecundity is not the only useful strategy for continuing one"s genetic information. fertility. The response that a key stimulus releases is called a fixed action pattern (fap). Fixed action patterns are speciesspecific motor patterns that are rigid, stereotyped, and, for all practical purposes, "blind. "
