Biology 338: Lecture 17Spring 1997

Parental Care

  1. Types
    1. Direct
    2. Indirect

  2. Cost/benefit analysis
    1. Costs
      1. Energetic/survival costs
      2. Reproductive costs
        1. Females = fertility costs
        2. Males = mating costs
      3. Possibility of misdirected parental care
    2. Benefit - increases offspring survival

  3. Why do some animals exhibit parental care
    1. Certainty of paternity hypothesis
    2. Order of gamete release hypothesis
    3. Association with young (embryo) hypothesis

  4. Concorde fallacy
    1. Definition
    2. Alternative
    3. Evidence
      1. Basic experimental design
      2. Data
    4. A possible resolution

  5. Tolerating siblicide: A parental puzzle