ANBI 411 Adler: parental behaviour

parental behaviour

behaviour expressed by parents towards their offspring

• ex: providing shelter, warmth, and social contact

inclusive fitness theory

• parenal investment is paid off with offspring survival

• cost and benefit clearly seen in offspring survival

parent offspring conflict

• offspring are evolutionarily selected to demand more resources than the mother is selected to provide

goal of offspring

benefit from parents provision

goal of parents

provide care depending on payoff on investment and availability of resources

cost to parent

-10% * 1.00= -10

100% and 50% offspring survival

beneficial to parents

100%, 50%, 20%, 10% offspring survival

all beneficial to offspring

weaning in an ag setting

stressful for young animals

weaning in vet context

body condition of mother may be poor and puppies need to be weaned

weaning in wildlife conservation

• some animals abandon offspring

• should humans raise them?

repro strategies

• litter size

• development stage of young

• parental investment

oligotocous

1 or a few young at each birth

polytocous

large litter at each birth

altricial

hatched or born early in development (need maternal care)

precocial

hatched or born late in development (less maternal care)

species in unpredictable,harsh environment

• high offspring

• low parental care

• low survival rate

• low age at maturity

• low lifespan

• surviorship is type III

species in stable, competitive environment

• low number of offspring

• high parental care

• high survival rate

• high age of maturity

• high lifespan

• survivorship type I or II

R selection

• reproduction rate

• type 3 surviorship

• lower percentage of max lifespan

• population surpasses karrying capacity

k selection

• karrying kapacity

• popuation plateau at karrying kapacity

• higher percentage of max lifespan

type II

mortality constant in animal (linear percentage of max lifespan)

how does natural repro strategy diff from livestock species?

livestock have:

• higher surviving offspring

• no poultry maternal care

• no dairy cow maternal care

• AI instead of physical sexual repro