On the lush exomoon Pandora, scientists found a type of frog call the “balbasaur frog” whose males capture and present fluorescent pink “woodsprite” (a jellyfish-like flying invertebrate) to females during courtship. Scientists have made a few other observations about this system. (1) The woodsprite contains a microelement that is highly nutritious for the frogs. (2) The woodsprite are erratic flyers and only male frogs with the best hunting skills can capture them. (3) Female frogs live in dark caves and hunt cave-dwelling worms that are pink. (4) Females prefer males that present woodsprite during courtship. Given these observations, which of the following is likely an explanation for the female preference for the bright pink woodsprite? Direct benefitSensory driveIndicator hypothesisAll of the aboveFemale balbasaur frogs typically mate multiply during a mating season. Females have multiple pouches for sperm storage and sperm from different males are stored in separate pouches. Scientists found that for a multiply mated female, the number of offspring that a given male sires is proportional to the size of the woodsprite it gives to the female. This is likely an example of:Pre-copulatory mate choiceMating cannibalismCryptic female choiceParent-offspring conflictThe pink coloration of the woodsprite has been intriguing to scientists. Some hypothesized that the pink coloration is a sexually selected trait that evolved under the selective pressure of female mate choice. Which of the following does NOT provide evidence to support this hypothesis?Female woodsprite selectively use sperm from males that have pinker colorationMales that have scored at least one mating during a mating season have pinker color than males that never matedThe pink coloration is correlated with male foraging efficiency and pinker males produce offspring that are better foragersThe pink coloration comes from the sap of the holly tree they feed on and indicates a chemical in their body that is distasteful to their bird predatorsOn Pandora, the balbasaur frog has a color pattern of pink circles on a black background. This color pattern is a warning signal to the bird predators that these frogs are distasteful. In the same area where balbasaur frogs are found, scientists found a different type of frog they named the pseudobalbasaur frog that has similar color pattern but is palatable. Scientists hypothesized that this is a case analogous to the Batesian mimicry on Earth. Yet the pseudobalbasaur frog has pink triangles as opposed to pink circles. Which of the following may offer an explanation for why the mimicry is imperfect?There is competing selective pressure from sexual selection since females of the pseudobalbasaur frogs prefer triangle more than circleShape is a low-salience trait compared to color and selection from predators on the shape of the color patch is relaxedThe pseudobalbasaur frog is an invasive species from the nearby planet Titan and has not been coexisting with the balbasaur frog for long enough for perfect mimicry to evolveAll of the above

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Answered: On the lush exomoon Pandora, scientists…

Biology: The Dynamic Science (MindTap Course List)

4th Edition

ISBN:9781305389892

Author:Peter J. Russell, Paul E. Hertz, Beverly McMillan

Publisher:Peter J. Russell, Paul E. Hertz, Beverly McMillan

Chapter53: Population Interactions And Community Ecology

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1ITD

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On the lush exomoon Pandora, scientists found a type of frog call the “balbasaur frog” whose males capture and present fluorescent pink “woodsprite” (a jellyfish-like flying invertebrate) to females during courtship. Scientists have made a few other observations about this system. (1) The woodsprite contains a microelement that is highly nutritious for the frogs. (2) The woodsprite are erratic flyers and only male frogs with the best hunting skills can capture them. (3) Female frogs live in dark caves and hunt cave-dwelling worms that are pink. (4) Females prefer males that present woodsprite during courtship. Given these observations, which of the following is likely an explanation for the female preference for the bright pink woodsprite?
1. Direct benefit
2. Sensory drive
3. Indicator hypothesis
4. All of the above
Female balbasaur frogs typically mate multiply during a mating season. Females have multiple pouches for sperm storage and sperm from different males are stored in separate pouches. Scientists found that for a multiply mated female, the number of offspring that a given male sires is proportional to the size of the woodsprite it gives to the female. This is likely an example of:
1. Pre-copulatory mate choice
2. Mating cannibalism
3. Cryptic female choice
4. Parent-offspring conflict
The pink coloration of the woodsprite has been intriguing to scientists. Some hypothesized that the pink coloration is a sexually selected trait that evolved under the selective pressure of female mate choice. Which of the following does NOT provide evidence to support this hypothesis?
1. Female woodsprite selectively use sperm from males that have pinker coloration
2. Males that have scored at least one mating during a mating season have pinker color than males that never mated
3. The pink coloration is correlated with male foraging efficiency and pinker males produce offspring that are better foragers
4. The pink coloration comes from the sap of the holly tree they feed on and indicates a chemical in their body that is distasteful to their bird predators
On Pandora, the balbasaur frog has a color pattern of pink circles on a black background. This color pattern is a warning signal to the bird predators that these frogs are distasteful. In the same area where balbasaur frogs are found, scientists found a different type of frog they named the pseudobalbasaur frog that has similar color pattern but is palatable. Scientists hypothesized that this is a case analogous to the Batesian mimicry on Earth. Yet the pseudobalbasaur frog has pink triangles as opposed to pink circles. Which of the following may offer an explanation for why the mimicry is imperfect?
1. There is competing selective pressure from sexual selection since females of the pseudobalbasaur frogs prefer triangle more than circle
2. Shape is a low-salience trait compared to color and selection from predators on the shape of the color patch is relaxed
3. The pseudobalbasaur frog is an invasive species from the nearby planet Titan and has not been coexisting with the balbasaur frog for long enough for perfect mimicry to evolve
4. All of the above

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