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Vertebrate maternal behavior is a form of parental care that is specifically given to young animals by their mother in order to ensure the survival of the young. [1] Parental care is a form of altruism, which means that the behaviors involved often require a sacrifice that could put their own survival at risk. [1]
The act of eating one's own offspring, or filial cannibalism, may be an adaptive behaviour for a parent to use as an extra source of food. Parents may eat part of a brood to enhance the parental care of the current brood. Alternatively, parents may eat the whole brood to cut their losses and improve their future reproductive success. [78]
Kavanau (1987) was the first to find that unique bi-parental care seen in modern birds probably evolved from extinct birds. They developed the ability to provide protection, escorting, nurturing and egg guarding abilities for their young. Evolution of homeothermy and flight most likely occurred in bi-parental birds with precocial chicks.
Paternal care may be provided in concert with the mother (biparental care) or, more rarely, by the male alone (so called exclusive paternal care). The provision of care, by either males or females, is presumed to increase growth rates, quality, and/or survival of young, and hence ultimately increase the inclusive fitness of parents.
Altricial young are born helpless and require care for a length of time. Altricial birds include hawks, herons, woodpeckers, owls, cuckoos and most passerines. Among mammals, marsupials and most rodents are altricial. Domestic cats, dogs, and primates, such as humans, are some of the best-known altricial organisms. [14]
Sexual selection is an evolutionary concept that has been used to explain why, in some species, male and female individuals behave differently in selecting mates. In 1930, Ronald Fisher wrote The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection, [3] in which he introduced the modern concept of parental investment, introduced the sexy son hypothesis, and introduced Fisher's principle.
Alloparental care has many benefits for the young as well as the biological parents of the young. It occurs when there is a high energetic command of the biological parents and the group living of these animals. [4] Alloparenting helps to reduce the stresses on these animals and reduce the overall energetic demands of having offspring. [4]
More than half of cats sleep between 12 and 18 hours a day, sometimes even more. Most cats sleep more as they age. [27] An alert cat at night, with pupils dilated and ears directed at a sound. Domestic cats seem to be comparatively flexible with regard to the times of day and night they are active or asleep. [28]