Question 56

(Multiple Choice)

  -The behavior of most animals is influenced by the periods of daylight and darkness in the environment. Fiddler crabs' courtship behaviors are instead synchronized by the 29 1/2-day cycle of the moon. What is the adaptive significance of using lunar cues? A) The fiddler crab courtship ritual is highly visual so individuals need the light of the full moon to be able to observe courtship displays. B) Egg maturation in fiddler crab females takes 29 1/2 days. C) By courting at full and new moon, fiddler crabs link their reproduction to times of highest tides that disperse larvae to safer, deeper waters. D) The algae that larval fiddler crabs consume for energy and metabolism blooms on a monthly cycle, so recently hatched larvae have plenty to eat during a crucial time of their life. E) It takes about 29 days for a fiddler crab to reach sexual maturity.
-The behavior of most animals is influenced by the periods of daylight and darkness in the environment. Fiddler crabs' courtship behaviors are instead synchronized by the 29 1/2-day cycle of the moon. What is the adaptive significance of using lunar cues?


A) The fiddler crab courtship ritual is highly visual so individuals need the light of the full moon to be able to observe courtship displays.
B) Egg maturation in fiddler crab females takes 29 1/2 days.
C) By courting at full and new moon, fiddler crabs link their reproduction to times of highest tides that disperse larvae to safer, deeper waters.
D) The algae that larval fiddler crabs consume for energy and metabolism blooms on a monthly cycle, so recently hatched larvae have plenty to eat during a crucial time of their life.
E) It takes about 29 days for a fiddler crab to reach sexual maturity.

Answer