Animal Behavior: Aggression

Essay Instructions:

In most species, aggression is relatively rare and animals go to great lengths to avoid fighting. This is not always true. In elephant seals, females come out of the water to give birth once a year on protected beaches. They then mate, and these babies will be born the following year. Male elephant seals fight, often viciously, for the right to mate with the females, and often only one male mates with most of the females on the beach. Can you explain, in terms of costs and benefits (both of fighting and not fighting) why this occurs, and explain how it is fundamentally different that the more typical (and typically less aggressive) situation of territory defense discussed in this module?

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Animal Behavior
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Animal Behavior
Aggression in animals is used as a means of communication with other animals. For example, animals use loud vocals to send messages to their rivals. Notably, the sound and volume of the male animal portray how strong it is and its readiness to start a fight or flee to protect its territories in case of an attack. In addition, some animals fight to determine the more muscular male to mate with a female and defend their boundaries. For instance, male buffaloes fight to mate and mark their territories, and the defeated male is isolated from the rest of the herd and appears to be solitary.
Additionally, some animals, such as the male elephant seal, compete brutally to access females for mating during the breeding season. The battle ends up being bloody and violent for both the winner and the loser. Thus, the fight is rare as they adapt to...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Animal Behavior: Aggression

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