Name Dayap, Aimee Maebelyn G.

Score ______________________

Course/Year/Section MEB31 Date May 06 2021

Module 4
MATING PATTERNS AND FERTILIZATION

1. Compare the mating behavior of frogs and mice by completing the table below.

Table 4.1 Comparison of the mating behavior of frogs and mice.

 Basis of Comparison Frogs Mice
The males in most frog and Mice make use of ultrasonic
toad species use distinctive vocalizations. The scent of
sounds ranging from high- the female is enough to
Sound Produced
pitched peeps to full- cause the male mice to start
2. throated croaks. Females “singing” and the female
sometimes respond to it, mice are in turn attracted as
creating “duets” that help to well to the male’s singing.
find each other easily.
The male usually leads the Mice are seen as territorial.
female into an oviposition When two male mice meet,
site. Within the first two they often attack each other
mins., after contact the male to protect their own space.
bumps the female nine to
Body movements twelve times with his partly
inflated vocal sac. Then the
male leads the female to a
nest site located within his
calling territory.
Happens as short as five In male mice, ejaculation
seconds to several months. leads to a shudder while
maintaining intromission.
The male then clutches the
female with all four limbs
Duration of copulation and falls to his side with the
female, this position is
maintained and fully
intromitted for thirteen to
twenty-five seconds.
External Fertilization – Internal Fertilization
female usually releases eggs
into the water, where the
Type of fertilization male releases his sperm to
fertilize them. However, a
few species of frogs use
internal fertilization too.
Most frogs do not show In relation to mammalian
brood care, but there are pheromones, its odor
exceptions such as the affects/influences
European midwife toad reproductive behavior. It
where the male rather than has been recently shown
the female carries the sticky that when an impregnated
eggs on its hindlimbs. In a female mouse if exposed to
Others number of Neotropical the odor of a male other
frogs, the male carries the than the one she has mated
eggs under a flap of skin on with, the implantation of the
its back. While in some egg in the uterus fails.
species, the tadpoles cling to
the back of the male by
using sucker-like mouths.
Distinguish internal fertilization with external fertilization in terms of the following:

Table 4.2 Characteristics of Internal and External Fertilization

Feature Internal fertilization External fertilization
Has the advantage of protecting the External fertilization in an aquatic
fertilized egg from dehydration on environment protects the egg from
land. The embryo is isolated within drying out and broadcast spawning
the female, which limits predation on results in a greater mixture of genes
Viability of fertilized the young. Survival rate of offspring within a group, increasing genetic
eggs is higher compared to external diversity and a greater chance of
fertilization. species survival in hostile
environments. But this also provides
opportunities for predation, resulting
in loss of offspring. The survival rate
of eggs produced through this is low.
Human embryonic development takes Chicken embryonic development takes
up to 56-60 days for the offspring to 21 days for the offspring to be fully
be fully developed. Takes longer developed. Takes a short amount of
Duration of embryonic amount of time in the duration of time compared to duration of
development embryonic development than external embryonic development of internal
fertilization. fertilization.

Complexity of For birds, internal fertilization Egg undergoes fertilization  Zygote

structures of the involves the formation of a protective goes through cleavage  Blastula
embryo shell. Their egg is covered with a goes through Gastrulation  Gastrula
very hard and protective shell that is undergoes Organogenesis to form
difficult to break so easily. An Tall-bud embryo  Tall -bud embryo
embryo develops into this protective goes through larval stages  Larval
and hard egg. stages undergoes metamorphosis
which becomes an adult frog
In the case of mammals, fertilization
simply takes place in the female
womb and does not develop a
protective shell. The zygote forms
just after fertilization and stays inside
the female till the embryo is not
formed.

In oviparity, fertilized eggs are laid

outside the female’s body and
develops there, receiving nourishment
from the yolk that is part of the egg.
In ovoviparity, fertilized eggs are
retained in the female, but the embryo
 obtains its nourishment from the
egg’s yolk until fully developed to
hatch. In viviparity, the young
develop within the female, receiving
nourishment from the mother’s blood
through the placenta.

2 cell  Morula  Peri-

implantation Gastrulation 
Organogenesis

Gametes released : Less number of Gametes released : Numerous gametes

gametes (sperm) are released, which (sperms and egg) are released into the
gets deposited into the female body. environment coming from both sexes.

Examples : Amphibians, algae, fish

Examples: Mammals (humans),

Reptiles, Birds
Disadvantages : can survive only in
Disadvantages : Requires high energy moistened or wet environment ; fewer
to find a mate; the offspring produced chance of survival since there is no
Others
are few ; larger contribution of the parental care ; due to unprotection,
female parent only many offspring do not get fertilized or
survive till maturity.

Advantages : offspring produced are

Advantages : more chances of higher in number , less amount of
survival of offspring because they get energy is required to find a mate, and
parental care, rates of successful less competition between offspring
fertilization are higher, and there are and parents
chances of success of survival of
offspring in harsh conditions.
Conclusion

Fertilization is defined as the fusion of haploid gametes : the egg and sperm, to form a diploid zygote. The
overall product is always a diploid zygote despite the subtle differences that can be noticed in the
fertilization process which can occur naturally within the body or through reproductive technologies
outside the body. Fertilization can be divided into two : internal and external fertilization. External
fertilization may be characterized by the release of both sperm and eggs into an external environment
wherein the sperm fertilizes the egg outside of the organism, this is seen as spawning. This usually occurs
in aquatic environments, most of this happens during the process of spawning where one of several
females release their eggs and the male(s) sperm in the same area at the same time. There are different
factors which affect the release of reproductive material, it may be triggered by the water temperature, or
the length of daylight. Some animals which utilize external fertilization are crustaceans (crabs and
shrimps), mollusks (oysters), squid, echinoderms (sea urchins and sea cucumbers), and frogs.

Frogs exhibit external fertilization, although some species of frogs also utilize internal fertilization. The
males in most frog and toad species use distinctive sounds ranging from high-pitched peeps to full-
throated croaks. Females sometimes respond to it, creating “duets” that help to find each other easily. The
male usually leads the female into an oviposition site. Within the first two mins., after contact the male
bumps the female nine to twelve times with his partly inflated vocal sac. Then the male leads the female
to a nest site located within his calling territory. Most frogs do not show brood care, but there are
exceptions such as the European midwife toad where the male rather than the female carries the sticky
eggs on its hindlimbs. In a number of Neotropical frogs, the male carries the eggs under a flap of skin on
its back. While in some species, the tadpoles cling to the back of the male by using sucker-like mouths.

Internal fertilization meanwhile is characterized by sperm fertilizing the egg within the female which
includes three methods which are : oviparity (egg laid outside female body), ovoviparity (egg held within
the female) and viviparity (development within the female followed by live birth). Internal fertilization
occurs most in land-based animals, although some aquatic animals also make use of this method. Internal
fertilization has the advantage of protecting the fertilizes eggs from dehydration on land and because the
embryo is isolated within the female, it limits the predation on the young. It also enhances the fertilization
of eggs by a specific male. Even though fewer number of offspring are produced through this method, the
survival rate is higher than that for external fertilization. Examples of animals that make use of this
method are bony fish, many reptiles, some cartilaginous fish, most amphibians, all birds, and few
mammals (humans and mice).

Mice exhibit internal fertilization. Mice make use of ultrasonic vocalizations. The scent of the female is
enough to cause the male mice to start “singing” and the female mice are in turn attracted as well to the
male’s singing. Mice are seen as territorial. When two male mice meet, they often attack each other to
protect their own space. In relation to mammalian pheromones, its odor affects/influences reproductive
behavior. It has been recently shown that when an impregnated female mouse if exposed to the odor of a
male other than the one she has mated with, the implantation of the egg in the uterus fails.
References

Carlson BM. 2003. Patten’s foundations of embryology. 6th ed.

Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia).
Gilbert SF. 2010. Developmental Biology. 9th ed.
USA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Duellman WE and Trueb L. 1986. Biology of Amphibians.
USA: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Hickman CP Jr., Roberts LS and Larson A.1997. Integrated Principles of Zoology.
USA: Times Mirror Higher Education Group, Inc.
Kardong KV. 1998. Vertebrates Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution.1998. 2nded.
USA: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Rugh N. 1951. The Frog. Its Reproduction and Development.
USA: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Schoenwolf GC. 2001. Laboratory Studies of Vertebrate and Invertebrate Embryos8thed
NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Additional References

N. Joshua et al., (2015 May 28) Female mice ultrasonically interact with males during courtship
displays. Retrieved 2021 May 03 from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4447045/#:~:text=During%20courtship
%20males%20attract%20females,sexes%20produce%20virtually%20indistinguishable
%20vocalizations.

O. Kristiina (2001 March) Courtship and Reproductive Behavior of the Frog Eleutherodactylus
diastema (Anura : Leptodactylidae) in Gamboa, Panama. Retrieved 2021 May 03 from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271752946_Courtship_and_Reproductive_Behavior_of
_the_Frog_Eleutherodactylus_diastema_Anura_Leptodactylidae_in_Gamboa_Panama

P. Geri (2017 October 31) Experience shapes mouse fighting and mating behaviors. Rerieved
2021 May 03 from https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/experience-shapes-
mouse-fighting-mating-behaviors

Lumen (no date) Fertilization. Retrieved 2021 May 04 from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ivytech-bio1-1/chapter/fertilization/

Pressbooks (no date) Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development. Retrieved 2021 May 04
from https://opentextbc.ca/biology/chapter/24-6-fertilization-and-early-embryonic-development/

C. Rachna (2018, February 8) Difference between Internal and External Fertilization. Retrieved
2021 May 04 from https://biodifferences.com/difference-between-internal-and-external-
fertilization.html

No Author (no date) Internal Fertilization and Development. Retrieved 2021 May 04 from
https://www.pmschools.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?
moduleinstanceid=369&dataid=1617&FileName=fert_develop.pdf

General Microbiology at Boundless (2020 August 15) External and Internal Fertilization.
Retrieved 2021 May 04 from
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book
%3A_General_Biology_(Boundless)/43%3A_Animal_Reproduction_and_Development/43.2%3
A_Fertilization/43.2A%3A_External_and_Internal_Fertilization

Images from Dr. S. Brian (no date) Molecular and Developmental Biology. Retrieved 2021 May
04 from https://www.mun.ca/biology/desmid/brian/BIOL3530/DEVO_01/devo_01.html

NCBI (no date) Comparative Embryology. Retrieved 2021 May 04 from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9974/

L. Gordon (no date) The Tadpole or the Egg? Retrieved 2021 May 05 from
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/plosable/tadpole-or-egg#:~:text=Typically%2C%20frogs%20lay
%20eggs.,of%20frog%20use%20internal%20fertilization.