CHAPTER 10

LESSON 3 Animal Behavior and

Reproduction
Animal Reproduction and
Development
Key Concepts
• What are the roles of
male and female What do you think? Read the two statements below and decide
reproductive organs? whether you agree or disagree with them. Place an A in the Before
column if you agree with the statement or a D if you disagree. After
• How do the two types of
you’ve read this lesson, reread the statements to see if you have
fertilization differ? changed your mind.
• What are the different
Before Statement After
types of animal
development? 5. During sexual reproduction, a sperm cell
and an egg cell join.
6. Some animals develop inside the mother.

Identify Main Ideas Write

a phrase beside each
paragraph that summarizes
Sexual Reproduction
the main point of the Have you ever found tiny, beadlike structures on the underside
paragraph. Use the phrases of a leaf? They might be eggs laid by a butterfly or some other
to review the lesson. insect. Eggs are an important part of the life cycle of many
animals. In sexual reproduction, the genetic material from two
ACADEMIC different cells—a sperm and an egg—combine, producing an
VOCABULARY offspring. Most animals reproduce sexually. Some can reproduce
cycle asexually, without a sperm and an egg joining.
(noun) a series of events that
regularly recur and lead back to Male and female animals of the same species often look
the starting point different from each other. In mammals and birds, males are often
larger or more colorful than females. For example, a male lion has
a ruff of fur around his neck and is larger than a lioness. Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

Male Reproductive Organs

The reproductive system of an animal includes specialized
reproductive organs that produce sperm or eggs. Male animals
have testes (TES teez; singular, testis), the male reproductive
organs that produce sperm. Sperm are reproductive cells with
tails. The tails make it possible for sperm to swim through fluid
to reach an egg cell. Most male animals have two testes located
inside the body.

318 Animal Behavior and Reproduction Reading Essentials

 Reproductive Organs of Chickens

Visual Check
1. Identify Circle the
structure that produces egg
cells.

Female Reproductive Organs

Female animals have ovaries (OH va reez), the female
reproductive organs that produce egg cells. Most female animals
have two ovaries. Female birds have only one ovary, as shown
above. Egg cells are larger than sperm and cannot move on their
Key Concept Check
own. Many female mammals are born with all the eggs they will
2. Specify What are the
ever have. functions of male and
Fertilization female reproductive
organs?
Sexual reproduction requires fertilization—the joining of an
egg cell with a sperm cell. Half of the genetic material is in a
sperm cell, and half is in an egg cell. When a sperm cell fertilizes
an egg cell, the new cell that forms is called a zygote (ZI goht).
The zygote develops into a new organism. It has the genetic
material from the sperm cell and the egg cell.
Not all animals fertilize their eggs in the same way. The eggs of
some animals are fertilized inside the mother’s body. Some are
fertilized outside the body.
Internal Fertilization When fertilization occurs inside the body Make a vertical three-tab
of an animal, it is called internal fertilization. For many animals, book with a Venn diagram
the male has a specialized structure that can deposit sperm in or on the front to compare
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

near the female’s reproductive system. The sperm swim to the egg internal and external
cells. Earthworms, spiders, insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals fertilization.
have internal fertilization.
An embryo develops from a fertilized egg, or zygote. With
internal fertilization, the embryo is protected and nourished inside
the female’s body. This increases the chance that an embryo will
survive, develop into an adult, and reproduce.

Reading Essentials Animal Behavior and Reproduction 319

 External Fertilization A female frog deposits unfertilized eggs
under water. A male frog releases its sperm above the eggs as the
female lays them. Fertilization that occurs outside the body of an
animal is called external fertilization. When a sperm reaches an
egg, fertilization takes place. Animals that reproduce using external
fertilization include jellyfish, clams, sea urchins, sea stars, many
species of fish, and amphibians.
Most animals that reproduce using external fertilization do not
Key Concept Check care for the fertilized eggs or for the newly hatched young. As a
3. Contrast How do the result, eggs and young are exposed to predators and other dangers
two types of fertilization in the environment. This reduces their chances of surviving. For
differ? successful reproduction, animals with external fertilization
produce a large number of eggs. This ensures that at least a few
offspring will survive to become adults.

Development
The zygote produced by fertilization is only the beginning of an
animal’s development. The zygote grows by mitosis and cell
divisions and becomes an embryo, which is the next stage in an
animal’s development.

Math Skills A growing embryo needs nourishment and protection from

predators and other dangers in the environment. Different animals
A ratio can be used to have different ways of supplying the needs of an embryo. In some
compare data about sperm
animals, the embryo develops outside the mother’s body. In others,
and eggs. For example, the
head of a human sperm cell the embryo develops inside the mother’s body.
averages 5 μm. (A μm, or
micron, is one-millionth of a
External Development
meter.) If the tail of the Animals that develop outside the mother usually are protected
sperm cell measures 50 inside an egg. In most instances, one embryo develops inside each
μm, what is the ratio of tail egg. Most eggs contain a yolk that provides food for the developing
to head? embryo. A covering surrounds the egg. The covering protects the
Set up the two numbers as embryo, helps keep it moist, and discourages predators.
a ratio by writing them in
Eggs laid by lizards, snakes, and other reptiles have a tough,
any of the following forms:
leathery covering. A tough, jellylike substance usually surrounds
50 to 5; 50:5; 50
___
5 eggs laid under water, such as those laid by frogs. Bird eggs have a
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

Reduce the numbers to hard covering called a shell.

their lowest form. A grass snake’s embryos develop outside the mother. The grass
Divide each side by 5. The snake protects its eggs while the embryos develop.
10
ratio is 10 to 1 or 10:1 or ___
1
.

4. Use Ratios A fruit fly

sperm cell is about 1.8 mm
in length. What is the ratio
of a human sperm cell to a
fly sperm cell?

320 Animal Behavior and Reproduction Reading Essentials

 Internal Development
The embryos of some animals, including most mammals,
develop inside the mother. These embryos get nourishment from
the mother. An organ or a tissue transfers nourishment from the
mother to the embryo.
Other embryos, such as those of some snakes, insects, and fish,
develop in an egg with a yolk while it is inside the mother. For
these animals, the yolk, not the mother, provides nourishment for
the developing young. The young hatch from the eggs while they
are inside the mother and then leave the mother’s body.
Reading Check
Gestation
The length of time between fertilization and birth of an animal
5. Specify Where does
a snake embryo get
is called gestation (jeh STAY shun). Gestation varies from species nourishment if it develops
to species and usually relates to the size of the animal—the smaller inside its mother?
the animal, the shorter its gestation period. For example, gestation
for a mouse is about 21 days, for a human it is about 266 days, for
an elephant it is about 600 days and for a kangaroo is 35 days.
A kangaroo measures only about 2.5 cm long at birth. A newborn
kangaroo crawls into a pouch on the mother’s body. Most of its
Reading Check
development occurs inside this pouch. The young kangaroo feeds 6. Define What is
and grows inside the pouch until it is large enough to live on its own. gestation?

Metamorphosis
Some animals, including amphibians and many animals
without backbones, go through more than one phase of
development. Metamorphosis (me tuh MOR fuh sihs) is a
developmental process in which the form of the body changes
as an animal grows from an egg to an adult.
The metamorphosis of a ladybug and the metamorphosis of a
frog are shown in the figure on the next page. During its
development, the ladybug goes from egg to larva to pupa to adult.
The tadpole is the larval stage of a frog. A tadpole hatches from
an egg. It grows legs and loses its tail as it develops into an adult
frog.
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

Larva and adult forms often have different lifestyles. The larva
of the frog lives only in water. The adult frog can live on land or Key Concept Check
in water. 7. Identify What are the
different types of animal
development?

Reading Essentials Animal Behavior and Reproduction 321

 Visual Check Metamorphosis
8. Contrast Which
developmental stage is not
in a frog life cycle?

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

322 Animal Behavior and Reproduction Reading Essentials

 Mini Glossary
fertilization: the joining of an egg cell with a sperm sexual reproduction: the production of an
cell offspring through the combination of genetic
material from two different cells—a sperm and an
metamorphosis (me tuh MOR fuh sihs): a egg
developmental process in which the form of the
body changes as an animal grows from an egg to testis (TES tihs): a male reproductive organ that
an adult produces sperm cells

ovary (OH va ree): a female reproductive organ zygote (ZI goht): the new cell that forms when a
that produces egg cells sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell

1. Review the terms and their definitions in the Mini Glossary. Write a sentence that describes how
a tadpole changes form during metamorphosis.

2. Compete the diagram to show the sequence of animal development. Write these words in the
correct boxes: embryo, egg cell, zygote, sperm cell.

Adult
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

3. In external development, how does the egg benefit the offspring developing inside it?

What do you think

Reread the statements at the beginning of the
lesson. Fill in the After column with an A if you Log on to ConnectED.mcgraw-hill.com
agree with the statement or a D if you disa- and access your textbook to find this END OF
gree. Did you change your mind? lesson’s resources. LESSON

Reading Essentials Animal Behavior and Reproduction 323

 Lesson 3 Animal Reproduction and Development
Skim Lesson 3 in your book. Read the headings and look at the photos and illustrations. Identify
three things you want to learn more about as you read the lesson. Record your ideas
in your Science Journal.

Sexual Reproduction Model the process of sexual reproduction.

I found this on page
.
genetic genetic
material combines material to
from with from produce

I found this on page Differentiate between the male and female of most mammals and
. birds.

I found this on page Distinguish the characteristics of reproductive organs of male

. and female animals.

Male Female

I found this on page Contrast male and female reproductive cells.

.
Sperm:
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

Egg:

I found this on page Characterize fertilization.

.
Fertilization

+ ⇒

324 Animal Behavior and Reproduction

 Lesson 3 | Animal Reproduction and Development (continued)

I found this on page Identify the advantage of internal fertilization.

.

The zygote is nourished

inside the female’s
body.

I found this on page Relate factors associated with external fertilization.

.

Most animals that reproduce through external fertilization do not

Therefore, the young are ,

reducing their .

Therefore, successful reproduction requires

to ensure

that .

Development Differentiate internal development and external

I found this on page development of embryos.
.
External Internal
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

Animal Behavior and Reproduction 325

 Lesson 3 | Animal Reproduction and Development (continued)

I found this on page Correlate gestation period to animal size.

.
The the animal, generally
the the gestation period.

I found this on page Identify the stages of metamorphosis of a frog. Contrast the
. lifestyle of a frog at its different stages.

I found this on page Model another example of the stages of metamorphosis. Draw
. and label the cycle.

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education.

Imagine you are studying a newly discovered animal species. You discover
large numbers of only very young juveniles of the species inhabiting the same area. What can
you conclude about the reproductive behaviors of that species? Why?

326 Animal Behavior and Reproduction