Question

Little parental care is required by ________ offspring, which are able to move about and forage for themselves shortly after birth.

Answer 1

Precocial offspring require little parental care and can fend for themselves shortly after birth, whereas altricial species have offspring that need significant parental care to survive.

Step-by-step explanation:

Little parental care is required by precocial offspring, which are able to move about and forage for themselves shortly after birth. Precocial species, like many birds such as ducks and geese, are adapted to be relatively mature from the moment of hatching. These species contrast with altricial species, whose young require extensive parental care and are relatively helpless at birth, such as with many mammals and some birds.

In animals with precocial young, a large amount of energy is allocated to producing many offspring, which can fend for themselves quickly, maximizing the species' evolutionary fitness. Meanwhile, altricial species often have fewer offspring but invest heavily in their care to ensure survival.