Question

Female birds lay their eggs, thereby facilitating flight by reducing weight. Which "strategy" seems most likely for female bats to use to achieve the same goal?

a. Feed multiple embryos internally using placentas
b. Refrain from flying throughout pregnancy (about 6 weeks)
c. Lay shelled eggs
d. Give birth to undeveloped young, and subsequently carry them in pouches
e. limit litters to a single embryo

Answer 1

To maintain flight capabilities, female bats limit litters to a single embryo. This strategy allows for normal flight during pregnancy, as carrying one offspring reduces additional weight more effectively than multiple embryos would.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question focuses on the strategies female bats might use to reduce weight and thereby facilitate flight, similar to the way birds lay eggs. Female birds lay hard-shelled eggs that are usually incubated in nests and have a significant period of parental care to ensure the development and survival of the offspring.

In contrast, female bats employ a different reproductive strategy, which is vivipary. Unlike birds that lay eggs, bats give birth to live young. The most likely strategy for female bats to reproduce without hindering their flight capabilities is e. limit litters to a single embryo.

This method allows for the in utero development of one offspring at a time, which minimizes additional weight and maintains the mother's ability to fly. This adaptation is essential as flight is crucial for a bat's survival and food acquisition.