Infanticide: Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives

by Hausfater,Glenn

• ISBN13: 9780202362212
• ISBN10: 0202362213
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-06-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Recent field studies of a variety of mammalian species reveal a surprisingly high frequency of infanticide-the killing of unweaned or otherwise maternally dependent offspring. Similarly, studies of birds, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates demonstrate egg and larval mortality in these species, a phenomenon directly analogous to infanticide in mammals. In this collection, Hausfater and Hrdy draw together work on animal and human infanticide and place these studies in a broad evolutionary and comparative perspective.Infanticide presents the theoretical background and taxonomic distribution of infanticide, infanticide in nonhuman primates, infanticide in rodents, and infanticide in humans. It examines closely sex allocation and sex ratio theory, surveys the phylogeny of mammalian interbirth intervals, and reviews data on sources of egg and larval mortality in a variety of invertebrate and lower vertebrate species. Dealing with infanticide in nonhuman primates, two chapters critically examine data on infanticide in langurs and its broader theoretical implications. By reviewing sources of infant mortality in populations of small mammals and new laboratory analyses of the causes and consequences of infanticide, this work explores such issues as the ontogeny of infanticide, proximate cues of infants and females which elicit infanticidal behavior in males, the genetical basis of infanticide, and the hormonal determinants.Hausfater and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, through their selection of materials for this book, evaluate the frequency, causes, and function of infanticide. Historical, ethnographic, and recent data on infanticide are surveyed. Infanticide summarizes current research on the evolutionary origins and proximate causation of infanticide in animals and man. As such it will be indispensable reading for anthropologists and behavioral biologists as well as ecologists, psychologists, demographers, and epidemiologists.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives on Infanticide: Introduction and Overview	p. xiii
List of Contributors and Symposium Participants	p. xxxvii
Background and Taxonomic Reviews
Infanticide, Siblicide, and Avian Nestling Mortality	p. 3
Infanticide in Carnivores	p. 31
Cannibalism of Early Life Stages in Fishes	p. 43
The Influence of Conspecifics on Egg and Larval Mortality in Amphibians	p. 65
Intraspecific Predation and "Infant Killing" Among Invertebrates	p. 87
Mammalian Reproduction: Constraints on the Evolution of Infanticide	p. 105
The Evolutionary Ecology of Sex Allocation: A Primer	p. 125
Infanticide in Nonhuman Primates: A Topic of Continuing Debate
Infanticide in Nonhuman Primates: An Introduction and Perspective	p. 145
Infanticide by Adult Males in Three Primate Species of the Kibale Forest, Uganda: A Test of Hypotheses	p. 151
Infanticide in Red Howler Monkeys (Alouatta seniculus)	p. 173
Infanticide in Two Populations of Savanna Baboons	p. 193
Infanticide in Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) with Comparative Notes on Chimpanzees	p. 217
Reproductive Parameters, Adult-Male Replacements, and Infanticide Among Free-Ranging Langurs (Presbytis entellus) at Jodhpur (Rajasthan), India	p. 237
Infanticide in Langurs: Strategies, Counterstrategies, and Parameter Values	p. 257
Infant Killing and Male Reproductive Strategies in Langurs (Presbytis entellus)	p. 283
Proximate Factors of Infanticide Among Langurs at Dharwar: A Reply to Boggess	p. 311
Assumptions and Evidence Regarding the Sexual Selection Hypothesis: A Reply to Boggess	p. 315
Infanticide in Rodents: Questions of Proximate and Ultimate Causation
Infanticidal Behavior in Male and Female Rodents: Sectional Introduction and Directions for Future Research	p. 323
Causes and Consequences on Infanticide in Populations of Rodents	p. 331
Infanticide and the Evolution of Pregnancy Block in Rodents	p. 349
Infanticide by Male and Female Mongolian Gerbils: Ontogeny, Causation, and Function	p. 367
Psychobiological Determinants Underlying Infanticide in Mice	p. 387
Proximate and Ultimate Causes of Infanticide and Parental Behavior in Male House Mice	p. 401
Infanticide in Humans: Ethnography, Demography, Sociobiology, and History
Concepts and Classification in the Study of Human Infanticide: Sectional Introduction and Some Cautionary Notes	p. 427
Infanticide in Human Populations: Societal and Individual Concerns	p. 439
Deferred Infanticide: Excess Female Mortality during Childhood	p. 463
A Sociobiological Analysis of Human Infanticide	p. 487
Ayoreo Infanticide: A Case Study	p. 503
Bibliography	p. 521
Index	p. 589
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