Female Control

by Eberhard, William G.; Krebs, J. R.; Clutton-Brock, T. H.

• ISBN13: 9780691010854
• ISBN10: 0691010854
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-06-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

A growing body of evidence has begun to reveal flaws in the traditional assumption of female passivity and lack of discrimination after copulation has begun. William Eberhard has compiled an impressive array of research on the ability of females to shape the outcome of mating. He describes studies of many different cryptic mechanisms by which a female can accept a male for copulation but nevertheless reject him as a father. Evidence from various fields indicates that such selectivity by females may be the norm rather than the exception. Because most post-copulatory competition between males for paternity is played out within the bodies of females, female behavior, morphology, and physiology probably often influence male success in these contests. Eberhard draws examples from a diversity of organisms, ranging from ctenophores to scorpions, nematodes to frogs, and crickets to humans.Cryptic female choice establishes a new bridge between sexual selection theory and reproductive physiology, in particular the physiological effects of male seminal products on female reproductive processes, such as sperm transport, oviposition, and remating. Eberhard interweaves his review of previous studies with speculation on the consequences of this theoretical development, and indicates promising new directions for future research.

Author Biography

William G. Eberhard is a member of the scientific staff of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and Professor of Biology at the Escuela de Biologia of the Universidad de Costa Rica.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
What Is Cryptic Female Choice?	p. 3
Selection on Cryptic Female Choice	p. 44
Principal Mechanisms of Cryptic Female Choice	p. 80
Other Mechanisms of Cryptic Female Choice	p. 142
Evidence That Cryptic Female Choice is Widespread, I: Copulatory Courtship and Related Phenomena	p. 204
Evidence That Cryptic Female Choice Is Widespread, II: Effects of Male Sexual Products on Females	p. 256
Evidence That Cryptic Female Choice Is Widespread, III: Male and Female Morphology	p. 331
Related Topics	p. 367
Evidence Ruling Out Cryptic Female Choice: Is It Common?	p. 397
Summary and Conclusions	p. 416
References	p. 423
Subject Index	p. 489
Taxonomic Index	p. 492
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