Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection

Abstract

Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection presents the intricate ways in which sperm compete to fertilize eggs and how this has prompted reinterpretations of breeding behavior. This book provides a theoretical framework for the study of sperm competition, which is a central part of sexual selection. It also discusses the roles of females and the relationships between paternal care in sperm competition. The chapters focusing on taxonomic development are diverse and cover all the major animal groups, both vertebrate and invertebrate, and plants. The final chapter provides an overview discussing the relationship between sperm competition and sexual selection in terms of both function and mechanism and how these translate into species fitness. This book will be of prime interest to behaviorists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists, suggesting new avenues of research and new ways of approaching old problems. Key Features * The only up-to-date summary of a central and popular subject * Well known editors and authors * Provides a theoretical framework for the study of sperm competition * Covers all major animal groups * Includes a chapter on plants. Sperm competition and the evolution of ejaculates : towards a theory base / G.A. Parker -- Sperm competition and sexual selection / Anders Pape Møller -- Female roles in sperm competition / William G. Eberhard -- Paternity and paternal care / Jonathan Wright -- Pollen competition in flowering plants / Lynda F. Delph, Kayri Havens -- Sperm limitation, gamete competition, and sexual selection in external fertilizers / D.R. Levitan -- Mating conflicts and sperm competition in simultaneous hermaphrodites / Nico K. Michiels -- Sperm competition in molluscs / Bruno Baur -- Sperm competition and sexual selection in spiders and other arachnids / Mark A. Elgar -- Sperm competition in insects : mechanisms and the potential for selection / L.W. Simmons, M.T. Siva-Jothy -- Sperm competition in fishes / C.W. Petersen, R.R. Warner -- Sperm competition in amphibians / T. Halliday -- Sexual selection and sperm competition in reptiles / M. Olsson, T. Madsen -- Sperm competition in birds : mechanisms and function / T.R. Birkhead -- Reproduction, mating strategies, and sperm competition in marsupials and monotremes / D.A. Taggart [and others] -- Sperm competition in mammals / Montserrat Gomendio, Alexander H. Harcourt, Eduardo R.S. Roldán -- Sperm competition, sexual selection, and different routes to fitness / T.R. Birkhead, A.P. Møller.