Parents often disagree with their children over their choice of partner. Although the reasons may vary the outcome is very often one of conflict – a conflict peculiar to the human species. For the first time in one volume, Sexual Selection under Parental Choice employs an evolutionary perspective to understand this conflict and explore its implications. Covering recent developments in the field of evolutionary psychology, Menelaos Apostolou reveals the extent of parental attempts to control the mating decisions of their offspring and investigates the qualities parents seek in prospective in-laws. Children’s attempt to escape this control can lead to practices such as foot-binding and clitoridectomy or, in postindustrial societies, more subtle forms of coercion and manipulation. Apostolou demonstrates that much of human mating behavior has been shaped by parental choice and that parents have a significant influence in sexual selection: the traits they favour in their children’s mates are selected and increase in frequency in the population. Sexual Selection under Parental Choice will be ideal reading for researchers and advanced students of evolutionary, developmental and social psychology, as well as other related disciplines such as social anthropology, sociology and the biological sciences.

The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

When Charles Darwin first proposed Sexual Selection Theory, he suggested two mechanisms: competition among males and choice by females. Although their importance is long established and extremely well understood, their mirror images have remained largely underappreciated; males also choose, and females also compete. The combination of male mate choice (MMC) and female competition (FC) may be one of the most overlooked yet important and intriguing phenomena in modern sexual selection theory. This novel text reviews our current understanding of MMC and FC, highlighting the important connections between them. It places both concepts in the context of related fields such as female choice, mating systems, and sexual selection theory more broadly. A truly holistic approach is provided which takes all the relevant elements into consideration, especially the relative roles of MMC and FC, female ornamentation, their evolutionary consequences, and their genetic basis. Considering male mate choice and female competition in this way as effectively two sides of the same coin creates a powerful paradigm for a more complete understanding of sexual selection. Male Choice, Female Competition, and Female Ornaments in Sexual Selection will be suitable for both graduate students and researchers interested in sexual selection from an evolutionary, psychological, and anthropological perspective. It will also appeal to a broader audience of behavioural ecologists and evolutionary psychologists.

The Behavior of Animals An updated view of animal behavior studies, featuring global experts The Behavior of Animals, Second Edition provides a broad overview of the current state of animal behavior studies with contributions from international experts. This edition includes new chapters on hormones and behavior, individuality, and human evolution. All chapters have been thoroughly revised and updated, and are supported by color illustrations, informative callouts, and accessible presentation of technical information. Provides an introduction to the study of animal behavior Looks at an extensive scope of topics- from perception, motivation and emotion, biological rhythms, and animal learning to animal cognition, communication, mate choice, and individuality. Explores the evolution of animal behavior including a critical evaluation of the assumption that human beings can be studied as if they were any other animal species. Students will benefit from an updated textbook in which a variety of contributors provide their expertise and global perspective in specialized areas

Sexual Selection: Perspectives and Models from the Neotropics presents new sexual selection research based upon neotropical species. As neotropical regions are destroyed at an alarming rate, with an estimated 140 species of rainforest plants and animals going extinct every day, it is important to bring neotropical research to the fore now. Sexual selection occurs when the male or female of a species is attracted by certain characteristics such as form, color or behavior. When those features lead to a greater probability of successful mating, they become more prominent in the species. Although most theoretical concepts concerning sexual selection and reproductive strategies are based upon North American and European fauna, the Neotropical region encompasses much more biodiversity, with as many as 15,000 plant and animal species in a single acre of rain forest. This book illustrates concepts in sexual selection through themes ranging from female cryptic choice in insects, sexual conflict in fish, interaction between sexual selection and the immune system, nuptial gifts, visual and acoustic sexual signaling, parental investment, to alternative mating strategies, among others. These approaches distinguish Sexual Selection from current publications in sexual selection, mainly because of the latitudinal and taxonomic focus, so that readers will be introduced to systems mostly unknown outside the tropics, several of which bring into question some well-established patterns for temperate regions. - Synthesizes sexual selection research on species from the Neotropics - Combines different perspectives and levels of analysis using a broad taxonomic basis, introducing readers to systems mostly unknown outside the tropics and bringing into question well-established patterns for temperate regions - Includes contributions exploring concepts and theory as well as discussions on a variety of Neotropical vertebrates and invertebrates, such as insects, fish, arthropods and birds

At once a pioneering study of evolution and an accessible and lively reading experience, a book that offers the most convincing—and radical—explanation for how and why the human mind evolved. Consciousness, morality, creativity, language, and art: these are the traits that make us human. Scientists have traditionally explained these qualities as merely a side effect of surplus brain size, but Miller argues that they were sexual attractors, not side effects. He bases his argument on Darwin’ s theory of sexual selection, which until now has played second fiddle to Darwin’ s theory of natural selection, and draws on ideas and research from a wide range of fields, including psychology, economics, history, and pop culture. Witty, powerfully argued, and continually thought-provoking, The Mating Mind is a landmark in our understanding of our own species.

Bright colors, enlarged fins, feather plumes, song, horns, antlers, and tusks are often highly sex dimorphic. Why have males in many animals evolved more conspicuous ornaments, signals, and weapons than females? How can such traits evolve although they may reduce male survival? Such questions prompted Darwin's perhaps most scientifically controversial idea--the theory of sexual selection. It still challenges researchers today as they try to understand how competition for mates can favor the variety of sex-dimorphic traits. Reviewing theoretical and empirical work in this very active field, Malte Andersson, a leading contributor himself, provides a major up-to-date synthesis of sexual selection. The author describes the theory and its recent development; examines models, methods, and empirical tests; and identifies many unsolved problems. Among the topics discussed are the selection and evolution of mating preferences; relations between sexual selection and speciation; constraints on sexual selection; and sex differences in signals, body size, and weapons. The rapidly growing study of sexual selection in plants is also reviewed. This volume will interest students, teachers, and researchers in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology.

Evidence from various fields indicates that such selectivity by females may be the norm rather than the exception. Because most postcopulatory competition among 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.

Sexual Selection and Reproductive Competition in Insects ...

The present book aims to examine how sexual selection works in the human species. Almost all scholarly effort focuses on sexual selection in non-human species and extrapolates the findings to the human one. However, human mating has a unique pattern not found in any other species, namely parental influence over mate choice. Across preindustrial societies, the typical pattern of long-term mating is arranged marriage, where parents choose spouses for their children. By doing so, parents effectively become a sexual selection force. Traits that enhance an individual’s chance to be selected as a son- or a daughter-in-law confer important reproductive advantages to those who are endowed with them, increasing in frequency in the population. The author has coined the term parental choice to describe the sexual selection force that arises from parental control over mating. He synthesizes extensive theoretical and empirical work in order to understand and model this force. The aim is to understand which factors give rise to parental choice and to combine these insights into constructing a more formal model. It also aims to further examine whether the predictions of the model fit the patterns of mating found across different types of human societies, and how the model can be used to understand the evolution of behavioral traits involved in mating. By synthesizing the various arguments put forward and published across the literature, the book offers a comprehensive argument and overview of an aspect of sexual selection unique to our species. Furthermore, the book revises and extends previously made arguments and models, while it provides useful insights on how the proposed revision of sexual selection theory can enable us to understand a wide range of human behavioral phenomena. It should be key reading for those interested in studying sexual selection in general and in the Homo sapiens species in particular.