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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–4Cite as

Avian Sperm Competition

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Synonyms

Post-copulatory sexual selection; Sperm competition in birds

Definition

Sperm competition arises when a single female mates with more than one male. In such cases, post-copulatory processes involving sperm-sperm competition may represent an important component of sexual selection.

Introduction

Social monogamy is the prevailing mating system among birds, with males sometimes providing a substantial proportion of parental care. Until quite recently, therefore, polyandry was believed to be rare or absent in birds. Over time, however, there were growing indications that genetic polyandry does indeed occur in birds. Evidence came from a range of sources, including behavior (female pursuit for extra-pair copulations, direct observation of extra-pair copulations in the field, males guarding females during the fertile period) and/or sex-biased heritability of morphological traits or plumage coloration (Griffith et al. 2002). The advent of molecular tools for determining paternity has...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Albrecht

  2. Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Albrecht

Authors
  1. Tomáš Albrecht
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Correspondence to Tomáš Albrecht .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, 492 Bluemont Hall, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Gary L Brase

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Albrecht, T. (2017). Avian Sperm Competition. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1949-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1949-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Avian Sperm Competition
    Published:
    18 August 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1949-2

  2. Original

    Avian Sperm Competition
    Published:
    08 February 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1949-1

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