Abstract
Sperm competition occurs when a female copulates with two or more males within a sufficiently brief time period, resulting in sperm of the different males competing to fertilize ova. Sperm competition has been documented or inferred to occur across several species. We review the evidence for sperm competition in humans. Specifically, we review literature indicating apparently convergent adaptations to sperm competition in humans and nonhumans. We discuss future research directions and conclude that the research that documents anatomical, biological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations to human sperm competition provides compelling evidence that sperm competition has been a recurrent feature of human evolutionary history.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, K. (2006). How well does paternity confidence match actual paternity? Current Anthropology, 47, 513–520.
Angulo, J., & García, M. (2005). Sex in stone: Sexuality, reproduction, and eroticism in the Paleolithic epoch. Madrid: Luzán, 5.
Ariely, D., & Loewenstein, G. (2006). The heat of the moment: The effect of sexual arousal on sexual decision making. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 19, 87–98.
Auger, J., Kunstmann, J. M., Czyglik, F., & Jouannet, P. (1995). Decline in semen quality among fertile men in Paris during the past 20 years. New England Journal of Medicine, 332, 281–285.
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1993a). Human sperm competition: Ejaculate adjustment by males and the function of masturbation. Animal Behaviour, 46, 861–885.
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1993b). Human sperm competition: Ejaculate manipulation by females and a function for the female orgasm. Animal Behaviour, 46, 887–909.
Baker, R. R., & Bellis, M. A. (1995). Human sperm competition: Copulation, masturbation and infidelity. London: Chapman & Hall.
Barash, D. P. (1997). Sociobiology of rape in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos): Response to the mated male. Science, 197, 788–789.
Bellis, M. A., Hughes, K., Hughes, S., & Ashton, J. R. (2005). Measuring paternal discrepancy and its public health consequences. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 59, 749–754.
Bostofte, E., Serup, J., & Rebbe, H. (1982). Has the fertility of Danish men declined through the years in terms of semen quality? A comparison of semen qualities between 1952 and 1972. International Journal of Fertility, 28, 91–95.
Brewis, A., & Meyer, M. (2005). Demographic evidence that human ovulation is undetectable (at least in pair bonds). Current Anthropology, 46, 465–471.
Buss, D. M. (1988). From vigilance to violence: Tactics of mate retention in American undergraduates. Ethology and Sociobiology, 9, 291–317.
Buss, D. M. (2006). The murderer next door: Why the mind is designed to kill. New York: Penguin.
Buss, D. M. (2013). Sexual Jealousy. Psychological Topics, 22, 155–182.
Buss, D. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (1997). From vigilance to violence: Mate retention tactics in married couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 346–361.
Camilleri, J. A., & Quinsey, V. L. (2009). Testing the cuckoldry risk hypothesis of partner sexual coercion in community and forensic samples. Evolutionary Psychology, 7, 64–178.
Candolin, U., & Reynolds, J. D. (2002). Adjustments of ejaculation rates in response to risk of sperm competition in a fish, the bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 269, 1549–1553.
Cerda-Molina, A. L., Hernández-López, L., de la O, C. E., Chavira-Ramírez, R., & Mondragón-Ceballos, R. (2013). Changes in men’s salivary testosterone and cortisol levels, and in sexual desire after smelling female axillary and vulvar scents. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 4, 1–9.
Chavanne, T. J., & Gallup, G. G. Jr. (1998). Variation in risk taking behavior among female college students as a function of the menstrual cycle. Evolution and Human Behavior, 19, 27–31.
Cheng, K. M., Burns, J. T., & McKinney, F. (1983). Forced copulation in captive mallards III. Sperm competition. The Auk, 100, 302–310.
Cornell, J. L., & Halpern-Felsher, B. L. (2006). Adolescents tell us why teens have oral sex. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 299–301.
Cornwallis, C. K., & O’Connor, E. A. (2009). Sperm: Seminal fluid interactions and the adjustment of sperm quality in relation to female attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276, 3467–3475.
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. Hawthorne: Aldine.
Doty, R. L., Ford, M., Preti, G., & Huggins, G. R. (1975). Changes in the intensity and pleasantness of human vaginal odors during the menstrual cycle. Science, 190, 1316–1318.
Dunbar, I. F. (1977). Olfactory preferences in dogs: The response of male and female beagles to conspecific odors. Behavioral Biology, 20, 471–481.
Finkelhor, D., & Yllo, K. (1985). License to rape: Sexual abuse of wives. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Fox, C. A., Wolff, H. S., & Baker, J. A. (1970). Measurement of intra-vaginal and intra-uterine pressures during human coitus by radio-telemetry. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, 22, 243–251.
Frieze, I. H. (1983). Investigating the causes and consequences of marital rape. Signs, 8, 532–553.
Gage, A. R., & Barnard, C. J. (1996). Male crickets increase sperm number in relation to competition and female size. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 38, 349–353.
Gage, A. J., & Hutchinson, P. L. (2006). Power, control, and intimate partner sexual violence in Haiti. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 11–24.
Gallup, G. G. Jr., & Burch, R. L. (2004). Semen displacement as a sperm competition strategy in humans. Evolutionary Psychology, 2, 12–23.
Gallup, G. G. Jr., & Burch, R. L. (2006). The semen displacement hypothesis: Semen hydraulics and the intra-pair copulation proclivity model of female infidelity. In S. Platek & T. Shackelford (Eds.), Female infidelity and paternal uncertainty: Evolutionary perspectives on male anti-cuckoldry tactics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gallup, G. G. Jr., Burch, R. L., Zappieri, M. L., Parvez, R. A., Stockwell, M. L., & Davis, J. A. (2003). The human penis as a semen displacement device. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 277–289.
Gallup, G. G. Jr., Burch, R. L., & Berens Mitchell, T. J. (2006). Semen displacement as a sperm competition strategy: Multiple mating, self-semen displacement, and timing of in-pair copulations. Human Nature, 17, 253–264.
Gallup, G. G. Jr., Burch, R. L., & Petricone, L. R. (2012). Sexual conflict, infidelity, and vaginal/semen chemistry. In T. K. Shackelford & A. T. Goetz (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of sexual conflict in humans (pp. 217–231). New York: Oxford University Press.
Gangestad, S. W., Thornhill, R., & Garver-Apgar, C. E. (2005). Women’s sexual interests across the ovulatory cycle depend on primary partner developmental instability. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 272, 2023–2027.
Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2006). Sexual coercion and forced in-pair copulation as sperm competition tactics in humans. Human Nature, 17, 265–282.
Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2009). Sexual coercion in intimate relationships: A comparative analysis of the effects of women’s infidelity and men’s dominance and control. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 226–234.
Goetz, A. T., Shackelford, T. K., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., Euler, H. A., Hoier, S., Schmitt, D. P., & LaMunyon, C. W. (2005). Mate retention, semen displacement, and human sperm competition: A preliminary investigation of tactics to prevent and correct female infidelity. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 749–763.
Goetz, A. T., Shackelford, T. K., Platek, S. M., Starratt, V. G., & McKibbin, W. F. (2007). Sperm competition in humans: Implications for male sexual psychology, physiology, anatomy, and behavior. Annual Review of Sex Research, 18, 1–22.
Goetz, A. T., Shackelford, T. K., & Camilleri, J. A. (2008). Proximate and ultimate explanations are required for a comprehensive understanding of partner rape. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 13, 119–123.
Gottschall, J. (2004). Explaining wartime rape. Journal of Sex Research, 41, 129–136.
Gottschall, J. A., & Gottschall, T. A. (2003). Are per-incident rape-pregnancy rates higher than per-incident consensual pregnancy rates? Human Nature, 14, 1–20.
Guadamuz, T. E., Kunawararak, P., Beyrer, C., Pumpaisanchai, J., Wei, C., & Celentano, D. D. (2010). HIV prevalence, sexual and behavioral correlates among Shan, Hill tribe, and Thai male sex workers in Northern Thailand. AIDS Care, 22, 597–605.
Guéguen, N. (2012). Gait and menstrual cycle: Ovulating women use sexier gaits and walk slowly ahead of men. Gait and Posture, 35, 621–624.
Gunns, R. E., Johnston, L., & Hudson, S. M. (2002). Victim selection and kinematics: A point-light investigation of vulnerability to attack. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 26, 129–158.
Hald, G. M. (2006). Gender differences in pornography consumption among young heterosexual Danish adults. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 577–585.
Halpern, J., & Sherman, M. A. (1979). Afterplay: A key intimacy. New York: Pocket Books.
Haselton, M. G., & Gildersleeve, K. (2011). Can men detect ovulation? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 87–92.
Haselton, M. G., Mortezaie, M., Pillsworth, E. G., Bleske-Rechek, A., & Frederick, D. A. (2007). Ovulatory shifts in human female ornamentation: Near ovulation, women dress to impress. Hormones and Behavior, 51, 40–45.
Hewlett, B. S., & Hewlett, B. L. (2010). Sex and searching for children among Aka foragers and Ngandu farmers of central Africa. African Study Monographs, 31, 107–125.
Hosken, D. J., & Ward, P. I. (2001). Experimental evidence for testis size evolution via sperm competition. Ecology Letters, 4, 10–13.
Iwawaki, S., & Wilson, G. D. (1983). Sex fantasies in Japan. Personality and Individual Differences, 4, 543–545.
Johnston, R. E. (1974). Sexual attraction function of golden hamster vaginal secretion. Behavioral Biology, 12, 111–117.
Kaighobadi, F., & Shackelford, T. K. (2008). Female attractiveness mediates the relationship between in-pair copulation frequency and men’s mate retention behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 293–295.
Kiddy, C. A., Mitchell, D. S., Bolt, D. J., & Hawk, H. W. (1978). Detection of estrus-related odors in cows by trained dogs. Biology of Reproduction, 19, 389–395.
Kilgallon, S. J., & Simmons, L. W. (2005). Image content influences men’s semen quality. Biology Letters, 1, 253–255.
King, R., & Belsky, J. (2012). A typological approach to testing the evolutionary functions of human female orgasm. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 1145–1160.
Klusmann, D. (2002). Sexual motivation and the duration of partnership. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 275–287.
Klusmann, D. (2006). Sperm competition and female procurement of male resources. Human Nature, 17, 283–300.
Koelman, C. A., Coumans, A. B., Nijman, H. W., Doxiadis, I. I., Dekker, G. A., & Claas, F. H. (2000). Correlation between oral sex and a low incidence of preeclampsia: A role for soluble HLA in seminal fluid? Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 46, 155–166.
Lorch, P. D., Wilkinson, G. S., & Reillo, P. R. (1993). Copulation duration and sperm precedence in the stalk-eyed fly Cyrtodiopsis whitei (Diptera: Diopsidae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 32, 303–311.
Lurie, P., Eugenia, M., Fernandes, L., & Hughes, V. (1995). Socioeconomic status and risk of HIV-1, syphilis and hepatitis B infection among sex workers in São Paulo State, Brazil. AIDS (London, England), 9, 31–37.
Mack, P. D., Priest, N. K., & Promislow, D. E. (2003). Female age and sperm competition: Last-male precedence declines as female age increases. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 270, 159–165.
Malamuth, N. M. (1996). Sexually explicit media, gender differences, and evolutionary theory. Journal of Communication, 46, 8–31.
Maruthupandian, J., & Marimuthu, G. (2013). Cunnilingus apparently increases duration of copulation in the Indian flying fox, Pteropus giganteus. PloS One, 8, e59743.
Mauras, N., Bell, J., Snow, B. G., & Winslow, K. L. (2005). Sperm analysis in growth hormone-deficient adolescents previously treated with an aromatase inhibitor: Comparison with normal controls. Fertility and Sterility, 84, 239–242.
McCallum, C. (1994). Ritual and the origin of sexuality in the Alto Xingu. In P. Harvey & P. Gow (Eds.), Sex and violence: Issues in representation and experience (pp. 90–114). New York: Routledge.
McKibbin, W. F., Bates, V. M., Shackelford, T. K., LaMunyon, C. W., & Hafen, C. A. (2010). Risk of sperm competition moderates the relationship between men’s satisfaction with their partner and men’s interest in their partner’s copulatory orgasm. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 961–966.
McKibbin, W. F., Starratt, V. G., Shackelford, T. K., & Goetz, A. T. (2011). Perceived risk of female infidelity moderates the relationship between objective risk of female infidelity and sexual coercion in Humans (Homo sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 125, 370–373.
McKibbin, W. F., Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (2013). Human sperm competition in post-industrial ecologies: Sperm competition cues predict pornographic DVD sales rank. Behavioral Ecology, 24, 819–823.
Mineau, P., & Cooke, F. (1979). Rape in the lesser snow goose. Behaviour, 70, 280–291.
Mougeot, F., Arroyo, B. E., & Bretagnolle, V. (2001). Decoy presentations as a means to manipulate the risk of extrapair copulation: An experimental study in a semicolonial raptor, the Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus). Behavioral Ecology, 12, 1–7.
Mosher, D. L. (1988). Pornography defined: Sexual involvement theory, narrative context, and goodness-of-fit. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 1, 67–85.
Murphy, M. R. (1973). Effects of female hamster vaginal discharge on the behavior of male hamsters. Behavioral Biology, 9, 367–375.
Nicholls, E. H., Burke, T., & Birkhead, T. R. (2001). Ejaculate allocation by male sand martins, Riparia riparia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 268, 1265–1270.
Nishimura, K., Utsumi, K., Okano, T., & Iritani, A. (1991). Separation of mounting-inducing pheromones of vaginal mucus from estrual heifers. Journal of Animal Science, 69, 3343–3347.
O’Donohue, W., & Plaud, J. J. (1991). The long-term habituation of sexual arousal in the human male. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 22, 87–96.
Oaten, M., Stevenson, R. J., & Case, T. I. (2009). Disgust as a disease-avoidance mechanism. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 303–321.
Ono, T., Siva-Jothy, M. T., & Kato, A. (1989). Removal and subsequent ingestion of rivals’ semen during copulation in a tree cricket. Physiological Entomology, 14, 195–202.
Palagi, E., Telara, S., & Tarli, S. B. (2003). Sniffing behavior in Lemur catta: Seasonality, sex, and rank. International Journal of Primatology, 24, 335–350.
Parker, G. G. (1970). Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequences in the insects. Biological Review, 45, 525–567.
Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (in press). Human sperm competition: A comparative evolutionary analysis. Animal Behavior and Cognition.
Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (2013a). The relationship between objective sperm competition risk and men’s copulatory interest is moderated by partner’s time spent with other men. Human Nature, 24, 476–485.
Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (2013b). Oral sex as mate retention behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 185–188.
Pham, M. N., & Shackelford, T. K. (2013c). Oral sex as infidelity-detection. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 792–795.
Pham, M. N., Shackelford, T. K., Holden, C. J., Zeigler-Hill, V., Hummel, A., & Memering, S. L. (in press). Partner attractiveness moderates the relationship between number of sexual rivals and in-pair copulation frequency in humans (Homo sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology.
Pham, M. N., Shackelford, T. K., Sela, Y., & Welling, L. L. M. (2013a). Is cunnilingus-assisted orgasm a male sperm-retention strategy? Evolutionary Psychology, 11, 405–414.
Pham, M. N., Shackelford, T. K., Welling, L. L. M., Ehrke, A. D., Sela, Y., & Goetz, A. T. (2013b). Oral sex, semen displacement, and sexual arousal: Testing the ejaculate adjustment hypothesis. Evolutionary Psychology, 11, 1130–1139.
Pillsworth, E. G., & Haselton, M. G. (2006). Male sexual attractiveness predicts differential ovulatory shifts in female extra-pair attraction and male mate retention. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 247–258.
Pizzari, T., Cornwallis, C. K., Løvlie, H., Jakobsson, S., & Birkhead, T. R. (2003). Sophisticated sperm allocation in male fowl. Nature, 426, 70–74.
Porter, L. E., & Alison, L. J. (2001). A partially ordered scale of influence in violent group behavior: An example from gang rape. Small Group Research, 32, 475–497.
Pound, N. (2002). Male interest in visual cues of sperm competition risk. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 443–446.
Richters, J., de Visser, R., Rissel, C., & Smith, A. (2006). Sexual practices at last heterosexual encounter and occurrence of orgasm in a national survey. Journal of Sex Research, 43, 217–226.
Rook, G. A. (2007). The hygiene hypothesis and the increasing prevalence of chronic inflammatory disorders. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 101, 1072–1074.
Russell, D. E. H. (1982). Rape in marriage. New York: Macmillan.
Sadler, A. G., Booth, B. M., & Doebbeling, B. N. (2005). Gang and multiple rapes during military service: Health consequences and health care. Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association, 60, 33–41.
Sanday, P. (2007). Fraternity gang rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus. New York: NYU Press.
Sanday, P. R. (1981). The socio-cultural context of rape: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 5–27.
Sanders, S. A., & Reinisch, J. M. (1999). Would you say you had sex if…? The Journal of the American Medical Association, 281, 275–277.
Sankar, R., & Archunan, G. (2004). Flehmen response in bull: Role of vaginal mucus and other body fluids of bovine with special reference to estrus. Behavioural Processes, 67, 81–86.
Santtila, P., Wager, I., Katarina, W., Harlaar, N., Jern, P., Johansson, A., & Sandnabba, N. K. (2007). Discrepancies between sexual desire and sexual activity: Gender differences and associations with relationship satisfaction. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 34, 29–42.
Shackelford, T. K., & Goetz, A. T. (Eds.). (2012). The Oxford handbook of sexual conflict in humans. New York: Oxford University Press.
Shackelford, T. K., LeBlanc, G. J., Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., Bleske-Rechek, A. L., Euler, H. A., & Hoier, S. (2002). Psychological adaptation to human sperm competition. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 123–138.
Shackelford, T. K., Buss, D. M., & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (2003). Wife-killings committed in the context of a “lovers triangle”. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 25, 127–133.
Shackelford, T. K., Goetz, A. T., LaMunyon, C. W., Quintus, B. J., & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (2004). Sex differences in sexual psychology produce sex similar preferences for a short-term mate. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33, 405–412.
Shackelford, T. K., Goetz, A. T., Guta, F. E., & Schmitt, D. P. (2006). Mate guarding and frequent in-pair copulation in humans. Human Nature, 17, 239–252.
Shackelford, T. K., Goetz, A. T., McKibbin, W. F., & Starratt, V. G. (2007). Absence makes the adaptations grow fonder: Proportion of time apart from partner, male sexual psychology, and sperm competition in humans (Homo sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 121, 214–220.
Short, R. V. (1981). Sexual selection in man and the great apes. In C. E. Graham (Ed.), Reproductive biology of the great apes (pp. 319–341). New York: Academic.
Simmons, L. W., & Fitzpatrick, J. L. (2012). Sperm wars and the evolution of male fertility. Reproduction (Cambridge, England), 144, 519–534.
Smith, R. L. (1984). Human sperm competition. In R. L. Smith (Ed.), Sperm competition and the evolution of animal mating systems (pp. 601–659). New York: Academic.
Soini, P. (1987). Sociosexual behavior of a free-ranging Cebuella pygmaea (Callitrichidae, platyrrhini) troop during postpartum estrus of its reproductive female. American Journal of Primatology, 13, 223–230.
Starratt, V. G., Goetz, A. T., Shackelford, T. K., & Stewart-Williams, S. (2008). Men’s partner-directed insults and sexual coercion in intimate relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 315–323.
Starratt, V. G., McKibbin, W. F., & Shackelford, T. K. (2013). Experimental manipulation of psychological mechanisms responsive to female infidelity. Personality and Individual Differences., 55, 59–62.
Tan, M., Jones, G., Zhu, G., Ye, J., Hong, T., Zhou, S., et al. (2009). Fellatio by fruit bats prolongs copulation time. PloS One, 4, e7595.
Thornhill, R. (2006). Foreward: Human sperm competition and women’s dual sexuality. In T. K. Shackelford & N. Pound (Eds.), Sperm competition in humans: Classic and contemporary readings (v–xix). New York: Springer.
Tortosa, F. S., & Redondo, T. (1992). Frequent copulations despite low sperm competition in white storks (Ciconia ciconia). Behaviour, 121, 287–315.
Ullman, S. E. (1999). A comparison of gang and individual rape incidents. Violence and Victims, 14, 123–133.
Voracek, M., Haubner, T., & Fisher, M. L. (2008). Recent decline in nonpaternity rates: A cross-temporal meta-analysis 1, 2. Psychological reports, 103, 799–811.
Wildt, L., Kissler, S., Licht, P., & Becker, W. (1998). Sperm transport in the human female genital tract and its modulation by oxytocin as assessed by hysterosalpingoscintigraphy, hysterotonography, electrohysterography and Doppler sonography. Human Reproduction Update, 4, 655–666.
Wilson, N., Tubman, S. C., Eady, P. E., & Robertson, G. W. (1997). Female genotype affects male success in sperm competition. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 264, 1491–1495.
Wedell, N., Gage, M. J., & Parker, G. A. (2002). Sperm competition, male prudence and sperm-limited females. Trends in. Ecology and Evolution, 17, 313–320.
Wolf, M., Musch, J., Enczmann, J., & Fischer, J. (2012). Estimating the prevalence of nonpaternity in Germany. Human Nature, 23, 208–217.
Wood, K. (2005). Contextualising group rape in post-apartheid South Africa. Culture. Health and Sexuality, 7, 303–317.
Zavos, P. M. (1985). Seminal parameters of ejaculates collected from oligospermic and normospermic patients via masturbation and at intercourse with the use of a Silastic seminal fluid collection device. Fertility and Sterility, 44, 517–520.
Zavos, P. M., & Goodpasture, J. C. (1989). Clinical improvements of specific seminal deficiencies via intercourse with a seminal collection device versus masturbation. Fertility and Sterility, 51, 190–193.
Zervomanolakis, I., Ott, H. W., Hadziomerovic, D., Mattle, V., Seeber, B. E., Virgolini, I., Heute, D., et al. (2007). Physiology of upward transport in the human female genital tract. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1101, 1–20.
Zervomanolakis, I., Ott, H. W., Müller, J., Seeber, B. E., Friess, S. C., Mattle, V., & Wildt, L. (2009). Uterine mechanisms of ipsilateral directed spermatozoa transport: Evidence for a contribution of the utero-ovarian countercurrent system. European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 144, S45–S49.
Ziegler, T. E., Epple, G., Snowdon, C. T., Porter, T. A., Belcher, A. M., & Küderling, I. (1993). Detection of the chemical signals of ovulation in the cotton-top tamarin. Saguinus oedipus. Animal Behaviour, 45, 313–322.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Jennifer Vonk for her helpful comments and suggestions. This chapter is based on Pham and Shackelford (in press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pham, M., Shackelford, T. (2015). Sperm Competition and the Evolution of Human Sexuality. In: Shackelford, T., Hansen, R. (eds) The Evolution of Sexuality. Evolutionary Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09384-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09384-0_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-09383-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-09384-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)