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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–16Cite as

Sperm Competition Theory

  • 131 Accesses

Synonyms

Male-male competition; Postcopulatory sexual selection; Sperm allocation; Sperm expenditure; Strategic ejaculation

Definition

Sperm competition is an intrasexual process in which the sperm from two or more males compete to fertilize a female’s ova.

Introduction

Darwin’s classic view of sexual selection holds that, controlling for differences in survivorship, variation in the reproductive success of the members of one sex can be attributed to two main processes. First, the members of one sex (usually females) preferentially choose to mate with certain members of the opposite sex (usually males), leading to the evolution of sexual “ornaments,” “seductive” traits, and sexual “advertisements.” Second, members of one sex (usually males) directly compete against each other for access to sexually receptive members of the opposite sex (usually females), leading to the evolution of weaponry. These processes are commonly referred to as female mate choice (or intersexual sexual...

Keywords

  • Sperm Competition
  • Fertilization Success
  • Sperm Production
  • Evolutionary Stable Strategy
  • Sperm Viability

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Clint D. Kelly

  2. Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Michael D. Jennions

  3. Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Wallot strasse 19, Berlin, 14193, Germany

    Michael D. Jennions

Authors
  1. Clint D. Kelly
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  2. Michael D. Jennions
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Correspondence to Clint D. Kelly .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland Univ Dept of Psycholgy, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana Weekes-Shackelford

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

    Todd K. Shackelford

  3. 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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Kelly, C.D., Jennions, M.D. (2016). Sperm Competition Theory. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1941-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1941-1

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