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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–4Cite as

Male Prudence and Sperm Limits

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Synonyms

Adjustment of copulatory/ejaculatory investment; Strategic ejaculate investment.

Definition

Males do not maximally inseminate females each mating, but rather strategically inseminate sperm according to intrinsic factors such a body condition and extrinsic factors such as sperm competition risk and female quality.

Introduction

The root of the evolutionary differences between the sexes is gametic anisogamy, whereby males produce lots of tiny and relatively cheap gametes, while females produce fewer immotile and relatively more expensive gametes. Despite the relative difference in gametic investment between the sexes, males are clearly not always eager to mate, just as females are not always reluctant to mate to protect their high investment. And even when males do mate, they do not always inseminate females with the largest possible ejaculate or best quality sperm that they can make. Instead, ejaculates are often modified according to intrinsic and extrinsic factors (Wedell et...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA

    Patricia L. R. Brennan

Authors
  1. Patricia L. R. Brennan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia L. R. Brennan .

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. School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK

    Gayle Brewer

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Brennan, P.L.R. (2016). Male Prudence and Sperm Limits. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_67-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_67-1

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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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