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Extra-Pair Copulation

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Synonyms

Cuckoldry; Cuckquean; Extra-pair copula; Extra-pair fertilization; Extra-pair mating; Extra-pair paternity; Infidelity; Sneaky matings

Antonyms

In-pair copulation; Mate fidelity

Definition

A paired individual opportunistically mates with an individual other than its social mate within pair bond.

Evolutionary Context

According to Trivers (1972), there will be uneven investment in offspring related to the gender roles. At one end, is the sex that invests less in the offspring (the competitive end), and, at the opposite side, the sex that invests more (the choosier end). If both sexes invest a great deal in offspring, then both should be choosy. This high level of biparental care is unusual among animals, where female consistently holds a larger proportion of care for the young. Biparentalhood is, thus, more common among monogamous species, in which both parents form a pair bond and stay together for at least one breeding season in order to raise the young together, sharing the...

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References

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Correspondence to Gisela Sobral .

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Sobral, G. (2018). Extra-Pair Copulation. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_343-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_343-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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