Evolutionary Perspectives on Pregnancy

Evolutionary Perspectives on Pregnancy PDF Author: John C. Avise
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231531451
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description
Covering both the internal and external incubation of offspring, this book provides a biology-rich survey of the natural history, ecology, genetics, and evolution of pregnancy-like phenomena. From mammals and other live-bearing organisms to viviparous reptiles, male-pregnant fishes, larval-brooding worms, crabs, sea cucumbers, and corals, the world's various species display pregnancy and other forms of parental devotion in surprisingly multifaceted ways. An adult female (or male) can incubate its offspring in a womb, stomach, mouth, vocal sac, gill chamber, epithelial pouch, backpack, leg pocket, nest, or an encasing of embryos, and by studying these diverse examples from a comparative vantage point, the ecological and evolutionary-genetic outcomes of different reproductive models become fascinatingly clear. John C. Avise discusses each mode of pregnancy and the decipherable genetic signatures it has left on the reproductive structures, physiologies, and innate sexual behaviors of extant species. By considering the many biological aspects of gestation from different evolutionary angles, Avise offers captivating new insights into the significance of "heavy" parental investment in progeny.

Evolutionary Perspectives on Pregnancy

Evolutionary Perspectives on Pregnancy PDF Author: John C. Avise
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231531451
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 522

Get Book Here

Book Description
Covering both the internal and external incubation of offspring, this book provides a biology-rich survey of the natural history, ecology, genetics, and evolution of pregnancy-like phenomena. From mammals and other live-bearing organisms to viviparous reptiles, male-pregnant fishes, larval-brooding worms, crabs, sea cucumbers, and corals, the world's various species display pregnancy and other forms of parental devotion in surprisingly multifaceted ways. An adult female (or male) can incubate its offspring in a womb, stomach, mouth, vocal sac, gill chamber, epithelial pouch, backpack, leg pocket, nest, or an encasing of embryos, and by studying these diverse examples from a comparative vantage point, the ecological and evolutionary-genetic outcomes of different reproductive models become fascinatingly clear. John C. Avise discusses each mode of pregnancy and the decipherable genetic signatures it has left on the reproductive structures, physiologies, and innate sexual behaviors of extant species. By considering the many biological aspects of gestation from different evolutionary angles, Avise offers captivating new insights into the significance of "heavy" parental investment in progeny.

Making Babies

Making Babies PDF Author: David Bainbridge
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674006539
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Drawing on past speculation and present knowledge, a reproductive biologist conducts readers through the 40 weeks of human pregnancy, explaining the complex biology behind human gestation in a clear and entertaining manner. 16 halftones.

Pragmatic Evolution

Pragmatic Evolution PDF Author: Aldo Poiani
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139502255
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
Of what use is evolutionary science to society? Can evolutionary thinking provide us with the tools to better understand and even make positive changes to the world? Addressing key questions about the development of evolutionary thinking, this book explores the interaction between evolutionary theory and its practical applications. Featuring contributions from leading specialists, Pragmatic Evolution highlights the diverse and interdisciplinary applications of evolutionary thinking: their potential and limitations. The fields covered range from palaeontology, genetics, ecology, agriculture, fisheries, medicine, neurobiology, psychology and animal behaviour; to information technology, education, anthropology and philosophy. Detailed examples of useful and current evolutionary applications are provided throughout. An ideal source of information to promote a better understanding of contemporary evolutionary science and its applications, this book also encourages the continued development of new opportunities for constructive evolutionary applications across a range of fields.

Infanticide

Infanticide PDF Author: Glenn Hausfater
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351512617
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 628

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Book Description
Recent field studies of a variety of mammalian species reveal a surprisingly high frequency of infanticide - the killing of unweaned or otherwise maternally dependent offspring. Similarly, studies of birds, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates demonstrate egg and larval mortality in these species, a phenomenon directly analogous to infanticide in mammals. In this collection, Hausfater and Hrdy draw together work on animal and human infanticide and place these studies in a broad evolutionary and comparative perspective.Infanticide presents the theoretical background and taxonomic distribution of infanticide, infanticide in nonhuman primates, infanticide in rodents, and infanticide in humans. It examines closely sex allocation and sex ratio theory, surveys the phylogeny of mammalian interbirth intervals, and reviews data on sources of egg and larval mortality in a variety of invertebrate and lower vertebrate species. Dealing with infanticide in nonhuman primates, two chapters critically examine data on infanticide in langurs and its broader theoretical implications. By reviewing sources of infant mortality in populations of small mammals and new laboratory analyses of the causes and consequences of infanticide, this work explores such issues as the ontogeny of infanticide, proximate cues of infants and females which elicit infanticidal behavior in males, the genetical basis of infanticide, and the hormonal determinants.Hausfater and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, through their selection of materials for this book, evaluate the frequency, causes, and function of infanticide. Historical, ethnographic, and recent data on infanticide are surveyed. "Infanticide" summarizes current research on the evolutionary origins and proximate causation of infanticide in animals and man. As such it will be indispensable reading for anthropologists and behavioral biologists as well as ecologists, psychologists, demographers, and epidemiologists.

Psychosocial Adaptation to Pregnancy

Psychosocial Adaptation to Pregnancy PDF Author: Regina Lederman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441902880
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
presented in the Introduction (Chapter 1). The focus of Chapter 1 is twofold: (1) to present the research foundations for the psychophysiological correlates of prenatal psychosocial adaptation and the seven prenatal personality dimensions with progress in labor and birth outcomes, and particularly (2) to present the theory underlying the seven dimensions of prenatal psychosocial adaptation, which are further analyzed in the following seven chapters. Chapters 2–8 present a content analysis of the interview responses to the seven significant prenatal personality dimensions that are predictive of pregnancy adap- tion, progress in labor, birth outcomes, and postpartum maternal psychosocial adaptation, and they include: (1) Acceptance of Pregnancy, (2) Identification with a Motherhood Role, (3) Relationship with Mother, (4) Relationship with Husband, (5) Preparation for Labor, (6) (Prenatal) Fear of Pain, Helplessness, and Loss of Control in Labor, and (7) (Prenatal) Fear of Loss of Self-Esteem in Labor. There is no other comparable comprehensive, in-depth, prenatal personality research or empirical and content analysis of pregnancy-specific dimensions of maternal psychosocial adaptation to pregnancy.

Fertility and Pregnancy

Fertility and Pregnancy PDF Author: Allen J. Wilcox
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195342860
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Fertility and Pregnancy: An Epidemiologic Perspective, is a lively overview of human reproduction: how it works, and what causes it to go wrong. Weaving together history, biology, obstetrics, pediatrics, demography, infectious diseases, molecular genetics, and evolutionary biology, Allen Wilcox brings a fresh coherence to the epidemiologic study of reproduction and pregnancy. Along the way, he provides entertaining anecdotes, superb graphs, odd tidbits and occasional humor that bring the topic to life.The book is divided into two sections. The first lays the foundations - the basic principles of reproductive physiology, demography, infectious diseases, and genetics as they apply to human reproduction. The second part deals with the endpoints of reproductive epidemiology - a spectrum ranging from infertility and fetal loss to birth defects and the delayed effects of fetal exposures. The book closes with a discussion of unsolved problems, suggesting possible research projects for a new generation of epidemiologists. An extensive glossary makes this a valuable reference as well as an enjoyable read.

Integrating Evolutionary Biology Into Medical Education

Integrating Evolutionary Biology Into Medical Education PDF Author: Jay Schulkin
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198814151
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This book builds a compelling case for integrating evolutionary biology into undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, as well as its intrinsic value to medicine. It achieves this within the broader context of medicine but through the focused lens of maternal and child health.

Evolutionary Perspectives on Infancy

Evolutionary Perspectives on Infancy PDF Author: Sybil L. Hart
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030760006
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
This unique volume is one of the first of its kind to examine infancy through an evolutionary lens, identifying infancy as a discrete stage during which particular types of adaptations arose as a consequence of certain environmental pressures. Infancy is a crucial time period in psychological development, and evolutionary psychologists are increasingly recognizing that natural selection has operated on all stages of development, not just adulthood. The volume addresses this crucial change in perspective by highlighting research across diverse disciplines including developmental psychology, evolutionary developmental psychology, anthropology, sociology, nutrition, and primatology. Chapters are grouped into four sections: Theoretical Underpinnings Brain and Cognitive Development Social/Emotional Development Life and Death Evolutionary Perspectives on Infancy sheds new light on our understanding of the human brain and the environments responsible for shaping the brain during early stages of development. This book will be of interest to evolutionary psychologists and developmental psychologists, biologists, and anthropologists, as well as scholars more broadly interested in infancy.

Childbirth Across Cultures

Childbirth Across Cultures PDF Author: Helaine Selin
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9048125995
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
This book will explore the childbirth process through globally diverse perspectives in order to offer a broader context with which to think about birth. We will address multiple rituals and management models surrounding the labor and birth process from communities across the globe. Labor and birth are biocultural events that are managed in countless ways. We are particularly interested in the notion of power. Who controls the pregnancy and the birth? Is it the hospital, the doctor, or the in-laws, and in which cultures does the mother have the control? These decisions, regarding place of birth, position, who receives the baby and even how the mother may or may not behave during the actual delivery, are all part of the different ways that birth is conducted. One chapter of the book will be devoted to midwives and other birth attendants. There will also be chapters on the Evolution of Birth, on Women’s Birth Narratives, and on Child Spacing and Breastfeeding. This book will bring together global research conducted by professional anthropologists, midwives and doctors who work closely with the individuals from the cultures they are writing about, offering a unique perspective direct from the cultural group.

Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11

Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11 PDF Author: Jane Hurst
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387739459
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
This volume contains the proceedings of the conference of the same name held in July 2006 at the University of Chester in the United Kingdom. It includes all the latest research on chemical communication relevant to vertebrates, particularly focusing on new research since the last meeting in 2003. Topics covered include the chemical ecology, biochemistry, behavior, olfactory receptors, and the neurobiology of both the main olfactory and vomeronasal systems of vertebrates.