Reproduction in Mammals The Female Perspective / Virginia Hayssen, Teri Orr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hayssen, Virginia Douglass, author.

Orr, Teri, 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mammals--Reproduction.

Mammals.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Manufacture:

Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 2017

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2017]

Summary:

"Humans typically have only one baby at a time following nine months of pregnancy, but other mammals have 20 or more young after only a few weeks in utero. What causes this incredible reproductive diversity? Reproduction in Mammals is a fascinating examination of the diverse reproductive strategies of a broad spectrum of mammals and the ways in which natural selection has influenced that diversity. While accounts of reproduction in individual taxa abound, this unique book's comprehensive coverage gathers stories from many taxa into a single, cohesive perspective that centers on the reproductive lives of females. The authors shed light on intriguing questions such as: Do bigger moms have bigger babies? Do primates have longer pregnancies than other groups? Do aquatic animals have particular patterns? Do carnivores like lions often produce larger litters than prey species? The book opens with the authors' definition of what constitutes a female perspective and an examination of the evolution of reproduction in mammals. It then outlines the individual female: her genetics, anatomy, and physiology. From this nuanced basis, the text progresses to mirror the female reproductive cycle and includes her interactions with males and offspring. The final section contextualizes the reproductive cycle within the rest of the world - both abiotic and biotic environments. To close, the authors include dedicated chapters on human concerns: conservation and women as mammals. Readers will come away from this thought-provoking book with an understanding not only of how reproduction fits into the lives of female mammals but also of how biology has affected the enormously diverse reproductive patterns of the phenotypes we observe today."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. The Female Perspective

The Female Perspective Explained Further

Androcentric Terminology

Using Males to Understand Females

Language

2. Evolution and Diversity

Mammalian Evolution: The Major Events

Laying on Land: The (Really) Early Years (350 MYA to 150 MYA)

Origin of Mammals (150 MYA to Today)

Origin of Lactation

Diversity of Mammals: The Big Three

Diversity of Mammals: A Closer Look at Closer Relationships

Evolution in Retrospect

Part One: The Reproducing Female

3. Inheritance

Sex Chromosomes

Sex Determination

X-Inactivation

Epigenetics: Genetics beyond Genes

Genetics: The Central Core

4. Anatomy

Oocyte/Ovum

Placenta

Ovaries

The Reproductive Tract: From the Ovaries to the Outside

External Genitalia: Cloaca, Urogenital Sinus, Cervix, Vagina, Clitoris, Prostate

Vasculature, Portal Systems, Innervation

Mammary Glands

Anatomy: Unanswered Questions

5. Physiology: Cells, Systems, Populations, and Ecology

Four Pitfalls

A Brief Overview of Reproductive Physiology

Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy

Life-History Physiology: The Top-Down Perspective

Physiology: A Diverse Field

Part Two: Cycles

6. Oogenesis to Conception

Oogenesis and Folliculogenesis

Estrous Cycles and Neo-oogenesis

Diversity of Oogenesis and Folliculogenesis

Ovulation

Mating

Gamete Transport

Conception

In Sum: Female Choice

7. Gestation: Conception to Birth or Hatching

Conception to Hatching: The Monotreme Equivalent of Gestation

Conception to Birth: Gestation and Viviparity

Conception to Implantation

Conceptus Changes: Blastocyst Structure and Function

Implantation

Gestation

Pre- and Post-Implantation Delays and Diapause

Gestation Condensed

8. Birth and the Neonate.

Monotreme Egg Laying and Hatching

Marsupial Birth

Eutherian Birth

Aftermath and Placentophagy

Neonates

Birth in Brief

9. Lactation: Birth to Weaning

Cost of Lactation

Accommodating the Burden, or Paying the Price

Other Burdens of Lactation

How Long Is Lactation and What Determines This Duration?

Milk: Static and Dynamic

Control of Lactation: Mother, Offspring, Siblings

Finally, What Do Pups Do with Milk Once They Have It?

Lactation: The Essence of Mammals

10. Weaning and Beyond

Weaning

Size at Weaning, Weaning Mass

After Weaning: Juvenile, Pre-puberty, Subadult

Reproductive Maturity or Puberty

Menopause, Reproductive Senescence, Post-Reproductive Life

Weaning and Beyond, Revisited

Part Three: Reproduction in Context

11. Abiotic Influences on Mammalian Reproduction

Water: A Global Factor with Diverse Influences on Reproduction

The Arctic: A Regional Constellation of Abiotic Factors

Seasonality: Adaptations to Regular Abiotic Change

The Abiotic World: A Non-evolving Foundation

12. Interactions with Other Species

Eat or Be Eaten: Reproduction in the Context of Predators

Eat or Be Eaten: Reproduction in the Context of Microbes and Parasites

Eat or Be Eaten: Reproduction in the Context of Obtaining Food

Interactions of a Cooperative Nature

The Biotic Environment: Heterospecific Interactions

13. Social Life: Help and Harm from Conspecifics

Formation of Female Bonds

Caring for Offspring That Are Not Your Own-Alloparental Care

Reproductive Suppression and Infanticide

Conspecific Interactions Have Multiple Facets

Part Four: The Human Side

14. Conservation and Female Reproduction

Anthropogenic Influences on Reproduction

Reproduction and Conservation Efforts

The Naked Ape: Where Do We Fit?

15. Women as Mammals.

Inheritance and Evolution, Anatomy and Physiology

Oogenesis to Menopause

Freeing Women from Biology?

Women in Context, Outside Influences

Reproductive Biology with a Cause: Conservation

Glossary

Literature Cited

Common Name Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Scientific Name Index

X

Subject Index

Z.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4214-2316-2

OCLC:

1004271449