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Male Reproductive Variance

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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Differential male reproductive success

Definition

Within species or breeding population variation in male reproductive success.

Introduction

Within a species, individuals vary in reproductive success. In a sexual reproducing species, where each individual has one male and one female parent, increased reproductive success for certain individuals of one sex necessitates decreased reproductive success for others of that sex. Put more directly, the more extreme the winners, the more extreme the losers. While the focus of this entry is male reproductive variance, it will by necessity to also discuss female reproductive variance as a contrast, as reproductive variance is a major factor both of and contributing to sex differences, which coevolve with both mating strategies and parental care.

Coevolution with Parental Investment/Care

Across species, males tend to show greater variance in reproductive success than females. This results from females typically having a lower potential...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Kelly A. Stiver

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  1. Kelly A. Stiver
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Correspondence to Kelly A. Stiver .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Westfield State University, Westfield, MA, USA

    Joseph A. Camilleri

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Stiver, K.A. (2019). Male Reproductive Variance. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1975-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1975-1

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