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Estrous

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Synonyms

Oestrous

Introduction

Reproduction can be an energetically expensive, complex, and risky phase within a female’s life history cycle (Hazlerigg and Simonneaux 2015). To assist during these demanding periods, the adult female reproductive system has evolved numerous mechanisms to enhance reproductive success (Weems et al. 2015). One such mechanism in female mammals, excluding the old world monkeys, great apes, and humans, is estrus. Estrus is defined as “the periodic state of excitement in the female of most mammals that immediately precedes ovulation and during which the female is most receptive to mating; heat” (The American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary 2004) and includes a number of endo- and exogenous factors, as well as behavioral components. The occurrence of estrus can be divided into three categories: polyestrous, seasonal polyestrous, and monoestrous. Polyestrous species have a succession of estrous periods throughout a single sexual season, while seasonal...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Zoological Garden, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa

    Juan Scheun

  2. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Juan Scheun

Authors
  1. Juan Scheun
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Correspondence to Juan Scheun .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

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

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Constance Dubuc

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Scheun, J. (2018). Estrous. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_282-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_282-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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