TY - JOUR
T1 - Human Sperm Competition: Playing a Defensive Strategy
AU - Leivers, S.
AU - Simmons, Leigh
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Sperm competition is the competition between the sperm of two or more males to fertilize the ova of a single female. Over the past few decades, the extent to which sperm competition has acted as a selective pressure throughout human evolution has been hotly contested. This review aims to assess the current evidence for sperm competition in humans, the limitations of that evidence, and directions for future research. We conclude that humans have primarily evolved defensive adaptations in response to the risk of sperm competition. Thus, men exhibit behaviors that anticipate and address their partner's infidelity, the success of which may have relaxed selection on physiological and morphological adaptations to tackle sperm competition offensively. However, the extent to which humans can perform offensive tactics has been sorely understudied and requires considerable further research before firm conclusions can be drawn. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.
AB - Sperm competition is the competition between the sperm of two or more males to fertilize the ova of a single female. Over the past few decades, the extent to which sperm competition has acted as a selective pressure throughout human evolution has been hotly contested. This review aims to assess the current evidence for sperm competition in humans, the limitations of that evidence, and directions for future research. We conclude that humans have primarily evolved defensive adaptations in response to the risk of sperm competition. Thus, men exhibit behaviors that anticipate and address their partner's infidelity, the success of which may have relaxed selection on physiological and morphological adaptations to tackle sperm competition offensively. However, the extent to which humans can perform offensive tactics has been sorely understudied and requires considerable further research before firm conclusions can be drawn. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.
U2 - 10.1016/B978-0-12-800286-5.00001-8
DO - 10.1016/B978-0-12-800286-5.00001-8
M3 - Article
VL - 46
SP - 1
EP - 44
JO - Advances in the Study of Behavior
JF - Advances in the Study of Behavior
SN - 0065-3454
ER -