A01=Scott Forbes
Assisted reproductive technology
Author_Scott Forbes
Biologist
Bird
Birth order
Brood (honey bee)
Brood parasite
Cannibalism
Cannibalism (zoology)
Category=PSV
Category=PSVP
Category=PSX
Cerebral palsy
Child abuse
Chromosome
Competition
Congenital disorder
Cowbird
Down syndrome
Embryo
Embryo quality
Embryo transfer
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eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_science
Eusociality
Female
Fertilisation
Fetus
Foraging
Genotype
Gestation
Gestational diabetes
Grebe
Human
Human behavior
Human chorionic gonadotropin
Human reproduction
In vitro fertilisation
Infant
Infanticide
Infanticide (zoology)
Insect
Kin selection
Larva
Live birth (human)
Mammal
Maternal death
Menopause
Miscarriage
Multiple birth
Neglect
Nutrient
Obligate
Offspring
Oocyte
Optimism
Organism
Ornithology
Ovary
Parental investment
Pathogen
Placenta
Pre-eclampsia
Pregnancy
Prenatal development
Reproductive success
Selfishness
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual reproduction
Sexual selection
Siblicide
Sibling
Sperm
Twin
Uterus
Zygote
Product details
- ISBN 9780691130354
- Weight: 369g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 22 Jan 2007
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Why do baby sharks, hyenas, and pelicans kill their siblings? Why do beetles and mice commit infanticide? Why are twins and birth defects more common in older human mothers? A Natural History of Families concisely examines what behavioral ecologists have discovered about family dynamics and what these insights might tell us about human biology and behavior. Scott Forbes's engaging account describes an uneasy union among family members in which rivalry for resources often has dramatic and even fatal consequences. In nature, parents invest resources and control the allocation of resources among their offspring to perpetuate their genetic lineage. Those families sometimes function as cooperative units, the nepotistic and loving havens we choose to identify with. In the natural world, however, dysfunctional familial behavior is disarmingly commonplace. While explaining why infanticide, fratricide, and other seemingly antisocial behaviors are necessary, Forbes also uncovers several surprising applications to humans.
Here the conflict begins in the moments following conception as embryos struggle to wrest control of pregnancy from the mother, and to wring more nourishment from her than she can spare, thus triggering morning sickness, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Mothers, in return, often spontaneously abort embryos with severe genetic defects, allowing for prenatal quality control of offspring. Using a broad sweep of entertaining examples culled from the world of animals and humans, A Natural History of Families is a lively introduction to the behavioral ecology of the family.
Scott Forbes, Professor of Biology at the University of Winnipeg, is a behavioral ecologist whose chief research interest is the evolutionary ecology of families. He has published articles in a wide variety of journals, including "Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Ecology, Nature, American Naturalist", and "Trends in Ecology & Evolution".
