"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
• 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
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• Scientific Name Index
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• Subject Index
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