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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–3Cite as

Adaptation for Single Births

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Synonyms

Gestation; One offspring; Pregnancy

Definition

The propensity for primates, including humans, to have only one fetus at a time.

Introduction

Mammalian infants are born at either of two stages: altricial or precocial. Altricial infants are those that are born immature and helpless, e.g., rodents. Precocial infants are born able to move about soon after birth, e.g., deer. Animals that are born precocial, like primates, are K-selected, meaning that they give birth to a smaller number of offspring at a time (MacArthur and Wilson 1967; Martin 1983; Pianka 1970). Humans are part of a group of primates known as “higher primates” which typically give birth to single offspring at a time (Martin 2007). Having fewer offspring at a time allows the fetus to have a larger body size at birth and be more developed at birth in order to increase the chance of survival (Martin 2013). The adaptation for having a single fetus at a time may be a result of the ancestral morphology, or shape, of the...

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References

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  • Pianka, E. R. (1970). On r-and K-selection. The American Naturalist, 104(940), 592–597.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Natalie Laudicina

Authors
  1. Natalie Laudicina
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie Laudicina .

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. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada

    Steven Arnocky

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Cite this entry

Laudicina, N. (2019). Adaptation for Single Births. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_721-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_721-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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