Synonyms
Definition
Chromosomal composition of an individual’s progeny
Introduction
Offspring sex refers to the chromosomal composition of an individual’s progeny. In humans and most other mammals, this is determined by the joint contribution of either an X- or a Y chromosome-bearing sperm from a father and the X chromosome-bearing ovum from a mother. Males possess both an X and a Y chromosome, whereas females possess two X chromosomes. Offspring sex can be influenced both pre- and postconception, and this is affected by many biological and environmental factors. Evolutionary theory predicts that parents may be able to adjust the sexes of their offspring. Although the exact mechanism for this remains unknown, several physiological, psychological, and environmental factors have been implicated.
Facultative Adjustment of Offspring Sex
Sex ratio, or the ratio of the number of males to the number of females within a population, can be considered...
References
Cameron, E. Z. (2004). Facultative adjustment of mammalian sex ratios in support of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis: evidence for a mechanism. The Royal Society, 271, 1723–1828.
Edwards, A. M., Cameron, E. Z., & Wapstra, E. (2016). Are there physiological constraints on maternal ability to adjust sex ratios in mammals? Journal of Zoology, 299, 1–9.
Gibson, M. A., & Mace, R. (2003). Strong mothers bear more sons in rural Ethiopia. The Royal Society, 270, S108–S109.
Grant, V. J. (1990). Maternal personality and sex of infant. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 63, 261–266.
Grant, V. J. (1994). Maternal dominance and the conception of sons. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 67, 343–351.
Grant, V. J., Konečna, M., Sonnweber, R., Irwin, R. J., & Wallner, B. (2011). Macaque mothers’ preconception testosterone levels relate to dominance and to sex of offspring. Animal Behaviour, 82, 893–899.
James, W. H. (2009). The variations of human sex ratio at birth during and after wars, and their potential explanations. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 257, 116–123.
Kanazawa, S. (2005). Big and tall parents have more sons: Further generalizations of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 235, 583–590.
Sheldon, B. C., & West, S. A. (2004). Maternal dominance, maternal condition, and offspring sex ratio in ungulate mammals. American Naturalist, 163(1), 40–54.
Trivers, R. L., & Willard, D. (1973). Natural selection of parental ability to vary the sex ratio of offspring. Science, 179, 90–92.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Palmer-Hague, J. (2016). Offspring Sex. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1913-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1913-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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