Parental Care in Mammals

by David J. Gubernick (Editor)

Overview

The editors of this volume have honored me by their invitation to write its Fore­ word, an invitation extended because of my editing a book on the maternal behav­ ior of mammals in 1963. Much as I would like to think that I had opened a new area of study-and so played some part in the appearance of this fine new collec­ tion of chapters-the facts are quite otherwise. That in 1963 I could assemble the efforts of many distinguished investigators shows that the topic had already engaged their attention, and had for some years past. But even then, the topic had origins extending much farther into the past, to mention only Wiesner and Sheard's book Maternal Behavior in the Rat of 1933. Nevertheless, in 1963 it seemed to me that the study of maternal care in mammals had lagged behind the study of other kinds of social behavior. The present volume does much to establish parental care of the young as a topic central to an understanding of the relation between ontogeny and phylogeny, to the development of the young, to the social organization of the species, and to its preservation. It may now be seen not only as interesting but as a most signifi­ cant pattern of behavior among mammals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461331520
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	10/14/2011
Edition description:	1981
Pages:	460
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

1 Origins of Parental Care.- 1. Parental Care Is Widespread.- 2. Factors Influencing Parental Care Strategy.- 3. Patterns of Parenting.- 4. Adaptiveness and Patterns of Parental Care.- References.- 2 Factors Governing the Onset and Maintenance of Maternal Behavior among Nonprimate Mammals: The Role of Hormonal and Nonhormonal Factors.- 1. Onset of Maternal Behavior.- 2. The Regulation of Postpartum Maternal Behavior.- 3. Maternal Behavior in Nonpregnant Females.- 4. Transition in the Regulation of Maternal Behavior between the Onset and Maintenance Phases.- 5. Maternal Aggression: Pre- and Postpartum Regulation.- 6. Concluding Remarks.- References.- 3 Parental Contributions to the Development of Their Offspring.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Strategies for Demonstrating Long-Term Parental Effects on Development of Young.- 3. The Prenatal Relationship.- 4. The Postnatal Relationship.- 5. Implications for Aberrant Development.- 6. Conclusion.- References.- 4 Offspring Effects upon Parents.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Phylogenesis: Inclusive Fitness and Parental Investment.- 3. Function: Social Consequences and Ecological Correlates of Parenting.- 4. Changes during the Life Cycle.- 5. Mechanisms: Effects of Offspring on Parental Responsiveness.- 6. Stimulus Effects of Offspring.- 7. Filial Behavior.- References.- 5 Maternal Aggression in Mammals.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Some Naturalistic Observations of Maternal Aggression.- 3. Laboratory Studies of Maternal Aggression.- 4. A Psychobiological Model of Maternal Aggression in the Mouse.- 5. Relationship to Defense of Young and Population Dynamics.- 6. General Conclusions.- References.- 6 The Ecology of Weaning: Parasitism and the Achievement of Independence by Altricial Mammals.- 1. An Overview of Weaning.- 2. The Rat Pup as Parasite.- 3. Conclusion.- References.- 7 Parent and Infant Attachment in Mammals.- 1. Introduction.- 2. What is Attachment?.- 3. Attachment and Separation.- 4. Why Form an Attachment?.- 5. Where Is Attachment Found?.- 6. Mechanisms of Parent and Infant Attachment: Selected Examples.- 7. Concluding Remarks.- References.- 8 Mammalian Sibling Interactions: Genes, Facilitative Environments, and the Coefficient of Familiarity.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Conditions Favoring Sibling Interaction.- 3. Sibling Recognition and the Coefficient of Familiarity: Does $$\overline {{X_r}} = 1/2\bar X$$ Anything?.- 4. What Do Siblings Do?.- 5. Alloparental Care.- 6. Parents and Siblings.- 7. Conclusions.- References.- 9 The Evolution of Male Parental Investment in Mammals.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Results.- 3. Discussion.- 4. Conclusions.- References.- 10 Primate Infant Caregiving Behavior: Origins, Consequences, and Variability with Emphasis on the Common Indian Langur Monkey.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Context of Primate Parenting Behavior: What Makes the Primates Different?.- 3. Indian Langurs: A Case Study in Maternal Care.- 4. Why Allomothering.- 5. Separating Functions, Benefits, and Origins in Evolutionary Explanations.- 6. Langur Allomothering Behavior: Is It Unique?.- 7. Parental Investment: How Much Is Too Much?.- 8. Opportunism and Adaptation: Some Theoretical Considerations.- References.- 11 The Social Context of Parental Behavior: A Perspective on Primate Socialization.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Ontogeny of Specific Attachments: Establishment and Maintenance of Maternal Behavior in the Context of the Mother-Infant Bond.- 3. The Role of the Mother’s Past and Present Social History.- 4. The Role of Other Socializing Agents.- 5. Recapitulation: Infant Socialization and an Analysis of the“Adequate Social Rearing Environment”.- References.