Publication Type
Book Chapter
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
6-2018
Abstract
The production of gametes is a biological process occurring in organisms that sexually reproduce. Females make gametes called eggs, and males make gametes called sperm. Both egg and sperm cells begin as identical germ cells and are produced through a process of cell division called meiosis, which reduces the number of chromosomes in the germ cell from 46 (diploid) to 23 (haploid). In human males, meiosis begins after birth, and, upon reaching puberty, men produce sperm continuously for the rest of their lives. In human females, meiosis begins before birth and the raw materials for egg cell production are formed while the female fetus is still within the uterus of her mother.
Keywords
Eggs, Gamete dimorphism, Gametes, Intersexual selection, Intrasexual competition, Sexual reproduction, Sperm
Discipline
Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Encyclopedia of evolutionary psychological science
Editor
T. K. Shackelford, & V. A. Weekes-Shackelford
ISBN
9783319196503
Identifier
10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1991-1
Publisher
Springer
City or Country
Cham
Citation
1
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1991-1