What stabilizes the sex ratio?
It is suggested that the human sex ratio at birth is stabilized only to a minor extent by the direct processes of natural selection. Instead the major factors stabilizing sex ratio seem to be behavioural (coital rates) and psychological (parental perceptions of adult sex ratios). It is suggested that parental hormone levels are (a) a consequence of perceived adult sex ratios, and (b) a cause of sex ratio in the next generation, thus providing the basis for a negative feedback process stabilizing the sex ratio.
James
W H
WH
Galton Laboratory, University College London.
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis; D012744:Sex Ratio; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D014481:United States