Naturalists and scientists have been captivated by the diversity of marine larval forms since
they were discovered following the advent of the microscope. Because they often bear little …

Matrotrophy, the continuous extra‐vitelline supply of nutrients from the parent to the progeny
during gestation, is one of the masterpieces of nature, contributing to offspring fitness and …

For most organisms, early life‐history stages are the most sensitive to environmental stress
and so transgenerational phenotypic plasticity, whereby the parental environment and …

Maternal reproductive investment is thought to reflect a trade‐off between offspring size and
fecundity, and models generally predict that mothers inhabiting adverse environments will …

Oceans contain the largest living volume of the “blue” planet, inhabited by approximately
235–250,000 described species, all groups included. They only represent some 13% of the …

Transgenerational plasticity, which occurs when the environment experienced by parents
changes the phenotype of offspring, is widespread in animal and plant species. Both …

While there is long‐standing interest in the role of inter‐and transgenerational plasticity via
the maternal line, it rarely has been studied via the paternal line. Thus, consequences of the …

All organisms face two fundamental trade-offs in the allocation of energetic resources: one
between many small versus a few large offspring, and the second between present and …

In sexually reproducing organisms, the genetic interests of individuals are not perfectly
aligned. Conflicts among family members are prevalent since interactions involve the …

However, the standard mammalian perspective on pregnancy is much too parochial for this
book. Instead, I explore the fascinating diversity of pregnancy-like phenomena in the many …