March 28, 2011 11:15 a.m.

New book by John C. Avise addresses hermaphroditism »

John C. Avise, UCI Distinguished Professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, has published a new book called Hermaphroditism: A Primer on the Biology, Ecology and Evolution of Dual Sexuality. The seminal textbook details oft-ignored or misunderstood plants, fish and invertebrate animals that reproduce as male and female simultaneously or switch between one gender and the other. Filled with surprising creatures such as the mangrove killifish - which has both ova and testes and can fertilize itself - it's a clear yet comprehensive examination of hermaphroditism and its unique challenge to the supremacy of separate sexes. Avise, the author of 20 books, says this work is the second in a trilogy he's writing on reproduction. The first, on clonality and sexual abstinence, was published in 2008.

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