puberty has been delayed. Mate choice Mate choice in human reproductive ecology is the process by which individuals rationally partner with others. Mate choice practices, like many of the topics in human reproductive ecology, vary greatly between individuals and between cultures. Culture heavily influences mate choice, but there are evolutionary concepts that underpin research into mate choice. Honest signals are characteristics of an individual that are assumed to be true indicators of health and fecundity. Honest signals guide sexual selection, the process by which certain traits are picked by the potential mate and then proliferate throughout a species. Human cultures vary on what is considered to be a desirable honest signal. Emphasis on wealth, aesthetics, religious affiliation, and lineage, to name a few examples, are all used in different cultures as ways to choose a mate. Monogamy is the mating strategy of two individuals partnering exclusively with each other for a period or time or for life. Monogamy in humans is generally accompanied by selective mate-choice and mating, cohabitation, and bi-parental care for children. Humans may practice lifelong monogamy, as well as serial monogamy. Serial monogamy is the mating strategy of having sequential, non-overlapping partners. Polygamy is the practice of having multiple partners at the same time. The composition of the relationship will determine which type of polygamy is being practiced. Polygyny is the practice of a male partnering with multiple females. It is a fairly common mating strategy in humans, as well as in many other animals. Polygyny often occurs in agricultural societies and is often paired with male wealth or land access. When males are able to disproportionately control resources, they may be able to support more than one female partner. Polyandry is the practice of a female partnering with multiple males. It is not as common in humans as polygyny, due in part to the constraints of female reproduction. While a female may only reproduce once at a time, a male may be able to contribute to multiple concurrent pregnancies. Polyandry is often seen in cases when there are more males in a society than females, or when males are considered to be unavailable. Parenting Parental investment and parental-offspring conflict In reproductive ecology, concepts related to parenting, social organization, and development are discussed. The concept of parental investment defined by Trivers and Willard in the 1970s is used widely in reproductive ecology to analyze and understand provisioning