Guégan Jean-François, Teriokhin A.T., Thomas F. (2000). Human fertility variation, size-related obstetrical performance and the evolution of sexual stature dimorphism. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.Serie B, 267, p. 2529-2535. ISSN 0962-8452.
Titre du document
Human fertility variation, size-related obstetrical performance and the evolution of sexual stature dimorphism
Année de publication
2000
Type de document
Article
Auteurs
Guégan Jean-François, Teriokhin A.T., Thomas F.
Source
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.Serie B, 2000,
267, p. 2529-2535 ISSN 0962-8452
In several animal species, change in sexual size dimorphism is a correlated response to selection on fecundity. In humans, different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the variation of sexual dimorphism in stature, but no consensus has yet emerged. In this paper, we evaluate from a theoretical and an empirical point of view the hypothesis that the extent of sexual dimorphism in human populations results from the interaction between fertility and size-related obstetric complications. We first developed an optimal evolutionary model based on extensive simulations and then we performed a comparative analysis for a total set of 38 countries worldwide. Our optimization modelling shows that size-related mortality factors do indeed have the potential to affect the extent of sexual stature dimorphism. Comparative analysis using generalized linear modelling supports the idea that maternal death caused by deliveries and complications of pregnancy (a variable known to be size related) could be a key determinant explaining variation in sexual stature dimorphism across populations. We discuss our results in relation to other hypotheses on the evolution of sexual stature dimorphism in humans. (Résumé d'auteur)
Plan de classement
Sociologie et anthropologie de la santé [056SOCSAN]
