Eye-tracking women’s preferences for men’s somatotypes

Judging physical attractiveness involves sight, touch, sound and smells. Where visual judgments are concerned, attentional processes may have evolved to prioritize sex-typical traits that reflect cues signaling direct or indirect (i.e. genetic) benefits. Behavioral techniques that measure response times or eye movements provide a powerful test of this assumption by directly assessing how attractiveness influences the deployment of attention. We used eye-tracking to characterize women’s visual attention to men’s back-posed bodies, which varied in overall fat and muscle distribution, while they judged the potential of each model for a short- or long-term relationship. We hypothesized that when judging male bodily attractiveness women would focus more on the upper body musculature of all somatotypes, as it is a signal of metabolic health, immunocompetence and underlying endocrine function. Results showed that mesomorphs (muscular men) received the highest attractiveness ratings, followed by ectomorphs (lean men) and endomorphs (heavily-set men). For eye movements, attention was evenly distributed to the upper and lower back of both ectomorphs and mesomorphs. In contrast, for endomorphs the lower back, including the waist, captured more attention over the viewing period. These patterns in visual attention were evident in the first second of viewing, suggesting that body composition is identified early in viewing and guides attention to body regions that provide salient biological information during judgments of men’s bodily attractiveness.     

Farmers’ preferences for result-based schemes for grassland conservation in Slovenia

Government-funded payments for ecosystem services (PES) have increasingly been used to facilitate transactions between users of environmental services and their providers. In order to improve the link between payments and the service provided, some countries in the EU have promoted result-based schemes (RBS), which remunerate farmers for ecological results, as part of their agricultural policy. Since PES programs are voluntary, it is important to understand farmers’ responses before more large-scale implementations of RBS are initiated. Using a choice experiment and a mixed logit model, we elicited the preferences of farmers in two Natura 2000 sites in Slovenia for different design elements of a hypothetical scheme for dry grassland conservation. We found that the majority of farmers preferred the result-based approach over the management-based scheme both in terms of payment conditions and monitoring; one group of farmers preferred the RBS very strongly (average WTA of more than 500 EUR/ha/yr) and another group less strongly (average WTA about 200 EUR/ha/yr). Farmers also showed a higher preference for on-farm advise and training in small groups than for lectures, which would be offered to a larger audience. A collective bonus, which would incentivise coordination and could potentially increase participation rates in the scheme, significantly influenced the farmers’ willingness to adopt the scheme. However, the estimated average WTA was comparable or lower than the 40 EUR/ha annual bonus payment. Older farmers and those who managed small and semi-subsistent farms were significantly more likely to be highly resistant to scheme adoption no matter its design.     

To harness traits for ecology,let’s abandon ‘functionality’

Traits are measurable features of organisms. Functional traits aspire to more. They quantify an organism’s ecology and, ultimately, predict ecosystem functions based on local communities. Such predictions are useful, but only if ‘functional’ really means ‘ecologically relevant’. Unfortunately, many ‘functional’ traits seem to be characterized primarily by availability and implied importance – not by their ecological information content. Better traits are needed, but a prevailing trend is to ‘functionalize’ existing traits. The key may be to invert the process, that is, to identify functions of interest first and then identify traits as quantifiable proxies. We propose two distinct, yet complementary, perspectives on traits and provide a ‘taxonomy of traits’, a conceptual compass to navigate the diverse applications of traits in ecology.     

Is seasonal variation in leaf traits adaptive for the annual plant Dicerandra linearifolia?

Empirical studies of phenotypic plasticity have often relied on the plausibility that a plastic response to the environment would increase fitness in order to diagnose the response as adaptive. I conducted a test of the hypothesis that seasonal variation in leaf traits is an adaptive response to seasonal variation in environmental conditions faced by the annual plant Dicerandralinearifolia. This species exhibits variation in leaf morphology and anatomy in response to temperature that is consistent with the expectations for adaptive plasticity. I examined variation in the size, thickness and density of stomata of leaves that develop in summer and winter and used analysis of phenotypic selection during winter and summer seasons to test the hypothesis that seasonal variation in these traits is adaptive. Regression analyses of estimated dry mass (as a proxy for fitness) on leaf traits revealed no evidence supporting the adaptive hypothesis. Selection favoured individuals with large and thick leaves in both winter and summer, and density of stomata had little or no effect on estimated relative fitness in any season. Correspondence between seasonal variation in leaf thickness and density of stomata and expectations for adaptive plasticity appears to be purely fortuitous. Seasonal variation in leaf traits may persist simply because there is no selection against individuals in which these traits vary. My results underscore the importance of definitive tests of the hypothesis of adaptation to distinguish adaptive plasticity from neutral or nonadaptive phenotypic plasticity.     

Interfamily variation in amphibian early life-history traits: raw material for natural selection?

The embryonic development and time to hatching of eggs can be highly adaptive in some species, and thus under selective pressure. In this study, we examined the underlying interfamily variation in hatching timing and embryonic development in a population of an oviparous amphibian, the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa). We found significant, high variability in degree of embryonic development and hatching timing among eggs from different females. Patterns of variation were present regardless of temperature. We also could not explain the differences among families by morphological traits of the females or their eggs. This study suggests that the variation necessary for natural selection to act upon is present in the early life history of this amphibian.     

Process-oriented training in breastfeeding for health professionals decreases women’s experiences of breastfeeding challenges

Background

The World Health Organization recommends promoting exclusive breastfeeding for six months. Women often end breastfeeding earlier than planned, however women who continue to breastfeed despite problems often experience good support and counselling from health professionals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a process-oriented training in breastfeeding support counselling for midwives and child health nurses, on women’s satisfaction with breastfeeding counselling, problems with insufficient breast milk and nipple pain in relation to exclusive breastfeeding shorter or longer than 3 months.

Methods

An intervention through process-oriented training for health professionals regarding support in childbearing and breastfeeding took part in the south west of Sweden. This study was conducted in Sweden, in 2000 - 2003. Ten municipalities were paired, and within each pair, one was randomly assigned to the group of five intervention (IG) municipalities and one to the group of five control municipalities. Primiparas (n?=?540) were invited to participate in a longitudinal study to evaluate the care they received. A survey was distributed at 3 days, 3 months and 9 months postpartum. Data collection for control group A (n?=?162) started before the intervention was initiated. Data for control group B (n?=?172) were collected simultaneously with the intervention group (IG) (n?=?206). Women were also divided into two groups depending on whether they exclusive breastfed?<?3 months or?≥?3 months.

Results

Women in IG were more satisfied with the breastfeeding counselling (p?=?0.008) and felt the breastfeeding counselling was more coherent (p?=?0.002) compared to control groups, when exclusive breastfeeding was?<?3 months. In addition fewer women in the IG, among the group exclusively breastfeeding?<?3 months, had problems with insufficient breast milk compared to the control groups (p?=?0.01).

Conclusion

A process-oriented training for health professionals in support influenced women’s ability to solve breastfeeding problems such as the experience of insufficient breast milk production. Women with exclusive breastfeeding lasting?≥?3 months more often had breastfeeding duration in line with their planned breastfeeding duration, compared to women who had breastfeeding duration?<?3 months.

Trial registration

ACTRN12611000354987

     

Temporal variation selects for diet–microbe co-metabolic traits in the gut of Gorilla spp

Although the critical role that our gastrointestinal microbes play in host physiology is now well established, we know little about the factors that influenced the evolution of primate gut microbiomes. To further understand current gut microbiome configurations and diet–microbe co-metabolic fingerprints in primates, from an evolutionary perspective, we characterized fecal bacterial communities and metabolomic profiles in 228 fecal samples of lowland and mountain gorillas (G. g. gorilla and G. b. beringei, respectively), our closest evolutionary relatives after chimpanzees. Our results demonstrate that the gut microbiomes and metabolomes of these two species exhibit significantly different patterns. This is supported by increased abundance of metabolites and bacterial taxa associated with fiber metabolism in mountain gorillas, and enrichment of markers associated with simple sugar, lipid and sterol turnover in the lowland species. However, longitudinal sampling shows that both species'' microbiomes and metabolomes converge when hosts face similar dietary constraints, associated with low fruit availability in their habitats. By showing differences and convergence of diet–microbe co-metabolic fingerprints in two geographically isolated primate species, under specific dietary stimuli, we suggest that dietary constraints triggered during their adaptive radiation were potential factors behind the species-specific microbiome patterns observed in primates today.     

Gene-environment interactions and obesity traits among postmenopausal African-American and Hispanic women in the Women’s Health Initiative SHARe Study

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of obesity measures have identified associations with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). However, no large-scale evaluation of gene-environment interactions has been performed. We conducted a search of gene-environment (G × E) interactions in post-menopausal African-American and Hispanic women from the Women’s Health Initiative SNP Health Association Resource GWAS study. Single SNP linear regression on body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WHR) adjusted for multidimensional-scaling-derived axes of ancestry and age was run in race-stratified data with 871,512 SNPs available from African-Americans (N = 8,203) and 786,776 SNPs from Hispanics (N = 3,484). Tests of G × E interaction at all SNPs for recreational physical activity (m h/week), dietary energy intake (kcal/day), alcohol intake (categorical), cigarette smoking years, and cigarette smoking (ever vs. never) were run in African-Americans and Hispanics adjusted for ancestry and age at interview, followed by meta-analysis of G × E interaction terms. The strongest evidence for concordant G × E interactions in African-Americans and Hispanics was for smoking and marker rs10133840 (Q statistic P = 0.70, beta = ?0.01, P = 3.81 × 10^?7) with BMI as the outcome. The strongest evidence for G × E interaction within a cohort was in African-Americans with WHR as outcome for dietary energy intake and rs9557704 (SNP × kcal = ?0.04, P = 2.17 × 10^?7). No results exceeded the Bonferroni-corrected statistical significance threshold.     

Which evolutionary processes influence natural genetic variation for phenotypic traits?

Although many studies provide examples of evolutionary processes such as adaptive evolution, balancing selection, deleterious variation and genetic drift, the relative importance of these selective and stochastic processes for phenotypic variation within and among populations is unclear. Theoretical and empirical studies from humans as well as natural animal and plant populations have made progress in examining the role of these evolutionary forces within species. Tentative generalizations about evolutionary processes across species are beginning to emerge, as well as contrasting patterns that characterize different groups of organisms. Furthermore, recent technical advances now allow the combination of ecological measurements of selection in natural environments with population genetic analysis of cloned QTLs, promising advances in identifying the evolutionary processes that influence natural genetic variation.     

Medicinal plants used by latino healers for women’s health conditions in New York City

This paper examines the use of medicinal plants by Latino healers in New York City to treat various women’s illnesses. Eight Latino healers collaborated on the study through consultations with female patients who had one of the following conditions as diagnosed by biomedically trained physicians: uterine fibroids, hot flashes, menorrhagia, or endometriosis. The study identified a total of 67 plant species prescribed by the healers in the form of mixtures or as individual plants. Voucher specimens were collected from local botánicas and identified by specialists at The New York Botanical Garden. Studies of immigrant traditional healers and the plants they use in an urban setting can provide interesting ethnobotanical data and information to assist in diagnosing conditions and contributing to treatment of patients from Latino as well as non-Latino communities.     

Substantial molecular variation and low genetic structure in Kenya’s black rhinoceros: implications for conservation

Kenya’s black rhinoceros population declined by more than 98% from 20,000 individuals in the 1970s to around 400 individuals in 1990 due to the effects of poaching, at which time the surviving individuals were isolated in a series of demographically inviable subpopulations. An initial management exercise translocated the survivors into four high security sanctuaries to control poaching and enhance breeding, and this measure successfully arrested the decline. Subsequently, new sanctuaries were established and the metapopulation size reached 650 animals by 2008. However, translocations and the current management strategy that partitions the metapopulation into ‘montane’ and ‘lowland’ rhinoceros may have substantial consequences at the population level and their impact on population genetic diversity has not been investigated. In this study, 12 of the 16 extant subpopulations were analysed using 408 bp of mitochondrial control region sequence (n = 170) and nine microsatellite loci (n = 145). Both markers detected moderate to high genetic diversity (h = 0.78 ± 0.027, n = 170; H_O = 0.70 ± 0.087, n = 145) consistent with previous studies on Diceros bicornis michaeli. However, mtDNA and nDNA diversity varied substantially between subpopulations. The results suggest that the Masai Mara is more differentiated, inbred and isolated than other subpopulations. It also suggests that there are neither distinct montane and lowland groups nor other detectable historical barriers to gene flow. Instead the large majority of genetic diversity was partitioned at the level of individuals; highlighting the need to conserve as many individuals as possible. Future translocations should consider the genetic profile of individuals and the demographic history of both the donor and recipient subpopulations.     

Seasonal and spatial variation of the Montagu’s Harrier’s Circus pygargus diet in Eastern Poland

Capsule: The diet of the Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus is variable and comprises the most available prey at a given time of the season. We found no evidence for a relationship between diet and land-use in the core foraging zone.

Aims: We investigated whether the diet of the Montagu’s Harrier reflects the available prey and how it changes across the breeding season and in relation to land-use.

Methods: We analysed pellets collected at nests between 2007 and 2011. We looked for nonlinear patterns in the occurrence of prey categories in the pellets as a nonlinear function of the Julian date. Moreover, we tested whether the diet is affected by land-use within a radius of 2299 m from the nest.

Results: Four thousand four hundred and sixty-five prey items were found in 880 pellets and 76 prey remains collected at 63 sites. The diet did not depend on the land-use structure but showed a significant temporal variation.

Conclusions: The diet of the Montagu’s Harrier follows the availability of the prey in the foraging habitat. We conclude that the type of land-use in the vicinity of the nesting habitat has a rather weak effect on the diet of the Montagu’s Harrier.     

Mate choice trade-offs and women’s preference for physically attractive men

Researchers studying human sexuality have repeatedly concluded that men place more emphasis on the physical attractiveness of potential mates than women do, particularly in long-term sexual relationships. Evolutionary theorists have suggested that this is the case because male mate value (the total value of the characteristics that an individual possesses in terms of the potential contribution to his or her mate’s reproductive success) is better predicted by social status and economic resources, whereas women’s mate value hinges on signals conveyed by their physical appearance. This pattern may imply that women trade off attractiveness for resources in mate choice. Here I test whether a trade-off between resources and attractiveness seems to be occurring in the mate choice decisions of women in the United States. In addition, the possibility that the risk of mate desertion drives women to choose less attractive men as long-term mates is tested. The results were that women rated physically attractive men as more likely to cheat or desert a long-term relationship, whereas men did not consider attractive women to be more likely to cheat. However, women showed no aversion to the idea of forming long-term relationships with attractive men. Evidence for a trade-off between resources and attractiveness was found for women, who traded off attractiveness, but not other traits, for resources. The potential meaning of these findings, as well as how they relate to broader issues in the study of sex differences in the evolution of human mate choice for physical traits, is discussed.     

Body shape and women’s attractiveness

This paper examines the role of body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on the judgment of women’s physical attractiveness. It presents evidence that WHR is correlated with a woman’s reproductive endocrinological status and long-term health risk. Three studies were conducted to investigate whether humans have perceptual and cognitive mechanisms to utilize the WHR to infer attributes of women’s health, youthfulness, attractiveness, and reproductive capacity. College-age as well as older subjects of both sexes rank female figures with normal weight and low WHR as attractive and assign to them higher reproductive capability. The study concludes that WHR is a reliable and honest signal of a woman’s reproductive potential. The adaptive significance of body fat distribution and its role in mate selection is also discussed.     

Satellite telemetry reveals individual variation in juvenile Bonelli’s eagle dispersal areas

Natal dispersal is the time elapsed between departing from the natal site and settling to attempt breeding for the first time. In long-lived species with deferred sexual maturity this period may last several years, making this process crucial for their survival and conservation. Here we present a large-scale outline of juvenile Bonelli’s eagle’s dispersal areas in the Iberian Peninsula. We describe the ranging and movement patterns of 14 juvenile Bonelli’s eagles during their dispersal period, studied by satellite telemetry. Three distinct phases during the juveniles’ first year of life were detected, namely, the dependence period, the departure from the parental territory, and the settlement in dispersal areas. In general, between-sex differences in relation to ranging behavior were not significant. Interestingly, there seems not to be a few, clearly delimited, overlapping Bonelli’s eagle’s juvenile dispersal areas within the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 17 dispersal areas were detected, with some animals using more than one. These areas were located in eight autonomous communities (Spanish administrative units), being the most important Castilla-La Mancha and Andalucía. Juveniles were more frequently located in cultivated man-managed areas, with non-irrigated herbaceous crops. This is probably due to higher prey availability and higher efficiency in prey capture in these open areas, as well as to the absence of breeding pairs. This has important management implications, suggesting that conservation efforts should focus on the whole landscape matrix of man-managed ecosystems rather than in a few clearly delimited geographic areas.     

Social preferences for partners carrying ‘good genes’ in wild house mice

Female wild strain house mice (Mus musculus) can use olfactory cues to discriminate males carrying lethal t-alleles (+/t) from those that do not carry such alleles (+/+). When tested in an arena, female mice tend to avoid +/t males and preferentially direct approaches to +/+ males. The magnitude of a female's avoidance of +/t males is related to the female's own genotype. Females who are themselves +/t show greater avoidance than +/+ females. Male mice tend to be more aggressive toward females carrying t-alleles and are less likely to attempt copulations with such females than with +/+ females. I suggest that these social preferences may be related to mating preferences, providing an example of mating preference based on genetic quality. Furthermore, avoidance of +/t individuals as mates could account for the lower than expected frequency of t-alleles in natural populations.