Life Expectancy and the Timing of Life History Events in Developing Countries

Life history theory predicts that greater extrinsic mortality will lead to earlier and higher fertility. To test this prediction, I examine the relationship between life expectancy at birth and several proxies for life history traits (ages at first sex and first marriage, total fertility rate, and ideal number of children), measured for both men and women. Data on sexual behaviors come from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Two separate samples are analyzed: a cross-sectional sample of 62 countries and a panel sample that includes multiple cross-sectional panels from 48 countries. Multivariate regression analysis is used to control for potential confounding variables. The results provide only partial support for the predictions, with greater support among women than men. However, the prediction is not supported in sub-Saharan African countries, most likely owing to the nonequilibrium conditions observed in sub-Saharan Africa with respect to life expectancy. The applicability of the model to understanding HIV/AIDS risk behaviors is discussed.     

Horizontal Gene Transfer and the History of Life

Microbes acquire DNA from a variety of sources. The last decades, which have seen the development of genome sequencing, have revealed that horizontal gene transfer has been a major evolutionary force that has constantly reshaped genomes throughout evolution. However, because the history of life must ultimately be deduced from gene phylogenies, the lack of methods to account for horizontal gene transfer has thrown into confusion the very concept of the tree of life. As a result, many questions remain open, but emerging methodological developments promise to use information conveyed by horizontal gene transfer that remains unexploited today.The discovery of the existence of prokaryotic microbes dates back more than 300 years. Since then, our picture of our distant microscopic relatives has undergone several revolutions: from being the living “proofs” of the existence of spontaneous generation, they became later the “archaic” representatives of our distant ancestors, to finally be legitimately recognized as exceptionally diverse organisms, keystone to any ecosystem, including the most familiar and the most hostile environments on Earth. Similarly, although they were first seen as elementary and unbreakable bricks of life, they are now seen as genetically composite bodies, heavyweight champions of “gene robbery.” The most recent of these revolutions has indeed been the realization of their unparalleled ability to integrate genetic material coming from more or less evolutionarily distant organisms. This mechanism is called “horizontal gene transfer” as opposed to vertical transmission from mother to daughter cell.     

Assortative Pairing and Life History Strategy

A secondary analysis was performed on preliminary data from an ongoing cross-cultural study on assortative pairing. Independently sampled pairs of opposite-sex romantic partners and of same-sex friends rated themselves and each other on Life History (LH) strategy and mate value. Data were collected in local bars, clubs, coffeehouses, and other public places from three different cultures: Tucson, Arizona; Hermosillo, Sonora; and San José, Costa Rica. The present analysis found that slow LH individuals assortatively pair with both sexual and social partners more strongly than fast LH individuals. We interpret this phenomenon as representing (1) an adaptation for preserving coadapted genomes in slow LH strategists to maintain high copying fidelity genetic replication while producing a lower number of offspring in stable, predictable, and controllable environments and (2) a bet-hedging adaptation in fast LH strategists, favoring the genetic diversification of a higher number of offspring in unstable, unpredictable, and uncontrollable environments.

Scales Tell a Story on the Stress History of Fish

Fish faced with stressful stimuli launch an endocrine stress response through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI-) axis to release cortisol into the blood. Scientifically validated biomarkers to capture systemic cortisol exposure over longer periods of time are of utmost importance to assess chronic stress in governmental, wildlife, aquaculture and scientific settings. Here we demonstrate that cortisol in scales of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) is the long-sought biomarker for chronic stress. Undisturbed (CTR) and daily stressed (STRESS) carp were compared. Dexamethasone (DEX) or cortisol (CORT) fed fish served as negative and positive controls, respectively. Scale cortisol was quantified with a validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method. An increase in scale cortisol content was found in STRESS and CORT but not in CTR and DEX fish. Scale cortisol content reflects its accumulation in a stressor and time dependent manner and validates the scale cortisol content as biomarker for chronic stress. Plasma analyses confirmed that (i) CTR, DEX and CORT treatments were effective, (ii) plasma cortisol of STRESS fish showed no signs of chronic HPI-axis activation, and (iii) plasma cortisol is a poor predictor for chronic stress. The expression of HPI key genes crf, pomc, and star were up-regulated in STRESS fish in the absence of a plasma cortisol response, as was the target gene of cortisol encoding subunit α1 of the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase in gills. When lost, scales of fish regenerate fast. Regenerated scales corroborate our findings, offering (i) unsurpassed time resolution for cortisol incorporation and as such for stressful events, and (ii) the possibility to investigate stress in a well defined and controlled environment and time frame creating novel opportunities for bone physiological research. We conclude that the cortisol content in ontogenetic and regenerated scales is an innovative biomarker for chronic stress offering ample applications in science and industry.     

Dynamic Model for Life History of Scyphozoa

A two-state life history model governed by ODEs is formulated to elucidate the population dynamics of jellyfish and to illuminate the triggering mechanism of its blooms. The polyp-medusa model admits trichotomous global dynamic scenarios: extinction, polyps survival only, and both survival. The population dynamics sensitively depend on several biotic and abiotic limiting factors such as substrate, temperature, and predation. The combination of temperature increase, substrate expansion, and predator diminishment acts synergistically to create a habitat that is more favorable for jellyfishes. Reducing artificial marine constructions, aiding predator populations, and directly controlling the jellyfish population would help to manage the jellyfish blooms. The theoretical analyses and numerical experiments yield several insights into the nature underlying the model and shed some new light on the general control strategy for jellyfish.     

Life History of Female Preferences for Male Faces

Although scientific interest in facial attractiveness has developed substantially in recent years, few studies have contributed to our understanding of the ontogeny of facial preferences. In this study, attractiveness of 30 male faces was evaluated by four female groups: girls at puberty, nonpregnant and pregnant young women, and middle-aged women. The main findings are as follows: (1) Preference for sexy-looking faces was strongest in young, nonpregnant women. (2) Biologically more mature girls displayed more adultlike preferences. (3) The intragroup consistency for postmenopausal women was relatively low. (4) In terms of the preference pattern, pregnant women were more similar to perimenopausal women than they were to their nonpregnant peers. (5) Preference for youthful appearance decreased with the age of the women. I argue that the life history of female preferences for male faces is, to a large extent, hormone-driven and underpinned by a set of evolutionary adaptations.     

Violence, Teenage Pregnancy, and Life History

Guided by principles of life history strategy development, this study tested the hypothesis that sexual precocity and violence are influenced by sensitivities to local environmental conditions. Two models of strategy development were compared: The first is based on indirect perception of ecological cues through family disruption and the second is based on both direct and indirect perception of ecological stressors. Results showed a moderate correlation between rates of violence and sexual precocity (r?=?0.59). Although a model incorporating direct and indirect effects provided a better fit than one based on family mediation alone, significant improvements were made by linking some ecological factors directly to behavior independently of strategy development. The models support the contention that violence and teenage pregnancy are part of an ecologically determined pattern of strategy development and suggest that while the family unit is critical in affecting behavior, individuals’ direct experiences of the environment are also important.     

Life among the Yanomami: The Story of Change among the Xilixana on the Mucajai River in Brazil

Life among the Yanomami: The Story of Change among the Xilixana on the Mucajai River in Brazil. John F. Peters. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 1998. 292 pp.     

Life History Evolution in Amphicarpic Plants

Abstract Plants with dimorphic flowers or seeds provide excellent material for the study of life history evolution because the dimorphism often involves measurable differences in morphology, size, number, or genetic relatedness. For amphicarpic plants, the proportion of aerial: subterranean morphs produced is highly variable (from 0 to > 100) and related to both environmental and genetic factors. Plants from aerial seeds produce lower ratios of aerial: subterranean morphs than those from subterranean seeds. Despite substantial variation, subterranean seeds are generally heavier than aerial seeds (but fewer) and produce vigorous seedlings with high survivorship and high fitness. Adaptive advantages of subterranean seeds include retention of offspring in favorable parental microhabitats, protection of seeds from herbivory, predation, or fire, and avoidance of desiccating conditions on the soil surface; potential disadvantages include lack of gene exchange, high energy costs, limited dispersal, and sibling competition. For the few species studied, aerial reproduction is more plastic than subterranean reproduction and more likely to be affected by environmental conditions. Quantitative genetic analyses of a population of the annual grass Amphicarpum purshii have revealed lower heritabilites for subterranean relative to aerial reproductive traits. Subterranean seed number and mass show genetic correlations with shoot mass while aerial seed number and mass do not; seed set percentages of both seed types as well as percentage allocation to both reproductive morphs show negative genetic correlations with shoot mass. In this Amphicarpum population, directional selection on shoot mass may indirectly select for increased subterranean (but not aerial) seed output.     

Phylogeny, Life History Evolution and Biogeography of the Rhinanthoid Orobanchaceae

Rhinanthoid Orobanchaceae form a monophyletic lineage that include the hemiparasitic genera Euphrasia, Melampyrum, Tozzia, Bartsia, Nothobartsia, Odontites (s.l.), Rhinanthus, Rhynchocorys, Parentucellia, Hedbergia and holoparasitic Lathraea. In this study, we aimed to reconstruct the phylogeny, evolution of life-history traits (life cycle and seed size) and explain the extant biogeographical patterns in this group. For phylogenetic reconstruction, we used molecular data obtained by sequencing the nuclear ITS region and the chloroplast trnT-trnL intergenic spacer and matK?+?trnK regions. The genus Melampyrum was found to occupy the sister position to the rest of the group. The other genera were assembled in the sister Rhinanthus-Rhynchocorys-Lathraea and Bartsia-Euphrasia-Odontites subclades. The reconstruction of life-cycle evolution yielded ambiguous results suggesting nonetheless a substantially higher likelihood of perenniality compared to annuality in most ancestor lineages. Seed size varied across two orders of magnitude (average weight per seed: 0.02–7.22 mg) and tended to decrease in the Bartsia-Euphrasia-Odontites subclade compared to the rest of the group. Seed-size evolution was correlated with life-history evolution in the group if the generally small-seeded Bartsia-Euphrasia-Odontites subclade is excluded. We formulated hypotheses relating the extant biogeographical affinities of individual genera to the geological history of the Euro-Caucasian diversity center of the group. Notable dispersal events in Euphrasia and Bartsia were hypothesized to be allowed or at least facilitated by a specific combination of the life-history traits.     

宽礁膜的生活史

在国内首次观察描述了宽礁膜(Monostroma latissimum Wittrock)生活史各阶段的形态结构特征和发育变化,并对其单性生殖进行了周年培养和观察。大型的雌雄异体的膜状配子体成熟后,放散双鞭毛的配子,小型的球状孢子体成熟后放散四鞭毛的游孢子,其生活史是单倍体的配子体与二倍体的孢子体互相交替的异形世代交替。另外,在生活史中还发现合子和孢子囊的二分裂增殖方式,一年生配子体和二年生孢子囊等现象。未接合的雌、雄配子固着后变成球状单细胞体,室内培养后发育成成熟的单性孢子囊,并放散四鞭毛的游孢子,这些游孢子固着后,可直接发育成膜状的配子体,单性生殖也可以用来进行人工育苗。     

宽礁膜的生活史

在国内首次观察描述了宽礁膜(Monostroma latissimum Wittrock)生活史各阶段的形态结构特征和发育变化,并对其单性生殖进行了周年培养和观察.大型的雌雄异体的膜状配子体成熟后,放散双鞭毛的配子,小型的球状孢子体成熟后放散四鞭毛的游孢子,其生活史是单倍体的配子体与二倍体的孢子体互相交替的异形世代交替.另外,在生活史中还发现合子和孢子囊的二分裂增殖方式,一年生配子体和二年生孢子囊等现象.未接合的雌、雄配子固着后变成球状单细胞体,室内培养后发育成成熟的单性孢子囊,并放散四鞭毛的游孢子,这些游孢子固着后,可直接发育成膜状的配子体,单性生殖也可以用来进行人工育苗.     

Telling a Story about the Past: Fact and Fiction in Two Recent Films on the History of Anthropology

Ishi, The. Last Yahi. 1992. 57 minutes, color. Produced and directed by Jed Riffe and Pamela Roberts. Distributed by the Center for Media and Independent Learning, University of California Extension, 2000 Center Street, Fourth Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704; 510/642-0460. Fax 510/643-9271. Available in video and 16mm.
Margaret Mead: An Observer Observed. 1995.85 minutes, color. Produced by Virginia Yans-McLaughlin. Directed by Alan Berliner. Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY l0016; 212/808-4980.     

Niche Partitioning in Sympatric Gorilla and Pan from Cameroon: Implications for Life History Strategies and for Reconstructing the Evolution of Hominin Life History

Factors influencing the hominoid life histories are poorly understood, and little is known about how ecological conditions modulate the pace of their development. Yet our limited understanding of these interactions underpins life history interpretations in extinct hominins. Here we determined the synchronisation of dental mineralization/eruption with brain size in a 20^th century museum collection of sympatric Gorilla gorilla and Pan troglodytes from Central Cameroon. Using δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of individuals’ hair, we assessed whether and how differences in diet and habitat use may have impacted on ape development. The results show that, overall, gorilla hair δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values are more variable than those of chimpanzees, and that gorillas are consistently lower in δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N compared to chimpanzees. Within a restricted, isotopically-constrained area, gorilla brain development appears delayed relative to dental mineralization/eruption [or dental development is accelerated relative to brains]: only about 87.8% of adult brain size is attained by the time first permanent molars come into occlusion, whereas it is 92.3% in chimpanzees. Even when M1s are already in full functional occlusion, gorilla brains lag behind those of chimpanzee (91% versus 96.4%), relative to tooth development. Both bootstrap analyses and stable isotope results confirm that these results are unlikely due to sampling error. Rather, δ¹⁵N values imply that gorillas are not fully weaned (physiologically mature) until well after M1 are in full functional occlusion. In chimpanzees the transition from infant to adult feeding appears (a) more gradual and (b) earlier relative to somatic development. Taken together, the findings are consistent with life history theory that predicts delayed development when non-density dependent mortality is low, i.e. in closed habitats, and with the “risk aversion” hypothesis for frugivorous species as a means to avert starvation. Furthermore, the results highlight the complexity and plasticity of hominoid/hominin development.     

Acfie Life History: Tlie Ecology and Demography of a Foraging People

Acfie Life History: Tlie Ecology and Demography of. Foraging People. Kim Hill and A. Magdalena Hurtado. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1996. 561 pp.     

Lemur Biorhythms and Life History Evolution

Skeletal histology supports the hypothesis that primate life histories are regulated by a neuroendocrine rhythm, the Havers-Halberg Oscillation (HHO). Interestingly, subfossil lemurs are outliers in HHO scaling relationships that have been discovered for haplorhine primates and other mammals. We present new data to determine whether these species represent the general lemur or strepsirrhine condition and to inform models about neuroendocrine-mediated life history evolution. We gathered the largest sample to date of HHO data from histological sections of primate teeth (including the subfossil lemurs) to assess the relationship of these chronobiological measures with life history-related variables including body mass, brain size, age at first female reproduction, and activity level. For anthropoids, these variables show strong correlations with HHO conforming to predictions, though body mass and endocranial volume are strongly correlated with HHO periodicity in this group. However, lemurs (possibly excepting Daubentonia) do not follow this pattern and show markedly less variability in HHO periodicity and lower correlation coefficients and slopes. Moreover, body mass is uncorrelated, and brain size and activity levels are more strongly correlated with HHO periodicity in these animals. We argue that lemurs evolved this pattern due to selection for risk-averse life histories driven by the unpredictability of the environment in Madagascar. These results reinforce the idea that HHO influences life history evolution differently in response to specific ecological selection regimes.     

Three Trends in the History of Life: An Evolutionary Syndrome

The history of life seems to be characterized by three large-scale trends in complexity: (1) the rise in complexity in the sense of hierarchy, in other words, an increase in the number of levels of organization within organisms; (2) the increase in complexity in the sense of differentiation, that is, a rise in the number of different part types at the level just below the whole; and (3) a downward trend, the loss of differentiation at the lowest levels in organisms, a kind of complexity drain within the parts. Here, I describe the three trends, outlining the evidence for each and arguing that they are connected with each other, that together they constitute an evolutionary syndrome, one that has recurred a number times over the history of life. Finally, in the last section, I offer an argument connecting the third trend to the reduction at lower levels of organization in “autonomy”, or from a different perspective, to an increase in what might be called the “machinification” of the lower levels.