Differential Reproductive Success within the Krummhörn Population (Germany, 18th and 19th Centuries)

On the basis of a family reconstitution study (Krummhörn, Germany,$18^{{\rm th}}$und$19^{{\rm th}}$centuries) it is shown how in one marriage cohort (1720-1750), family land ownership correlates with systematic fitness differentials. Farmers have a greater long-term fitness, on the average, than mem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 1990-01, Vol.26 (1), p.65-72
Main Author: Voland, Eckart
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropology. Demography
Biological and medical sciences
Children
Demography
Ecological competition
Emigration
Farmers
Fertility
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Human
Human genetics
Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology
Medical sciences
Population genetics
Population genetics, reproduction patterns
Reproductive success
Social groups
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Summary:On the basis of a family reconstitution study (Krummhörn, Germany,$18^{{\rm th}}$und$19^{{\rm th}}$centuries) it is shown how in one marriage cohort (1720-1750), family land ownership correlates with systematic fitness differentials. Farmers have a greater long-term fitness, on the average, than members of non-peasant population, and farmers possessing better than average wealth achieve a greater long-term fitness than farmers with medium-sized or small landholdings. The proximate causes herefore are to be found in both the varying patterns of marital fertility and in the differences in the marital and migration habits of the children from the various social groups. That is why the number of live births or even the number of surviving children is not the best estimate of a person's genetic contribution to the next generation of the local population. This can be shown by using a new algorithm for the assessment of long-term fitness differentials.
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/BF00174026