EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY OF HUMAN REPRODUCTION

Evolutionary ecology of human reproduction is defined as the application of natural selection theory to the study of human reproductive strategies and decision-making in an ecological context. The basic Darwinian assumption is that humans-like all other organisms-are designed to maximize their inclu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of anthropology 1998-01, Vol.27 (1), p.347-374
Main Author: Voland, Eckart
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Decision making
Demographics
Demography
differential parental investment
Ecological competition
Ecological genetics
Ecology
Evolution
Evolutionary Theories
fecundity
Fertility
Human Ecology
Human fertility
Human reproduction
Humans
Models, Theoretical
Population
Population Dynamics
Reproduction
reproductive strategies
Sexual Reproduction
Social Sciences
Strategies
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Summary:Evolutionary ecology of human reproduction is defined as the application of natural selection theory to the study of human reproductive strategies and decision-making in an ecological context. The basic Darwinian assumption is that humans-like all other organisms-are designed to maximize their inclusive fitness within the ecological constraints to which they are exposed. Life history theory, which identifies trade-off problems in reproductive investment, and evolutionary physiology and psychology, which analyzes the adaptive mechanisms regulating reproduction, are two crucial tools of evolutionary reproductive ecology. Advanced empirical insights have been obtained mainly with respect to the ecology of fecundity, fertility, child-care strategies, and differential parental investment. Much less is known about the ecology of nepotism and the postgenerative life span. The following three theoretical aspects, which are not well understood, belong to the desiderata of future improvement in evolutionary human reproductive ecology: ( a ) the significance of and the interactions between different levels of adaptability (genetic, ontogenetic, and contextual) for the adaptive solution of reproductive problems; ( b ) the dialectics of constraints and adaptive choices in reproductive decisions; and ( c ) the dynamics of demographic change.
ISSN:0084-6570
1545-4290
DOI:10.1146/annurev.anthro.27.1.347