Michael Gurven - UC Santa Barbara
Do costs of reproduction affect human survival?
Date: 03/22/2018 (Thu)
Time: 3:30pm- 5:00pm
Location: Seminar will be held on-site: Gross Hall 270
Organizer: Jenny Tung
Meeting Schedule: Login or email the organizer to schedule a meeting.
All meetings will be held in the same location as the seminar unless otherwise noted.
8:30am - Breakfast - Angie O'Rand
10:00am - Adam Boyette
10:30am - Fernando Campos
11:00am - Caroline Amoroso
11:30am - Jenny Tung
12:00pm - Lunch- Jordan Anderson, Rachel Johnston, Nick Grebe
1:30pm - Susan Alberts
2:00pm - Anne Pusey
2:30pm - Duncan Thomas
3:00pm - Seminar Prep
3:30pm - Seminar Presentation (3:30pm to 5:00pm)
6:30pm - DINNER: Jenny Tung, Susan Alberts, Seth Sanders
Additional Comments: Sex differences in human mortality and health are widely documented in both low and high income countries. Usual explanations focus on differences in intrinsic senescence, lifestyle, and health-seeking behaviors. Another possibility is that costs of reproduction unique to women may alter their physical condition in adulthood relative to men. Additionally, variability in the intensity of reproductive effort may account for health-related phenotypic differences among women. The underlying logic behind these propositions assumes a simple trade-off given a limited energetic budget where investments in reproductive effort subtract from those affecting maintenance and survival. In this talk, I develop and explore these ideas by assessing sex differences in adult health and physical condition among small-scale, natural fertility populations of hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists. I then attempt to uncover the effects of reproductive intensity on women’s health among Tsimane Amerindians – an attempt rife with the usual methodological obstacles due to self-selection and the absence of randomization. I discuss implications in light of social environmental context and declining fertility worldwide.