Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Standard

Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity. / Galor, Oded; Klemp, Marc.

In: Nature Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 3, No. 5, 05.2019, p. 853-857.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Galor, O & Klemp, M 2019, 'Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity', Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 853-857. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0846-x

APA

Galor, O., & Klemp, M. (2019). Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3(5), 853-857. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0846-x

Vancouver

Galor O, Klemp M. Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2019 May;3(5):853-857. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0846-x

Author

Galor, Oded ; Klemp, Marc. / Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity. In: Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2019 ; Vol. 3, No. 5. pp. 853-857.

Bibtex

@article{6c1ef4b72ccb4500ba4d9d2a54e2a02c,
title = "Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity",
abstract = "Life-history theory suggests that the level of fecundity of each organism reflects the effect of the trade-off between the quantity and quality of offspring on its long-run reproductive success. The present research provides evidence that moderate fecundity was conducive to long-run reproductive success in humans. Using a reconstructed genealogy for nearly half a million individuals in Quebec during the 1608–1800 period, the study establishes that, while high fecundity was associated with a larger number of children, perhaps paradoxically, moderate fecundity maximized the number of descendants after several generations. Moreover, the analysis further suggests that evolutionary forces decreased the level of fecundity in the population over this period, consistent with an additional finding that the level of fecundity that maximized long-run reproductive success was below the population mean. The research identifies several mechanisms that contributed to the importance of moderate fecundity for long-run reproductive success. It suggests that, while individuals with lower fecundity had fewer children, the observed hump-shaped effect of fecundity on long-run reproductive success reflects the beneficial effects of lower fecundity on various measures of child quality, such as marriageability and literacy, and thus on the reproductive success of each child.",
author = "Oded Galor and Marc Klemp",
note = "Author Correction: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0917-z",
year = "2019",
month = may,
doi = "10.1038/s41559-019-0846-x",
language = "English",
volume = "3",
pages = "853--857",
journal = "Nature Ecology & Evolution",
issn = "2397-334X",
publisher = "nature publishing group",
number = "5",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Human genealogy reveals a selective advantage to moderate fecundity

AU - Galor, Oded

AU - Klemp, Marc

N1 - Author Correction: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0917-z

PY - 2019/5

Y1 - 2019/5

N2 - Life-history theory suggests that the level of fecundity of each organism reflects the effect of the trade-off between the quantity and quality of offspring on its long-run reproductive success. The present research provides evidence that moderate fecundity was conducive to long-run reproductive success in humans. Using a reconstructed genealogy for nearly half a million individuals in Quebec during the 1608–1800 period, the study establishes that, while high fecundity was associated with a larger number of children, perhaps paradoxically, moderate fecundity maximized the number of descendants after several generations. Moreover, the analysis further suggests that evolutionary forces decreased the level of fecundity in the population over this period, consistent with an additional finding that the level of fecundity that maximized long-run reproductive success was below the population mean. The research identifies several mechanisms that contributed to the importance of moderate fecundity for long-run reproductive success. It suggests that, while individuals with lower fecundity had fewer children, the observed hump-shaped effect of fecundity on long-run reproductive success reflects the beneficial effects of lower fecundity on various measures of child quality, such as marriageability and literacy, and thus on the reproductive success of each child.

AB - Life-history theory suggests that the level of fecundity of each organism reflects the effect of the trade-off between the quantity and quality of offspring on its long-run reproductive success. The present research provides evidence that moderate fecundity was conducive to long-run reproductive success in humans. Using a reconstructed genealogy for nearly half a million individuals in Quebec during the 1608–1800 period, the study establishes that, while high fecundity was associated with a larger number of children, perhaps paradoxically, moderate fecundity maximized the number of descendants after several generations. Moreover, the analysis further suggests that evolutionary forces decreased the level of fecundity in the population over this period, consistent with an additional finding that the level of fecundity that maximized long-run reproductive success was below the population mean. The research identifies several mechanisms that contributed to the importance of moderate fecundity for long-run reproductive success. It suggests that, while individuals with lower fecundity had fewer children, the observed hump-shaped effect of fecundity on long-run reproductive success reflects the beneficial effects of lower fecundity on various measures of child quality, such as marriageability and literacy, and thus on the reproductive success of each child.

U2 - 10.1038/s41559-019-0846-x

DO - 10.1038/s41559-019-0846-x

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 30936434

VL - 3

SP - 853

EP - 857

JO - Nature Ecology & Evolution

JF - Nature Ecology & Evolution

SN - 2397-334X

IS - 5

ER -

ID: 239631151