Beyond Bergmann's rule: Global variability in human body composition is associated with annual average precipitation and annual temperature volatility
Autor: | Mark A. Saunders, Mario Cortina-Borja, Meghan K. Shirley, Jonathan C. K. Wells, Adam S. Lea |
---|---|
Rok vydání: | 2019 |
Předmět: | |
Zdroj: | American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 170:75-87 |
ISSN: | 1096-8644 0002-9483 |
Popis: | OBJECTIVES Human populations exhibit substantial geographical variability in body size and shape. However, the ecological stresses underlying this morphological variability remain poorly understood. The prevailing evolutionary explanation, "Bergmann's rule" assumes that morphological variability represents an adaptive response to average thermal conditions. We hypothesized that other climate factors-annual average precipitation, a marker of ecological productivity and inter-annual temperature volatility, a marker of infectious disease spikes-may also contribute to variability in body composition. MATERIALS AND METHODS We explored this hypothesis by examining associations between these climate factors and geographic variability in body composition across 133 male and 105 female populations from nonindustrialized settings. We used monthly climate data over 113 years (1901-2013) to develop new climate indices for all worldwide land areas. We stratified our analyses by hot/cold setting (>/ |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
Externí odkaz: |