The genetics and physiology of life history traits. Second, life history has an important place in theo ries of the evolution of human biology, be. Tradeoffs in lifehistory evolution size r correlation fig. Although there is some evidence of life as early as 4. Cumulative cultural evolution in humans implies a lifehistory schedule that facilitates the early weaning, slow growth, and delayed onset of reproduction underlying the transmission of cognitively complex skills and the development of extensive networks of cooperation. A theory of human life history evolution university of new mexico. Life history theory can help us identify the genetic and environmental factors that favored the evolution of the unusual human life history, which has changed drastically in the last two centuries. Life history evolution, species differences, and phenotypic plasticity in hemiparasitic eyebrights euphrasia article pdf available.
The theory of evolution is one of the fundamental keystones of modern biological theory the diversity of the living world is staggering. Abstract life history theory tries to explain how evo lution designs organisms to. Work on life histories has expanded the role of phenotypes in evolutionary theory, extending the range of predictions from genetic patterns to wholeorganism traits. Most evolutionary theory does not deal with populations expanding or contracting in space. Observations made on distantly related parasites have revealed a variety of adaptations to parasitism, including changes in. Aging, biology, culture, evolution, future, human evolution, life history theory, primates. Diversity and evolution of life 3 origin and evolution of life and introduction to classification biology notes fig. First evidence for early life the evolution of life extreme life on earth. The book justifiably focuses on the evolution of lifehistory traits. In order to be able to find life outside our earth, we have to understand life in our own planet. The language is accessible and the illustrations do a great job to support the explanations. Sep 01, 2009 principles of evolution, ecology and behavior eeb 122 life history covers three main classes of traits in organisms. Life tables are an easy to use tool to study age dependes of survival and fecundity. The end of this era is marked by the single greatest mass extinction in the history of life on earth.
Cumulative cultural evolution in humans implies a life history schedule that facilitates the early weaning, slow growth, and delayed onset of reproduction underlying the transmission of cognitively complex skills and the development of extensive networks of cooperation. Overview the formation of earth prebiotic chemistry millerurey exp. An organisms life history is the sequence of events related to survival and reproduction that occur from birth through death. Information theory, evolution, and the origin of life. History of life and the theory of evolution lesson 5. Animal, plant, and fungal life exist as a patina on this microscopic landscape and represent a very minor portion of the biospheres diversity. We present new data to determine whether these species represent the general lemur or strepsirrhine. Biology module 1 origin and evolution of life and introduction to classification diversity and evolution of life 4 notes the surrounding solution in the form of what were termed coacervate drops of microscopic size, moving in the liquid with a definite boundary coacervate meansheap referring to the combining together of the molecules. Magdalena hurtado our theory is that those four life history characteristics and extreme intelligence are coevolved responses to a dietary shift toward highquality, nutrientdense, and dif. Organisms must make tradeoffs among these traits that typically cause them to come to evolutionary equilibrium at intermediate values. How organisms allocate energy to maximize the number of offspring they leave behind. In search of cell history offers an ambitious, onestop overview of early cell evolution that covers all major theories related to the origin of life, the early evolution and diversification of cells, and the emergence of eukaryotic cells with their structural novelties, such as nuclei, mitochondria, and plastids. The history of life on earth indiana university bloomington. The genetical information system, because it is linear and digital, resembles the algorithmic language of computers.
Lifehistory theory can help us identify the genetic and environmental factors that favored the evolution of the unusual human lifehistory, which has changed drastically in the last two centuries. Life history theory is an analytical framework designed to study the diversity of life history strategies used by different organisms throughout the world, as well as the causes and results of the variation in their life cycles. Human evolution, life history theory, and the end of. Hypothetical growth curves for three genotypes are drawn for two environments.
Hertler, aurelio jose figueredo, mateo penaherreraaguirre, heitor b. While many of the effects of ecology on life history have been understood for some time, the manner in which the evolution of physiological systems is. Linda gottfredson, politics and the life sciences professor rushton is widely known and respected for the unusual combination of rigour and originality in his. The evolution of life histories life history traits are shaped by differential fecundity and survival. These allowed for more rapid reproduction, higherquality offspring, and lower prereproductive mortality than ever before in mammalian history. Slide 2 the human evolution story begins in africa about 6 million years ago.
Pdf lifehistory evolution in rangeshifting populations. First, the author outlines a general framework for the study and analysis of life history. A general framework based on quantitative genetics, population ecology and physiology to understand variation and adaptation in life history strategies. Populations from different parts of the geographic range that a species inhabits may exhibit marked variations in their. The evolutionary history of life on earth traces the processes by which living and fossil organisms evolved, from the earliest emergence of life to the present. The 15 items in this scale were supported by exploratory and validated by confirmatory factor analyses see kruger et al. Flatt and others published mechanisms of life history evolution. The evolution of life histories does this by showing that natural selection is the principal underlying force molding life history variation. The book describes in particular the ways in which variation can be analyzed and predicted. Endler department of biology, university of pennsylvania, philadelphia, pennsylvania 19104 and department of biology, university of utah, salt lake city, utah 84112 received november 21, 1980. Theory needs to explains how humans successfully combined a vastly extended period of off. Lifehistory evolution and the origin of multicellularity.
The evolution of human life history school for advanced. Therefore, it does not say anything one way or another about the creation of the world. The story of human evolution this powerpoint presentation tells the story of who we are and where we came from how humans evolved from apelike ancestors in africa to become a dominant, cultural species occupying almost every part of the globe. Information theory, evolution, and the origin of life information theoi\ evolution, and the origin of life presents a timely introduction to the use of information theory and coding theory in molecular biology.
Skeletal histology supports the hypothesis that primate life histories are regulated by a neuroendocrine rhythm, the havershalberg oscillation hho. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This timeline of the evolutionary history of life represents the current scientific theory outlining the major events during the development of life on planet earth. Evolution of dragonflies all life began from a common ancestor. Notes origin and evolution of life and introduction to. He studies human behavioral ecology with a focus on life history theory, foraging patterns, sexual division of labor, food sharing, and the evolution of cooperation. Life history and evolutionary psychology 2 life history theory and evolutionary psychology the evolution of life is the result of a process in which variant forms compete to harvest energy from the environment and convert it into replicates of those forms. Evolution, theory in biology postulating that the various types of plants, animals, and other living things on earth have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations. It is a theory of biological evolution that seeks to explain aspects of organisms anatomy and. According to most scientists, animal life is thought to have evolved from a flagellated protist. A consideration of the major milestones in evolution and their relationship to the microbial world can provide insight into the position of human beings in the history and diversity of the biosphere. We characterized maternal provisioning with the matrotrophy index mi.
The successful predictions of optimality models that are amply demonstrated in the book indicate the fruitfulness of this approach. Pdf life history theory tries to explain how evolution designs organisms to achieve reproductive success. Timeline of the evolutionary history of life wikipedia. This is because the human life cycle also referred to as life history stands in sharp contrast to other species of social mammals, even other primates. The squares denote the age and size at maturity for each. The design is a solution to an ecological problem posed by the environment and. The life history of early human ancestors is of interest for three reasons. Invasive species, climate change, epidemics, and the breakdown of dispersal barriers, however, all create populations in this kind of spatial disequilibrium. Importantly, spatial disequilibrium can have important ecological and evolutionary outcomes. Life history provides depth of understanding specific acts, events, relationships, and circumstances in particular lives mccall, 1985, p. Evolution of dragonflies university of pennsylvania. A brief history of evolution openlearn open university.
The study of how life on earth has changed over time is called evolution. Evolution tries to explain the process by which new forms of life appear on our planet, survive for many years, and then go extinct, meaning that much of what we know about life in the past is based on the record of life that. For young readers the story of life can become a useful tool for understanding the history of life on our planet and for figuring out what concepts like evolution, extinction, photosynthesis or survival are. Extraterrestrial life the origin and evolution of life on earth.
Although life history theory has made enormous progress in explaining the diversity of life history strategies among. Pdf life history evolution, species differences, and. Interestingly, subfossil lemurs are outliers in hho scaling relationships that have been discovered for haplorhine primates and other mammals. It is a theory of biological evolution that seeks to explain aspects of organisms anatomy and behavior by reference to the way that their life historiesincluding. These life history benchmarks, which are correlated with dental eruption patterns, can be studied in fossils through the age. One mechanism for producing a change in sign of genetic covariance. Lifehistory evolution and the genetics of fitness components in. Smith department of human evolutionary biology, harvard university, cambridge, massachusetts 028. Race, evolution, and behavior confronts us as few books have with the dilemmas wrought in a democratic society by individual and group differences in key human traits. First, the author outlines a general framework for the study and analysis of life history variation, bringing together the approaches of. The chemistry of life and the different processes during the formation and evolution of the earth have played a crucial role. This book is the first comprehensive summary of life history evolution, a field that holds a central position in modern ecology, evolution, and population biology.
Life history evolution represents a synthetic approach to the understanding of the evolution of life history variation using the three types of environment constant, stochastic, predictable as the focus under which the theory is developed and tested. The book justifiably focuses on the evolution of life history traits. Ecology predicts life history evolution in birds mar unzeta lloret abstract. Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by analysing the ecological factors that shape agespecific schedules of. We argue here that the evolution of gs separation and the emergence of individuality at the new higher level are consequences of. Life history evolution what is life history evolution. Life history strategies article ecology khan academy. Pdf lifehistory evolution in reptiles researchgate. Life history covers three main classes of traits in organisms.
The book offers an uptodate description of the analytical tools used in evolutionary explanation. Population growth rate, r and the net reproductive rate of increase, r 0 are useful measures of fitness and can be calculated from life tables. Section 1 life history evolution life history evolution. In biology, evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Life history evolution introduction life history traits life table size and number of offspring offspring number offspring size senescence. Although a number of studies describe current evolutionary patterns concerning lifehistory evolution, how historical changes in the way organisms interact with their environment have shaped lifehistory evolution still remains unresolved. Notes origin and evolution of life and introduction. Poulin parasitism has evolved independently several times in many different animal lineages. Tradeoffs in lifehistory evolution yale university.
Evolution, humanmicrobe interactions, and life history. Mi is defined as the ratio between offspring average dry mass at birth and aver age. They argue that evolution is the description of a process that governs the development of life on earth, dealing only with objects, events and processes in the material world. The evolutionary life history theory provides an additional explanation for the potential association between short birth intervals and higher risk of divorce. To explain the remarkable diversity of life histories among species we must understand how evolution shapes organisms. Stearns stands as a signpost to the resolution of the debate. Mechanisms of life history evolution hardcover thomas.
Journal of theoretical biology lifehistory evolution and the origin of multicellularity richard e. First, recon structions of the timing of somatic maturity, sexual maturity, and life span of extinct species serve to bring the past to life. Patterns and processes of human life history evolution. Life history theory tries to explain how evolution designs organisms to achieve reproductive success.
Throughout primate history there have been three major life history transitions towards increasingly delayed sexual maturation and biological reproduction, as well as towards extended life expectancy. The explanation biological evolution is not simply a matter of change over time. The evolution of life histories demography of ageing one. Growth, metabolism, and reproductive physiology all have a role to play in the allocation of resources over individual lifespans, and have all been implicated in multiple explanatory models of life history evolution e. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organization, from kingdoms to.
Table of contents preface vii chapter 1erview ov 1 chapter 2ramework for analysis a f chapter 3radeoffs t 93 chapter 4olution in constant environments ev 151 chapter 5olution in stochastic environments ev 287. Dental development and the evolution of life history in. Life history theory seeks to explain the evolution of the major features of life cycles by analyzing the ecological factors that shape agespecific schedules of growth, reproduction, and survival and by investigating the tradeoffs that constrain the evolution of these traits. Evolution helps us to understand the history of life. Mechanisms of life history evolution vetmeduni vienna. These lifehistory benchmarks, which are correlated with dental eruption patterns, can be studied in fossils through the age. Diet, intelligence, and longevity hillard kaplan, kim hill, jane lancaster, a. Over earths history, life has changed from the first simple bacteria to the complex creatures. Ensemble of life history traits of a given individual, population, species or higher taxa. Pdf to explain the remarkable diversity of life histories among species we must understand how evolution shapes organisms to optimize their. Here, you can explore how evolutionary change and evolutionary relationships are represented in family trees, how these trees are constructed, and how this. Life history theory is an analytical framework designed to study the diversity and alien nature of life history strategies used by different organisms throughout the world, as well as the causes and results of the variation in their life cycles.
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