Adaptive flexibility, testosterone, and mating fitness: Are low FA individuals the pinnacle of evolution?

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Mating Pattern ◽  
Environmental Determinants ◽  
Male Behavior ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Human Relationships

The expansion of human evolutionary theory into the domain of personal and environmental determinants of mating strategies is applauded. Questions are raised about the relation between fluctuating asymmetry (FA), testosterone, and body size and their effects on male behavior and outcomes. Low FA males' short-term mating pattern is considered in the context of an evolved tendency for closer and longer human relationships.

scholarly journals Morphological determinants of jumping performance in the Iberian green frog

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-424
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Abelardo Requena-Blanco ◽  
Francisco J Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Mar Comas ◽  
Guillem Pascual
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Jumping Performance ◽  
Hind Limbs ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Pelophylax Perezi

Abstract Predation is one of the main selective forces in nature, frequently selecting potential prey for developing escape strategies. Escape ability is typically influenced by several morphological parameters, such as morphology of the locomotor appendices, muscular capacity, body mass, or fluctuating asymmetry, and may differ between sexes and age classes. In this study, we tested the relationship among these variables and jumping performance in 712 Iberian green frogs Pelophylax perezi from an urban population. The results suggest that the main determinant of jumping capacity was body size (explaining 48% of variance). Larger frogs jumped farther, but jumping performance reached an asymptote for the largest frogs. Once controlled by structural body size, the heaviest frogs jumped shorter distances, suggesting a trade-off between fat storage and jumping performance. Relative hind limb length also determined a small but significant percentage of variance (2.4%) in jumping performance—that is, the longer the hind limbs, the greater the jumping capacity. Juveniles had relatively shorter and less muscular hind limbs than adults (for a given body size), and their jumping performance was poorer. In our study population, the hind limbs of the frogs were very symmetrical, and we found no effect of fluctuating asymmetry on jumping performance. Therefore, our study provides evidence that jumping performance in frogs is not only affected by body size, but also by body mass and hind limb length, and differ between age classes.

scholarly journals Parent-Offspring Conflict Over Short-Term Mating Strategies

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menelaos Apostolou ◽  
Spyroulla Georgiou
Keyword(s):  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Short Term

scholarly journals Metabolic plasticity can amplify ecosystem responses to global warming

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Kordas ◽  
Samraat Pawar ◽  
Guy Woodward ◽  
Eoin O'Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Predictive Models ◽  
Chronic Exposure ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Ecosystem Responses ◽  
Metabolic Plasticity ◽  
Ecosystem Level

Abstract Organisms have the capacity to alter their physiological response to warming through acclimation or adaptation, but empirical evidence for this metabolic plasticity across species within food webs is lacking, and a generalisable framework does not exist for modelling its ecosystem-level consequences. Here we show that the ability of organisms to raise their metabolic rate following chronic exposure to warming decreases with increasing body size. Chronic exposure to higher temperatures also increases the sensitivity of organisms to short-term warming, irrespective of their body size. A mathematical model parameterised with these findings shows that metabolic plasticity could account for an additional 60% of ecosystem energy flux with just +2 °C of warming. This could explain why ecosystem respiration continues to rise in long-term warming experiments and highlights the need to embed metabolic plasticity in predictive models of global warming impacts on ecosystems.

Short-Term Mating Strategies Measure

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter K. Jonason ◽  
David M. Buss
Keyword(s):  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Short Term

Scientific truth and perceived truth about sexual human nature: Implications for therapists

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-596
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Buckhalt ◽  
Erica J. Gannon
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Social Role Theory ◽  
Naive Theories ◽  
Strategic Pluralism ◽  
Scientific Truth ◽  
Sexual Strategies Theory

Therapists and their patients must deal with the negative sequelae of short term mating strategies. Implications for therapy of Gangestad & Simpson's strategic pluralism theory are compared with those of Buss's sexual strategies theory and Eagly's social role theory. Naive theories held by therapists and patients, as well as prevailing societal views, are posited as influential in determining the course and outcome of therapy.

Do Don Juans have better genes than family men?

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-602
Author(s):  
Alice H. Eagly
Keyword(s):  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Genetic Quality

An alternative interpretation of Gangestad & Simpson's findings features the assumption that only a subgroup of those men who are low in fluctuating asymmetry are typically available for short-term mating. In general, these philandering men do not offer higher genetic quality than men who are securely attached to long-term mates.

A Short Anorexic Behaviour Scale

1973 ◽  
Vol 122 (566) ◽  
pp. 83-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Slade
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Treatment Regimes ◽  
Assessment Techniques ◽  
Valid Assessment ◽  
Assessment Procedures ◽  
Psychosexual Adjustment

The successful investigation and development of effective treatment programmes for any disorder is closely dependent on the development of reliable and valid assessment procedures. Anorexia nervosa would seem to be no exception in this respect. At present, while the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa seems fairly easy to establish, the assessment of severity, response to various treatment regimes, and prognosis pose rather more of a problem. Reliance on criteria such as weight status and gain, return of menstruation, psychosexual adjustment, etc., is inadequate, especially in the assessment of short-term effects of various therapeutic conditions. Recently Slade and Russell (1972) have described an objective technique for measuring ‘perception of body size‘, an area in which they found anorexia nervosa patients to be defective. Clearly, however, other reliable, objective assessment techniques are needed as well.

scholarly journals Aggression Type Influences Perceptions of a Woman’s Body Size, Personality, and Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 147470492091793
Author(s):  
Jaime L. Palmer-Hague
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Physical Aggression ◽  
Mate Value ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
And Behavior

Although women engage in both physical and nonphysical aggression, little is known about how aggression type influences perceptions of their morphology, personality, and social behavior. Evolutionary theory predicts that women avoid physical aggression due to risk of injury, which could compromise reproductive success. Engaging in physical aggression might therefore decrease women’s perceived mate value. However, physical aggression could be advantageous for some women, such as those who are larger in size and less vulnerable to injury. This presents the possibility that physically aggressive women might be perceived as larger and not necessarily lower in mate value. These hypotheses have not been tested. Across three studies, I used narratives to test the effect of aggression type (physical, verbal, indirect, nonaggressive) on perceptions of women’s height, weight, masculinity, attractiveness, and social status. In Studies 1 and 2, participants perceived a physically aggressive woman to be both larger and more masculine than nonphysically aggressive women. In Study 3, participants perceived both a physically aggressive woman and a nonaggressive woman to be larger than an indirectly aggressive woman; the effect of aggression type on perceptions of a hypothetical man’s height was not significant. I also found some evidence that aggression type influenced perceptions of attractiveness and social status, but these were small and inconsistent effects that warrant further study. Taken together, the results suggest that physical and indirect aggressive behavior may be associated with certain morphological and behavioral profiles in women.

Low fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and short-term benefits in fertility?

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 610-611
Author(s):  
John T. Manning ◽  
Alex R. Gage
Keyword(s):  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Temporal Fluctuations ◽  
Fertility Status

Preference for partners with low fluctuating asymmetry (FA) may produce “good gene” benefits. However, Gangestad & Simpson's analysis does not exclude immediate benefits of fertility. Low FA is related to fertility in men and women. Short-term changes in FA are correlated with fertility in women. It is not known whether temporal fluctuations in the FA of men are related to short-term fertility status.

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