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Hora M, Pontzer H, Struška M, Entin P, Sládek V. Comparing walking and running in persistence hunting. J Hum Evol 2022; 172:103247. [PMID: 36152433 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
It has been proposed that humans' exceptional locomotor endurance evolved partly with foraging in hot open habitats and subsequently about 2 million years ago with persistence hunting, for which endurance running was instrumental. However, persistence hunting by walking, if successful, could select for locomotor endurance even before the emergence of any running-related traits in human evolution. Using a heat exchange model validated here in 73 humans and 55 ungulates, we simulated persistence hunts for prey of three sizes (100, 250, and 400 kg) and three sweating capacities (nonsweating, low, high) at 6237 combinations of hunter's velocity (1-5 m s-1, intermittent), air temperature (25-45 °C), relative humidity (30-90%), and start time (8:00-16:00). Our simulations predicted that walking would be successful in persistence hunting of low- and nonsweating prey, especially under hot and humid conditions. However, simulated persistence hunts by walking yielded a 30-74% lower success rate than hunts by running or intermittent running. In addition, despite requiring 10-30% less energy, successful simulated persistence hunts by walking were twice as long and resulted in greater exhaustion of the hunter than hunts by running and intermittent running. These shortcomings of pursuit by walking compared to running identified in our simulations could explain why there is only a single direct description of persistence hunting by walking among modern hunter-gatherers. Nevertheless, walking down prey could be a viable option for hominins who did not possess the endurance-running phenotype of the proposed first persistence hunter, Homo erectus. Our simulation results suggest that persistence hunting could select for both long-distance walking and endurance running and contribute to the evolution of locomotor endurance seen in modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hora
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic; Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC, 27708, USA; Global Health Institute, Duke University, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Michal Struška
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic
| | - Pauline Entin
- College of Arts & Sciences, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA, 02747, USA
| | - Vladimír Sládek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic
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Jolicoeur Desroches A, Goulet EDB. Is a sub 7-h Ironman TM possible? Front Sports Act Living 2022; 4:866599. [PMID: 36091871 PMCID: PMC9453846 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2022.866599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Eric D. B. Goulet
- Faculty of physical activity sciences, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Research Centre on Aging, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
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Murray AA. Variability and the form-function framework in evolutionary biomechanics and human locomotion. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e29. [PMID: 37588899 PMCID: PMC10426129 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.28] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The form-function conceptual framework, which assumes a strong relationship between the structure of a particular trait and its function, has been crucial for understanding morphological variation and locomotion among extant and fossil species across many disciplines. In biological anthropology, it is the lens through which many important questions and hypotheses have been tackled with respect to relationships between morphology and locomotor kinematics, energetics and performance. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that the morphologies of fossil hominins, apes and humans can confer considerable locomotor diversity and flexibility, and can do so with a range of kinematics depending on soft tissue plasticity and environmental and cultural factors. This complexity is not built into traditional biomechanical or mathematical models of relationships between structure and kinematics or energetics, limiting our interpretation of what bone structure is telling us about behaviour in the past. The nine papers presented in this Special Collection together address some of the challenges that variation in the relationship between form and function pose in evolutionary biomechanics, to better characterise the complexity linking structure and function and to provide tools through which we may begin to incorporate some of this complexity into our functional interpretations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A. Murray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett Building Room B228, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, CanadaV8P 5C2
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Alternative Metabolic Strategies are Employed by Endurance Runners of Different Body Sizes; Implications for Human Evolution. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-021-00183-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
A suite of adaptations facilitating endurance running (ER) evolved within the hominin lineage. This may have improved our ability to reach scavenging sites before competitors, or to hunt prey over long distances. Running economy (RE) is a key determinant of endurance running performance, and depends largely on the magnitude of force required to support body mass. However, numerous environmental factors influence body mass, thereby significantly affecting RE. This study tested the hypothesis that alternative metabolic strategies may have emerged to enable ER in individuals with larger body mass and poor RE.
Methods
A cohort of male (n = 25) and female (n = 19) ultra-endurance runners completed submaximal and exhaustive treadmill protocols to determine RE, and V̇O2Max.
Results
Body mass was positively associated with sub-maximal oxygen consumption at both LT1 (male r=0.66, p<0.001; female LT1 r=0.23, p=0.177) and LT2 (male r=0.59, p=0.001; female r=0.23, p=0.183) and also with V̇O2Max (male r=0.60, p=0.001; female r=0.41, p=0.046). Additionally, sub-maximal oxygen consumption varied positively with V̇O2Max in both male (LT1 r=0.54, p=0.003; LT2 r=0.77, p<0.001) and female athletes (LT1 r=0.88, p<0.001; LT2 r=0.92, p<0.001).
Conclusions
The results suggest that, while individuals with low mass and good RE can glide economically as they run, larger individuals can compensate for the negative effects their mass has on RE by increasing their capacity to consume oxygen. The elevated energy expenditure of this low-economy high-energy turnover approach to ER may bring costs associated with energy diversion away from other physiological processes, however.
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Ponzi D, Dadomo H, Filonzi L, Palanza P, Pelosi A, Ceresini G, Parmigiani S, Marzano FN. Cortisol, Temperament and Serotonin in Karate Combats: An Evolutionary Psychobiological Perspective. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-021-00178-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Objectives
There is evidence suggesting that in martial arts competitions athletes characterized by higher anxiety and harm avoidance may be more likely to lose a fight. This psychological profile has been hypothesized to explain in part the observation that cortisol is higher in losers before and in response to a competition. An important research target that needs further exploration is the identification of phenotypic traits that can be helpful in predicting athletes’ performance. Here we present a brief description of the theoretical bases that drives our research in the evolutionary psychobiology of sports and illustrate preliminary data on the relationship between the 5HTTLPR genotype, salivary cortisol, temperament and competition.
Methods
Sixty-five healthy male non-professional athletes provided saliva samples 10 min before and after a kumite session and filled out the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire.
Results
Salivary cortisol levels 10 min before the competition were higher in losers and in athletes with the S allele. Temperament was associated with competition outcome and cortisol: losers were characterized by higher scores of harm avoidance and harm avoidance was positively correlated with cortisol levels.
Conclusions
The results confirm previous findings linking temperamental traits, pre-and post- competition physiological stress response with competition outcome in kumite fight. Moreover, they indicate an association between the 5HTTLPR polymorphism and pre-competition salivary cortisol, thus providing a preliminary but non-conclusive evidence on the role played by the 5HTTLPR genotype as a vulnerability factor in sport competition.
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Longman DP, Oyama S, Cracknell J, Thompson N, Gordon D, Stock JT, Wells JCK. Fluctuating asymmetry, a marker of poor growth quality, is associated with adult male metabolic rate. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175:646-655. [PMID: 33768527 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Life history theory, a branch of evolutionary theory, predicts the existence of trade-offs in energetic allocation between competing physiological functions. The core metabolic cost of self-maintenance, measured by resting metabolic rate (RMR), represents a large component of human daily energy expenditure. Despite strong selective pressures for energetic frugality and high observed interindividual variation in RMR, the link between RMR and energetic allocation to life-history traits remains understudied in humans. MATERIALS In a sample of 105 (m = 57, f = 48), we investigated the relationship between adult RMR and investment in growth quality, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry (FA). RESULTS Measurement of RMR and FA in university rowers revealed a significant positive correlation amongst males (n = 57, r = 0.344, p = 0.005, 1-tailed; standardized 95% CI, 0.090 to 0.598). Convincing evidence for a correlation among females was not found (n = 48, r = 0.142, p = 0.169, 1-tailed, standardized 95% CI, -0.152 to 0.435). DISCUSSION The data suggest that low-quality asymmetrical growth is associated with later-life metabolic inefficiencies in males. Energetic investment in processes (likely concerning the stress-response) unrelated to growth during childhood may thereby trade-off against adult metabolic efficiency. We suggest that the presence of a relationship between RMR and FA in males but not females may be explained by the additional metabolic strain associated with larger body size and increased male muscularity, which may amplify the inefficiencies arising from low-quality growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Longman
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
| | - Sakura Oyama
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - James Cracknell
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nathan Thompson
- Cambridge Centre for Sport & Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Dan Gordon
- Cambridge Centre for Sport & Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jay T Stock
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Jonathan C K Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK
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