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Li T, Singh RK, Cui L, Pandey R, Liu H, Xu Z, Tang L, Du J, Cui X, Wang Y. Beyond grassland degradation: Pathways to resilience for pastoralist households in alpine grassland ecosystems. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 368:121992. [PMID: 39137634 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 07/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
Sustaining the development of rural and pastoral communities' hinges on livelihood resilience. Pastoralist household resilience relies on resource availability and decision-making abilities. Despite extensive studies on pastoralist livelihoods, a significant knowledge gap remains in understanding the nuanced adaptive capacities of diverse households, particularly amid grassland degradation. Thus, this study investigates the household-based livelihood resilience of pastoralists in China's Three-River Headwater Region, offering policy recommendations for resilient livelihoods. Using stratified random sampling, 758 pastoralist household heads underwent semi-structured interviews to collect data. Five household characteristics, encompassing age, gender, energy use, well-being perception, and multi-household grazing participation, were evaluated. Looking ot the nature of data, descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were performed in this study to draw the valid inferences. The results revealed a positive correlation (p < 0.05) between household head age and livelihood resilience, with divergent resilience across age groups. Varied energy usage yielded distinct impacts; households employing solar or mixed energy sources exhibited heightened resilience (p < 0.05). Household well-being emerged as an invariant variable concerning resilience. Furthermore, engagement in multi-household grazing (an informal institution) significantly (p < 0.05) influenced pastoralist livelihood resilience. These insights advocate targeted support for young household heads and the adoption of clean energy. Exploring the deeper strategies and mechanisms of multi-household grazing can enhance understanding and policy integration, guiding eco-friendly progress within rustic landscapes for pastoral communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Li
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; School of Environment and Science, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia; School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
| | - Ranjay K Singh
- ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, 132001, Haryana, India; Division of Agricultural Extension, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, 110012, India.
| | - Lizhen Cui
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Rajiv Pandey
- Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, Dehradun, India.
| | - Hongdou Liu
- School of Environment and Science, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia.
| | - Zhihong Xu
- School of Environment and Science, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia.
| | - Li Tang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; School of Environment and Science, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia.
| | - Jianqing Du
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101408, China.
| | - Xiaoyong Cui
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101408, China.
| | - Yanfen Wang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101408, China; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System Science (LATPES), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
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Chen Y, Ge E, Zhou L, Du J, Mace R. Gender inequality in workloads explained by operational sex ratio. iScience 2024; 27:110063. [PMID: 38883828 PMCID: PMC11179575 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Ecological differences between human populations can affect the relative strength of sexual selection, and hence drive gender inequality. Here, we exploit the cultural diversity of southwestern China, where some village sex ratios are female-biased, in part due to a proportion of males entering monastic celibacy, to evaluate the role of sex ratio on the sexual division of labor. We used a detachable activity tracker to measure workload by step counts in both sexes among 561 individuals in 55 villages in six different areas. We show that a lower sex ratio and a higher prevalence of monasticism are associated with higher women's workloads and reduced men's workloads in the non-celibate population. As the operational sex ratio increases, gender inequality diminishes. This study offers valuable insights into the origins of gender disparities by examining the role of sex ratio on the sexual division of labor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Chen
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, WC1H 0BW London, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, P.R. China
| | - Erhao Ge
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, WC1H 0BW London, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, P.R. China
| | - Liqiong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, P.R. China
| | - Juan Du
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, WC1H 0BW London, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, P.R. China
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, WC1H 0BW London, UK
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université de Toulouse 1 Capitole, France
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Ge E, DongZhi C, Mace R. Religiosity and gender bias structure social networks. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2024; 6:e23. [PMID: 38689893 PMCID: PMC7615913 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2024.16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The number of studies examining gender differences in the social relationship rewards associated with costly religious practice has been surprisingly low. Here, we use data from 289 residents of an agricultural Tibetan village to assess whether individuals are more inclined to establish supportive relationships with religious individuals in general and to investigate the gender disparities in the relationship between religiosity and personal network characteristics. Our results reveal that participation in religious rituals contributes to the overall development of social support networks. The benefits to personal networks, however, seem to be contingent upon gender. For resource-intensive, infrequent religious rituals such as distant pilgrimages, males seem to benefit slightly more in terms of elevated in-degree values in their personal networks, despite similar levels of investment as females. In contrast, for daily, low-cost religious practices requiring ongoing participation, both genders obtain similar increases in in-degree values through regular engagement. It becomes more challenging for women to increase their status in communities when the effort invested in religious rituals yields smaller rewards compared with the same effort by men, contributing to ongoing gender inequality. These findings highlight the importance of examining the particular characteristics of religious rituals and the gender disparities in the associated rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erhao Ge
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, University College London, UK
| | - CaiRang DongZhi
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Rd, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, China
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, University College London, UK
- IAST, Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse, Occitanie, 31080, France
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Mattison SM, Mattison PM, Beheim BA, Liu R, Blumenfield T, Sum CY, Shenk MK, Seabright E, Alami S. Gender disparities in material and educational resources differ by kinship system. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220299. [PMID: 37381853 PMCID: PMC10291433 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Contemporary inequality exists at an unprecedented scale. Social scientists have emphasized the role played by material wealth in driving its escalation. Evolutionary anthropologists understand the drive to accumulate material wealth as one that is coupled ultimately to increasing reproductive success. Owing to biological caps on reproduction for women, the efficiency of this conversion can differ by gender, with implications for understanding the evolution of gender disparities in resource accumulation. Efficiency also differs according to the type of resources used to support reproductive success. In this paper, we review evolutionary explanations of gender disparities in resources and investigate empirical evidence to support or refute those explanations among matrilineal and patrilineal subpopulations of ethnic Chinese Mosuo, who share an ethnolinguistic identity, but differ strikingly in terms of institutions and norms surrounding kinship and gender. We find that gender differentially predicts income and educational attainment. Men were more likely to report income than women; amounts earned were higher for men overall, but the difference between men and women was minimal under matriliny. Men reported higher levels of educational attainment than women, unexpectedly more so in matrilineal contexts. The results reveal nuances in how biology and cultural institutions affect gender disparities in wealth. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary ecology of inequality'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter M. Mattison
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Bret A. Beheim
- Human Behavior, Ecology, Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ruizhe Liu
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Tami Blumenfield
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University, 2 Cuihu Beilu, Kunming, PRC 650091
| | - Chun-Yi Sum
- College of General Studies, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mary K. Shenk
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA
| | - Edmond Seabright
- School of Collective Intelligence, Mohammed VI Polytechnique University, Ben Guerir, Morocco
| | - Sarah Alami
- School of Collective Intelligence, Mohammed VI Polytechnique University, Ben Guerir, Morocco
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Micheletti AJC, Ge E, Zhou L, Chen Y, Du J, Mace R. Studying human culture with small datasets and evolutionary models. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230753. [PMID: 37339747 PMCID: PMC10281805 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Erhao Ge
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, UK
| | - Liqiong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, UK
| | - Juan Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, UK
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Du J, Huang Y, Bai PP, Zhou L, Myers S, Page AE, Mace R. Post-marital residence patterns and the timing of reproduction: evidence from a matrilineal society. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230159. [PMID: 36946117 PMCID: PMC10031416 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans exhibit a broad range of post-marital residence patterns and there is growing recognition that post-marital residence predicts women's reproductive success; however, the nature of the relationship is probably dependent on whether co-resident kin are cooperators or competitors. Here, we explore this relationship in a Tibetan population, where couples practice a mixture of post-marital residence patterns, co-residing in the same village with the wife's parents, the husband's parents or endogamously with both sets of parents. Using detailed demographic data from 17 villages we find that women who live with only their own parents have an earlier age at first birth (AFB) and age at last birth (ALB) than women who live with only their parents-in-law. Women who co-reside with both sets of parents have the earliest AFB and ALB. However, those with co-resident older siblings postponed reproduction, suggestive of competition-related delay. Shifts to earlier reproductive timing were also observed in relation to the imposition of family planning policies, in line with Fisherian expectations. Our study provides evidence of the costs and benefits to women's direct fitness of co-residing with different kin, against a backdrop of adaptive responses to cultural constraints on completed fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yaming Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng-Peng Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Liqiong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Sarah Myers
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
- BirthRites Independent Max Planck Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Abigail E. Page
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
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Zhou L, Ge E, Micheletti AJC, Chen Y, Du J, Mace R. Monks relax sibling competition over parental resources in Tibetan populations. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Why parents in some societies induce some of their sons to become religious celibates is an evolutionary puzzle. Some have speculated that this might be associated with brother competition for family resources. However, the behavioral ecology of monks and the possible links with competition between brothers remain unexplored. Here, we use demographic data from Amdo Tibetan agropastoralists in western China to evaluate what factors determine the probability of becoming a monk and explore the possible association between wealth and having a monk brother. We found that boys with at least one older brother are more likely to become celibate monks. Patrilocal heads of household, who inherit parental property, are more likely to be first-born sons, whereas men who marry uxorilocally, that is they move to their wife’s household, are generally second- or later-born sons. Moreover, we find that men with at least one monk brother are wealthier than men who only have non-celibate brothers. Together, these results suggest that sending a son to the monastery is a way for parents to decrease competition between brothers over family resources. Harsh and resource-limited environments, like the one we consider, can lead to the emergence of communal households, including polyandrous families, which used to be common in Tibetan areas. Directing one son to become a religious celibate offers a potentially effective solution to brother competition in our population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liqiong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University , 222 Tianshui South Rd, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000 , PR China
| | - Erhao Ge
- Department of Anthropology, University College London , 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW , UK
| | - Alberto J C Micheletti
- Department of Anthropology, University College London , 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW , UK
| | - Yuan Chen
- Department of Anthropology, University College London , 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW , UK
| | - Juan Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University , 222 Tianshui South Rd, Lanzhou, Gansu Province 730000 , PR China
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London , 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW , UK
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