| Nonlinear scaling of space use in human hunter-gatherers. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 17360598 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Use of space by both humans and other mammals should reflect underlying physiological, ecological, and behavioral processes. In particular, the space used by an individual for its normal activities should reflect the interplay of three constraints: (i) metabolic resource demand, (ii) environmental resource supply, and (iii) social behaviors that determine the extent to which space is used exclusively or shared with other individuals. In wild mammals, there is an allometric scaling relation between the home range of an individual and its body size: Larger mammals require more space per individual, but this relation is additionally modified by productivity of the environment, trophic niche, sociality, and ability to defend a territory [Kelt DA, Van Vuren D (1999) Ecology 80: 337-340; Kelt DA, Van Vuren D (2001) Am Nat 157:637-645; Haskell JP, Ritchie ME, Olff H (2002) Nature 418:527-530; Damuth J (1987) Biol J Linn Soc 31:193-246; Damuth J (1981) Nature 290:699-700; and other previously published work]. In this paper we show how similar factors affect use of space by human hunter-gatherers, resulting in a nonlinear scaling relation between area used per individual and population size. The scaling exponent is less than one, so the area required by an average individual decreases with increasing population size, because social networks of material and information exchange introduce an economy of scale. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Marcus J Hamilton; Bruce T Milne; Robert S Walker; James H Brown |
Related Documents
:
|
10676568 - Determinants of protogenetic interval in a west mediterranean rural population: la alpu... 10526658 - Ctg instability in myotonic dystrophy: molecular genetic analysis of families from sout... 17908248 - Evidence for coevolution of sociality and relative brain size in three orders of mammals. 604888 - Relation of birth order, family size and social class to psychological functions. 16131358 - Economic and policy implications of improving longevity. 17593888 - Black women and white women: do perceptions of childhood family environment differ? |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Date: 2007-03-06 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Volume: 104 ISSN: 0027-8424 ISO Abbreviation: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. Publication Date: 2007 Mar |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2007-03-15 Completed Date: 2007-05-14 Revised Date: 2010-09-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7505876 Medline TA: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 4765-9 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. marcusj@unm.edu |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Behavior Conservation of Natural Resources* Diet* / ethnology Ecology* Ecosystem* Environment Food Supply Geography Humans Models, Biological* Models, Statistical Models, Theoretical Population Density |
| Comments/Corrections | |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: The metabolic signature related to high plant growth rate in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Next Document: Genetic analysis of the calcineurin pathway identifies members of the EGR gene family, specifically ...