Climate Change Predictive of Body Size and Proportionality in Humans

IF 16.4 1区化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Accounts of Chemical Research Pub Date : 2023-10-03 DOI:10.1007/s11692-023-09616-1

Jeffrey M. Stibel

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Abstract

Abstract The effects of climate change on plants and animals have been examined across numerous species, yet little evidence has been produced to demonstrate an influence on human evolution. Here the impact of climate change on human body size and scaling is examined over a period of 700,000 years using five independent paleoclimate records. Across 247 Homo specimens, body mass averaged significantly smaller during periods of climatic warming as compared to cooler cycles. Body proportions also changed significantly, appearing more ectomorphic during warmer periods and more endomorphic during periods of cooling across a sample of 87 specimens. The results indicate a relationship between climate change and body size and shape in humans that is driven by natural selection in response to thermoregulatory demands. The findings suggest that body size adaptations in response to climate change occurred early and potentially implicated cultural adaptations in later periods, muting the morphological response to extreme climates. Because morphological variation has been used as a factor for classification within the genus Homo , taxonomic and phylogenic decisions may need to be reconsidered in the context of temporal climate differences.

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气候变化对人类体型和比例的预测

气候变化对植物和动物的影响已经在许多物种中进行了研究，但很少有证据表明气候变化对人类进化的影响。在这里，利用五个独立的古气候记录，研究了70万年以来气候变化对人体尺寸和尺度的影响。在247个人类样本中，与较冷的周期相比，气候变暖期间的平均体重明显变小。在87个样本中，身体比例也发生了显著变化，在温暖时期更显生态型，在寒冷时期更显内生型。结果表明，气候变化与人类体型和体型之间的关系是由自然选择驱动的，以响应体温调节需求。研究结果表明，对气候变化的体型适应发生得较早，并且可能与后期的文化适应有关，从而减弱了对极端气候的形态反应。由于形态变异已被用作人属分类的一个因素，分类和系统发育的决定可能需要在时间气候差异的背景下重新考虑。

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来源期刊

Accounts of Chemical Research 化学-化学综合

CiteScore

31.40

自引率

1.10%

发文量

312

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance. Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.