Evolution of reproductive seasonality: a multi-scale investigation in mammals Reproductive seasonality is a major adaptation to seasonal cycles, which consists in temporally grouping reproductive events in order to synchronize the associated energetic costs with the most productive season of the year. This strategy is widespread, particularly in mammals [...].
Sexual bulges in primates have long sparked debate about their function - do they reliably indicate female fertility, or do they deceptively blur it? Here, we provide evidence that female primates can manipulate sexual swellings to outwardly indicate fecundity while inwardly failing [...].
Title and summary to come
"Orangutan life cycle: slow but sure" Among our closest extant relatives, the life of orangutans remains the least documented and understood, mainly due to their solitary lifestyle. Based on a 15-year study of Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii), our research aims to [...]
Frontiers in Social Evolution Seminar
Our species' long childhood is hypothesized to have evolved as a period for learning complex foraging skills. Researchers have focused on assessing this hypothesis, yet studies present inconsistent conclusions regarding the connection between niche complexity, the development of foraging skill development, and ecological knowledge . I will present three studies addressing this hypothesis using both cross cultural [...]
Risk perception - or an individual's susceptibility to perceive a threat (e.g. disease, predator, competitor) - has shaped the physiology, cognition, behavior and ecology of animals for millions of years. While a lot of research has focused on lethal threats (i.e. predation), only recently have we increased our understanding of how animals, and more particularly [...]
The European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (EHBEA) brings together international researchers from the evolutionary sciences and humanities who are interested in the physiological and behavioural adaptations of the human species. The evolutionary approach, which takes account of natural selection processes and evolutionary trade-offs, has opened up many new avenues for [...].
Wild orangutans inhabit extremely variable dietary environments with fluctuations in fruit availability that cause significant changes in their dietary compositions and total caloric intake. Many studies on mammals and primates show clear signals of seasonal variation in gut microbiota. A few primate studies demonstrate that gut microbiota may be helping hosts maintain energy balance during [...]
Abstract: The evolutionary ecology of women's health: a biocultural approach Is being a woman a disease? This provocative question highlights the traditional pathologization of the female reproductive function in Western biomedicine since the 19th century. Recently, the social sciences have issued a call to move beyond 'bikini' research, i.e. to [...].
Did you know that almost 20% of our microbiota is acquired through our social interactions with the people we come into contact with? Yet little is known about the impact of this "social microbiota" on our health. Let's delve into the world of primates to understand just how crucial the exchange of microbes between social partners is for our survival [...].