Periodic catastrophes over human evolutionary history are necessary to explain the forager population paradox

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America • Vol/Iss. 116(26) • PNAS • • Published In • Pages: 12758-12766 •
By Gurven, Michael D., Davison, Raziel J.

Hypothesis

Through altering a population’s vital rate stochasticity it would be possible to adjust the current rapid growth of contemporary human forager groups to achieve ZPG (zero population growth) p. 12763.

Note

Except for the Hiwi and Ju/’hoansi, within-population scaled variability would need to be 6 to 49 times greater than the observed baseline. p. 12763

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
UNKNOWNNot SupportedUNKNOWNUNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Population GrowthDependentPopulation
Vital rate stochasticity IndependentBirth Statistics, Morbidity

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Gurven, Michael D.Through altering a population’s vital rate covariance it would be possible to adjust the current rapid growth of contemporary human forager groups to achieve ZPG (zero population growth) p. 12763.
Gurven, Michael D.Through altering the rate of catastrophes a population experiences, it would be possible to adjust the current rapid growth of contemporary human forager groups to achieve ZPG (zero population growth) p. 12763.
Gurven, Michael D.Combining more than one of the four demographic scenarios (altered mean vital rates (i.e., fertility and mortality), vital rate stochasticity, vital rate covariance, and periodic catastrophes) increases the likelihood of returning the rate of population growth to ZPG p. 12763.
Gurven, Michael D.Through altering mean vital rates (both fertility and mortality) it would be possible to adjust the current rapid growth of contemporary human forager groups to achieve ZPG (zero population growth) p. 12761.
Freeman, Jacob"Holding population density constant, forager groups should increase the time they spend within a habitat as the rate of resource growth in a habitat declines (434)"