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'Stay-at-home' males fueled menopause evolution, say researchers

Date:
February 17, 2016
Source:
University of Liverpool
Summary:
The evolution of the menopause was 'kick-started' by a fluke of nature, but then boosted by the tendency for sons and grandsons to remain living close to home, a new study suggests.
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The evolution of the menopause was 'kick-started' by a fluke of nature, but then boosted by the tendency for sons and grandsons to remain living close to home, a new study by Liverpool scientists suggests.

Menopause is an evolutionary puzzle, as an early end to reproduction seems contrary to the laws of natural selection, where passing on genes to the next generation is the main purpose of life. Yet female humans, and some other mammals, spend up to a third of their lives unable to reproduce.

Now, for the first time, researchers from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University have used a phylogenetic approach to evaluate the most common evolutionary hypotheses for why females outlive their fertility.

'Grandmother hypothesis'

One of the most popular explanations put forward for the menopause is the 'grandmother hypothesis', which suggests that women live long past reproductive age in order to help successfully raise their grandchildren, thereby strengthening the likelihood that their own genes are passed on. Others argue that the menopause offers no selective advantage and is an evolutionary fluke or 'mismatch' which arose because humans were designed for shorter lifespans but now live much longer.

This study, published in Biology Letters, used data from 26 different mammal species, including three different tribal or historical human populations, to test for the effects of lifespan, group size and male and female philopatry (the tendency to remain within a family group) on post-reproductive lifespan (PRLS).

The researchers found that not one hypothesis alone could adequately explain why the menopause evolved, and suggest a new scenario called 'non-adaptive origins followed by evolutionary tinkering' that unites the 'mismatch' and the 'grandmother' theories.

'Adaptive benefit'

Evolutionary biologist, Dr Kevin Arbuckle, from the University of Liverpool, said: "Our results suggest that the menopause arose through a non-adaptive 'mismatch' between lifespan and reproductive span. Subsequently we think that in populations where males remained at home and females dispersed to reproduce, an adaptive benefit drove the extension of this post-reproductive period.

"This adaptive benefit could have come from grandmothers looking after their sons and grandsons at home. As females tend to reproduce more reliably than males, this additional family support could have made it more likely that their grandsons successfully reproduced. "

Co-author Dr Hazel Nichols, from Liverpool John Moores University, added: "Conflicting views in science can be challenging to reconcile, but our study suggests that both adaptive and non-adaptive ideas may be correct -- it's just that they apply to different parts of the evolution of this most unusual reproductive trait."


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Liverpool. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. H. J. Nichols, L. Zecherle, K. Arbuckle. Patterns of philopatry and longevity contribute to the evolution of post-reproductive lifespan in mammals. Biology Letters, 2016; 12 (2): 20150992 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0992

Cite This Page:

University of Liverpool. "'Stay-at-home' males fueled menopause evolution, say researchers." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 February 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160217090814.htm>.
University of Liverpool. (2016, February 17). 'Stay-at-home' males fueled menopause evolution, say researchers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160217090814.htm
University of Liverpool. "'Stay-at-home' males fueled menopause evolution, say researchers." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160217090814.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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