A Reassessment of Bergmann's Rule in Modern Humans

Foster, Frederick; Collard, Mark

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072269

Cited by 81 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Both extinct and extant hominin species demonstrate morphological traits consistent with Bergmann's (Bergmann, ) and Allen's (Allen, ) rules (Foster & Collard, ; Holliday, , ; Holliday & Trinkaus, ; Tilkens, Wall‐Scheffler, Weaver, & Steudel‐Numbers, ). These ecogeographical rules describe patterns of morphological variation with respect to environmental temperature and are based on the principle that heat production is proportional to body mass (heat is produced through cellular activity) and is lost in proportion to body surface area.…”

Section: Thermoregulatory Energetics Physical Activity and Selectivmentioning

confidence: 73%

Human athletic paleobiology; using sport as a model to investigate human evolutionary adaptation

Longman

Wells²,

Stock

2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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The use of sport as a conceptual framework offers unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of what the body does, shedding new light on our evolutionary trajectory, our capacity for adaptation, and the underlying biological mechanisms. This approach has gained traction over recent years. To date, sport has facilitated exploration not only of the evolutionary history of our species as a whole, but also of human variation and adaptation at the interindividual and intraindividual levels. At the species level, analysis of lower and upper limb biomechanics and energetics with respect to walking, running and throwing have led to significant advances in the understanding of human adaptations relative to other hominins. From an interindividual perspective, investigation of physical activity patterns and endurance running performance is affording greater understanding of evolved constraints of energy expenditure, thermoregulatory energetics, signaling theory, and morphological variation. Furthermore, ultra-endurance challenges provoke functional trade-offs, allowing new ground to be broken in the study of life history trade-offs and human adaptability. Human athletic paleobiology-the recruitment of athletes as study participants and the use of contemporary sports as a model for studying evolutionary theory-has great potential. Here, we draw from examples in the literature to provide a review of how the use of athletes as a model system is enhancing understanding of human evolutionary adaptation. K E Y W O R D S adaptation, human athletic paleobiology, human evolution, plasticity, sport 1 | INTRODUCTION The fossil record provides evidence about the form and physical characteristics of the human or hominin body, and their changes over time. However, a central challenge of hominin paleobiology is the interpretation of the body's function from its form; how do we walk, run, use tools, and move within the landscape, and how did these functions themselves evolve? Stemming from this, what is the nature of the physiological mechanisms that underpin observed variation in form and function? The use of sport as a conceptual framework offers unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of what the body does, shedding new light on our evolutionary trajectory, our capacity for adaptation, and the underlying biological mechanisms.There has been increasing interest in the model system provided by athletes to enhance our understanding of human evolutionary theory. To date, studies of athletes have facilitated exploration of three key levels of variation and adaptation within the field of human evolution ( Figure 1).

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Section: Thermoregulatory Energetics Physical Activity and Selectivmentioning

confidence: 73%

Human athletic paleobiology; using sport as a model to investigate human evolutionary adaptation

Longman

Wells²,

Stock

2020

American J Phys Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Both extinct and extant hominin species have been shown to display morphological features consistent with Bergmann's and Allen's rules (Foster and Collard 2013;Holliday 1997a, b;Holliday and Trinkaus 1991;Tilkens et al 2007). Considering humans, early work by Roberts reported a negative association between annual temperature and body mass (Roberts 1953) and a positive association with leg length (Roberts 1973(Roberts , 1978.…”

Section: Ecogeographical Rulesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Ultra-endurance athletic performance suggests that energetics drive human morphological thermal adaptation

et al. 2019

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Both extinct and extant hominin populations display morphological features consistent with Bergmann's and Allen's Rules. However, the functional implications of the morphologies described by these ecological laws are poorly understood. We examined this through the lens of endurance running. Previous research concerning endurance running has focused on locomotor energetic economy. We considered a less-studied dimension of functionality, thermoregulation. The performance of male ultra-marathon runners (n = 88) competing in hot and cold environments was analysed with reference to expected thermoregulatory energy costs and the optimal morphologies predicted by Bergmann's and Allen's Rules. Ecogeographical patterning supporting both principles was observed in thermally challenging environments. Finishers of hot-condition events had significantly longer legs than finishers of cold-condition events. Furthermore, hot-condition finishers had significantly longer legs than those failing to complete hot-condition events. A degree of niche-picking was evident; athletes may have tailored their event entry choices in accordance with their previous race experiences. We propose that the interaction between prolonged physical exertion and hot or cold climates may induce powerful selective pressures driving morphological adaptation. The resulting phenotypes reduce thermoregulatory energetic expenditure, allowing diversion of energy to other functional outcomes such as faster running.

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“…This is well-known: Across endotherms, within the same taxa, body size correlates with distance from the equator (something that has become known as "Bergmann's rule" (Bergmann, 1847), which we thus also found in our data. Larger animals have a lower surface to body ratio, making them better able to stay warm in colder climates (something that is also true for modern humans ;Foster & Collard, 2013). This does not mean that height and weight are not important in protecting from the cold, on the contrary.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Human Penguin Project: Climate, Social Integration, and Core Body Temperature

IJzerman

Lindenberg

Dalğar

et al. 2018

Collabra: Psychology

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Social thermoregulation theory posits that modern human relationships are pleisiomorphically organized around body temperature regulation. In two studies (N = 1755) designed to test the principles from this theory, we used supervised machine learning to identify social and non-social factors that relate to core body temperature. This data-driven analysis found that complex social integration (CSI), defined as the number of high-contact roles one engages in, is a critical predictor of core body temperature. We further used a cross-validation approach to show that colder climates relate to higher levels of CSI, which in turn relates to higher CBT (when climates get colder). These results suggest that despite modern affordances for regulating body temperature, people still rely on social warmth to buffer their bodies against the cold.

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A Reassessment of Bergmann's Rule in Modern Humans

Cited by 81 publications

References 23 publications

Human athletic paleobiology; using sport as a model to investigate human evolutionary adaptation

Human athletic paleobiology; using sport as a model to investigate human evolutionary adaptation

Ultra-endurance athletic performance suggests that energetics drive human morphological thermal adaptation

The Human Penguin Project: Climate, Social Integration, and Core Body Temperature

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