Year: 2008
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Question: Do humans overproduce the rarer sex in response to skews in the local operational sex ratio (OSR)? And how should one define the OSR in humans? Hypothesis: We predicted that instead of the current adult sex ratio used in previous studies as a cue for the local OSR, parents should use the offspring sex ratio of the immediate preceding cohorts (estimated by an average spousal age difference at marriage) that comprise the most potential mates for their offspring. Organism: Two historical (1718-1890) Sami populations from Northern Finland. Analytical methods: Multivariate linear dynamic regression models to examine the delayed ratio-dependence of annual offspring sex ratio at birth, while controlling for the potential effects of annual maternal and paternal age at reproduction and reconstructed mean ambient temperature. Results: One of the two Sami populations studied showed evidence for the compensatory production of the rarer sex in relation to the skews in predicted local OSR.
Institution: University of Turku
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Emil Aaltosen Säätiö, Koneen Säätiö
OpenAlex ID: W617007758