Differential reproductive success and body dimensions in Kavango males from urban and rural areas in northern Namibia.
We investigated differential sex-biased parental investment in relation to social status in 59 Kavango males from Rundu, the administrative and commercial center of the Kavango district in northern Namibia, and in 78 Kavango males from the rural areas around Rundu. Twenty-three body dimensions were used as indicators for the probands' social rank in the groups. The males from Rundu surpassed the males from rural areas in nearly all anthropometric features, but the urban males had significantly less offspring, especially fewer dead offspring. The association between the anthropometric variables and the number and sex of the offspring showed marked differences between the two proband groups. Although in the rural areas robust males had more children than smaller and leaner males, the taller and more robust males from Rundu had fewer offspring than smaller and more slender males. These results indicate that males from rural areas and males from urban areas follow different reproductive strategies.
Kirchengast
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Institute for Human Biology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Winkler
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EM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001824:Body Constitution / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009276:Namibia; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000235:genetics*; D044469:Racial Groups; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012424:Rural Population; D012923:Social Class; D014505:Urban Population