The human life history is characterized by several unusual features, including large babies, late puberty and menopause, and the fact that there is a strong cultural influence on reproductive decisions throughout life. In this review I examine human life history from an evolutionary ecological perspective. I first review the evidence for life history trade-offs between fertility and mortality i...

Ecological science addresses the relations between living things and their environments, and the study of human ecology the particular case of humans. However, there is an opposing tradition built into the foundations of modern science which separates living things and particularly humans, from their environments. Beginning in modern times with Descartes' radical separation of psychology and ph...

Paul Ehrlich is really Paul Revere. As he gallops verbally through our society, he warns us of the enemy rapidly approaching. The enemy, much more deadly than the British Redcoats, is in fact, global ecological catastrophe caused by the unbridled increase in the human population, the wanton and gluttonous utilization of the earth's precious and limited resources, and the careless despoliation o...

introduction this study is dealt with the environmental planning from a bio-cybernetic and hierarchical systems viewpoint within the context of landscape ecology. this viewpoint requires not only knowledge of the science of ecology but also ecological wisdom in order to recognize the place of humankind in nature. the conceptual and practical approach which is provided will help landscape planne...

Problems in human ecology are complex, interrelated, incommensurable and interdisciplinary. The often need to involve stakeholder approaches and show a plurality of values. Research strategies should deal with these characteristics and research methods reflect these characteristics. The paper analyses these aspects in two ways. In the first part the results of the analysis of 15 research papers...

The Journal of Ecological Anthropology (JEA) is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary forum for innovative exploration the interface between humans and their sociocultural biophysical environments. Subject areas include, but are not limited to, historical ecology, anthropology development conservation, evolution human ecosystems, indigenous local knowledge, ethnoecology, ecology health, wellness, n...

THE LANCET • Vol 359 • March 30, 2002 • www.thelancet.com 1145 Changes in patterns of health, disease, and survival within populations over time indicate the interplay between human biology, culture, and environmental conditions. However, most epidemiological research, done within a particular population, focuses on identification of individual-level risk factors that operate in the foreground ...

The transfer of food among group members is a ubiquitous feature of small-scale forager and forager-agricultural populations. The uniqueness of pervasive sharing among humans, especially among unrelated individuals, has led researchers to evaluate numerous hypotheses about the adaptive functions and patterns of sharing in different ecologies. This article attempts to organize available crosscul...

Microbial ecology and dysbiosis are topics worthy of study. This review article will be the first of a two-part series that will discuss normal flora and threats to its ecology resulting in dysbiosis. Microorganisms are generally required to attain critical population increases before they threaten the host. The research on the role of bacterial microorganisms which are considered to be part of...

Parasitic infections are influenced by three closely interrelated factors: the parasite, the host, and the environment. Endemicity depends upon the simultaneous occurrence of certain biological and ecological conditions that affect the parasite and the host. Parasites must first of all be present in specific numbers; they must possess the proper pathogenicity and adaptability to the host and th...