The Secondary Sex Ratio and Male Mortality at Pre‐Reproductive Ages: A Test of Selection In Utero
Dados Bibliográficos
| AUTOR(ES) | |
|---|---|
| AFILIAÇÃO(ÕES) | The University of Utah, University of California, Irvine, Department of Anthropology East Carolina University Greenville North Carolina USA, Department of Sociology University of Chicago Chicago Illinois USA |
| ANO | Não informado |
| TIPO | Artigo |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajhb.24173 |
| ADICIONADO EM | 2025-08-18 |
Resumo
ObjectivesThe secondary sex ratio (i.e., the ratio of male to female live births; hereafter referred to as the SSR) falls in populations encountering ambient stressors. Much theory and some empirical work indicates that males born to low SSR cohorts may be 'positively selected' in that excess culling in utero may correspond with greater than expected survival among live‐born males in that cohort. We extend prior work by testing, in historical Utah, whether the SSR varies positively with male mortality at pre‐reproductive ages.MethodsThis study uses detailed records from the Utah Population Database to focus on Utahns born 1850–1940. We use rigorous time‐series methods, which control for strong secular declines in mortality as well as ambient perturbations shared equally among males and females, to investigate the male culling inference.ResultsWe observe a positive relation between the SSR and male mortality during youth (i.e., 5 to < 20 years; p < 0.05) but not in infancy or early childhood.ConclusionsIn this historical population, the SSR appears to gauge hardiness of surviving male cohorts. However, whether the high fertility and/or family structure context of Latter‐day Saints in historical Utah explains the age‐specific pattern of male mortality warrants further scrutiny.