Title: The Economics of Evolution: Sons or Daughters?
Abstract: One of the most commonly asked question when a woman is pregnant is whether the parents know if it is a boy or a girl. In humans you have an (almost) 50% chance of guessing the answer correctly. But why is this? Can you correctly explain why there are as many sons as daughters born in humans? I will discuss the evolutionary principles that underlie the evolution of offspring sex ratios in animals. You might be intrigued to learn that offspring sex ratios can vary hugely across different species. Using basic economics ideas about costs and benefits, combined with game theory, evolutionary biologists can predict the conditions under which male-biased or female-biased offspring sex ratios will evolve. Even better, we can then test these theory-based predictions and show that they are surprisingly accurate. These findings provide some of the best evidence for a ’selfish gene’ approach to the study of evolution.This talk will highlight the world class theory-driven research conducted at the Australian National University. And if your goal is to carry out applied science to become a millionaire, I will suggest a way in which you could apply this seemingly esoteric sex ratio theory to food production.
报告人简介：Prof Michael Jennions澳国立理学部生物学院教授，博士生导师。博士毕业于牛津大学，目前主要研究慈鲷的亲代照料和配偶遗弃以及活鱼的生活史进化。
时间：2021年6月4日，星期一 14:30-15:30（Beijing）
地点：线上注册https://science.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/economics-evolution-sons-or-daughters
主办：山东大学澳国立联合理学院
澳大利亚国立大学理学部
