Theoretical Work
Prof Rufus Johnstone and Prof Michael Cant have developed a series of demographic kin selection models to understand how patterns of dispersal and mating may have shaped the fertility and longevity of humans and other long-lived mammals (Cant & Johnstone 2008; Johnstone & Cant 2010; Croft et al in review). We have extended our theoretical work to consider how social factors influence the evolution of senescence, the gradual deterioration of bodily functions with age; and how sex differences in dispersal should affect patterns of helping and harming within social groups (Johnstone & Cant 2008).
