Journal
JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY
Volume 235, Issue 1, Pages 85-93Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.12.021
Keywords
human evolution; polymorphism; frequency-dependence; handedness
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Frequency-dependent selection is an important process in the maintenance of genetic variation in fitness. In humans, it has been proposed that the polymorphism of handedness is maintained by negative frequency-de pendent selection, through a strategic advantage of left-handers in fighting interactions. Using simple mathematical models, we explore: (1) whether it is possible to predict the range of left-handedness frequencies observed in human populations by the frequency and the violence of fighting interactions; (2) the consequences of the sex differences in the probability of transmission of hand preference to offspring. We show that a wide range of values of the frequency of left-handers can be obtained with realistic changes of the parameters values. Our models reinforce the idea that negative frequency-dependence may have played a role in maintaining left-handedness in human populations, and provide further support for the importance of fighting interactions in the evolution of hand preference. Moreover, they suggest an explanation for the occurrence of left-handedness among women in this context, namely an indirect selective advantage through their male offspring. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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