Abstract:

The study of gene-culture coevolution, reconciling both nominally “social” and “natural” sciences into one comprehensive framework, has been broadly applied to understand the evolution of a wide range of “species-defining” human phenotypes; from language to large-scale cooperation. Despite this appeal, the empirical evidence for gene-culture coevolution is routinely perceived to be limited to a handful of “classic” examples, most notably evolution of lactase persistence. How could such a gap between conceptual weight and empirical evidence emerge? We propose that the issue here might be two-fold – there are both conceptual ambiguities in the idea of gene-culture coevolution itself, and formidable practical challenges to discerning its signal in natural data.

The present talk will attempt to cut through some of these difficulties, re-defining gene-culture coevolution into a broader framework, and giving insight into an ongoing project focused on re-conceptualising an empirical science of gene-culture coevolution. Using methods from landscape genomics to quantify adaptive genetic responses to variation in subsistence across the Pacific islands, we present evidence for adaptation in genes related to energy metabolism and metabolic disorder. We conclude that closer cross-disciplinary collaboration may yield a stronger empirical science of gene-culture coevolution which promises to be of both evolutionary and medical significance.

Speaker's social media:

Twitter: @svenkasser