Biodemography (bio ∙ demography [bio-di-mog-ruh-fee] - noun) is the science dealing with the integration of biology and demography. Map of countries by population Population growth showing projections for later this century Demography is the statistical study of human populations. ...

Biodemography is a new branch of human (classical) demography concerned with understanding the complementary biological and demographic determinants of and interactions between the birth and death processes that shape individuals, cohorts and populations. The biological component brings human demography under the unifying theoretical umbrella of evolution, and the demographic component provides an analytical foundation for many of the principles upon which evolutionary theory rests including fitness, selection, structure, and change. Whereas biodemographers are concerned with birth and death processes as they relate to populations in general and to humans in particular, population biologists specializing in life history theory are interested in these processes only insofar as they relate to fitness and evolution. This article is about evolution in biology. ... Fitness (often denoted in population genetics models) is a central concept in evolutionary theory. ... Selection is hierachically classified into natural and artificial selection. ...

For example, evolutionary biologists seldom focus on older, post-reproductives because these individuals (it is typically argued) do not contribute to fitness. In contrast, biodemographers embrace research programs expressly designed to study individuals at ages beyond their reproductive years because information on these age classes will shed important light on longevity and aging. The biological and demographic components of biodemography are not hierarchical but reciprocal in that both are primary windows on the world and are thus synergistic, complementary and mutually informing. Reproduction is the creation of one thing as a copy of, product of, or replacement for a similar thing, e. ... Longevity is defined as long life or the length of a persons life (life expectancy). ... Ageing or aging is the process of getting older. ...

Biodemography is unique in two respects. First, it is one of a small number of key subdisciplines arising from the social sciences that has embraced biology such as evolutionary psychology and neuroeconomics. However, unlike the others which focus more narrowly on biological sub-areas (neurology) or concepts (evolution), biodemography has no explicit biological boundaries. As a consequence, it is a more all-encompassing interdisciplinary concept, but maintains deep biological roots. Second, the hierarchical organizations that are inherent to both biology (cell, organ, individual) and demography (individual cohort, population) form a chain in which the individual serves as the link between the lower mechanistic levels, and the higher functional levels. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Evolutionary psychology (abbreviated ev-psych or EP) is a theoretical approach to psychology that attempts to explain certain mental and psychological traits—such as memory, perception, or language—as evolved adaptations, i. ... Neuroeconomics combines neuroscience, economics, and psychology to study how we make choices. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ...

Biodemography is therefore ideally suited – serving as a “looking glass” - to complement, engage and inform research on human aging through theory building using mathematical and statistical modeling, hypothesis testing using experimental methods, and coherence-seeking using genetics and evolutionary concepts. A statistical model is used in applied statistics. ... One may be faced with the problem of making a definite decision with respect to an uncertain hypothesis which is known only through its observable consequences. ...

Samples of related research in Biodemography

• Biodemography of Disability & Death
• Evolutionary, Ecological & Behavioral Biodemography
• Biodemography of Sociality
• Biodemography of Intergenerational Transfer
• Mathematical Modeling of Biodemography

See also

• Demography
• Epidemiology
• Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
• Paleodemography

Map of countries by population Population growth showing projections for later this century Demography is the statistical study of human populations. ... Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. ... The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research is located in Rostock, Germany. ... Paleodemography is the study of ancient human mortality, fertility, and migration patterns. ...

References & Further Reading

• Carey, J. R., and J. W. Vaupel. 2005. Biodemography. Pages 625-658 in D. Poston and M. Micklin, editors. Handbook of Population. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

External Links

• Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
  • Laboratory of Survival and Longevity
    • Biodemography and Paleodemography
• BiodemographyWorld.org Biodemographic Determinants of Life Span Research Project

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