Updated January 2009

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Dr Virpi Lummaa

CV Research interests Funding of my research Teaching Publications Talks

Royal Society funded Senior Research Fellow

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences  
University of Sheffield Tel. +44 (0)114 2220051
Sheffield S10 2TN Fax. +44 (0)114 2220002
United Kingdom Email. V.Lummaa@sheffield.ac.uk

Career:

  • Royal Society University Research Fellow, University of Sheffield (2003-present)
  • Marie Curie Research Fellow, University of Cambridge (2001-2003)
  • Academy of Finland Research Fellow, University of Cambridge (2000-2001)
  • Ph.D, University of Turku, Finland (1997-1999)

You can download a PDF-version of my full CV

Research interests:

The aim of my research is to understand the ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of human life-history strategies. My research has concentrated on two main topics: (1) the use of modern evolutionary theory to investigate the determinants of human demography and reproductive strategies in the given environmental settings; and (2) the effects of early conditions on subsequent health, growth, survival and reproductive success in historical human populations, in contemporary developing countries and in food-limited wild populations of mammals. This work is multi-disciplinary and carried out in collaboration with medical scientists, evolutionary biologists, historians, population demographers and anthropologists.

Current focus of my research group is to use large multi-generational data-sets on survival and reproductive events in succeeding maternal and paternal lines to:
  • Construct heritability estimates for demographic life-history traits in different human populations and measuring selection on them
  • Estimate inbreeding and outbreeding effects on fitness in humans
  • Study trade-offs in reproductive strategies
  • Examine the causes and consequences of family-living in humans
  • Study the effects of early conditions on reproductive performance and survival
  • Examine how local environmental conditions (especially population size, weather and resource availability) affected human growth, reproductive strategies and longevity during the pre-industrial era.
My work builds on a large (n=20,000 people), individual based data set that I have collected from the historical Finnish parish registers, covering full life-history of three complete generations of pre-industrial Finns living in two ecologically different areas during 18th and 19th centuries. These demographic data have been combined with information on wealth and social class of each family, with reasons of death, and with data on weather, food availability, local population size and structure, and sex-specific intra- and inter-parish migration, fertility and mortality rates of the resident parish of all the study individuals. We are currently in a process of updating these pedigree lineages up until the modern time. I am also working on similar multigenerational individual-based data sets on other human populations around the world, as well as carrying out similar research on the pedigrees of another exceptionally long-lived mammal, the Asian Elephant.

Using historical population records maintained by the Church to collect a data set containing full reproductive and survival details for pre-industrial Finns

Other Interests:

  • My Newfoundlands take up most of my spare time - I occasionally breed them with the name Terhotarhan. I own 7 of them, according to the most recent count...
  • Random other interests can be viewed following this link


Funding of my Research:

  • National Environmental Research Council (NERC) Standard Research grant on "Senescence in mammals with extreme lifespan" 2009-2011 (together with Dr. Andy Russell & Dr. Khyne Mar, Sheffield).
  • Kone Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Grant on "Reproductive behaviour in contemporary societies: combining evolutionary theory with social science research" 2009-2011 (together with Dr. Markus Jokela and Dr. Anna Rotkirch, Helsinki).
  • European Reseach Council Starting Independent Research Grant on "Mothers, grandmothers and the evolution on prolonged lifespan in humans" 2008-2013
  • The Royal Society of London - University Research Fellowship 2003-2011
  • Academy of Finland standard research grants 2002-2004 and 2005-2008
  • In the past, I have also held grants from the European Commission and the Emil Aaltonen Foundation
  • PhD-students and post-doctoral researches in my research group have been funded by the European Commission Marie Curie Programme, National Environmental Research Council of UK, Academy of Finland, Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Wihuri Foundation, Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Kone Foundation and Finnish Cultural Foundation

Teaching:

At the moment, I am lecturing the Level 1 course on Animal and Human Behaviour (APS126) at the Sheffield University. I am also tutoring Level 1 students and supervising Level 3 research projects and dissertations. During the summer, I help to run the Portugal Field Course. I am currently supervising five PhD students and two MSc student, and there are several exciting possibilities for further research. So if you are interested in doing a post-doc, PhD or your MSc project with me, get in contact.

List of Publications Since 1998:

Faurie C, Russell AF & LUMMAA V 2009 Middleborns at disadvantage? Testing birth-order effects on fitness in pre-industrial Finns. Submitted.

Helle S, Pettay JE, Jokela J & LUMMAA V 2009 Effects of extreme outbreeding between nomadic Sami and agriculturalist Finns on life histories and fitness in the 18-19th century Finland. Submitted.

Liu J & LUMMAA V 2009 Effects of delaying first reproduction on reproductive failure in human females. In Prep.

Mar KU, Robinson MR, Russell AF & LUMMAA V 2009 Early environmental conditions and senescence in elephants. In Prep.

Rickard IJ, Nussey DH, Prentice AM, Fulford AJC, Clutton-Brock TH & LUMMAA V 2009 Maternal early conditions modify age-specific offspring birthweight in rural Gambia. In Prep.

Robinson MR & LUMMAA V 2009 Early environmental conditions influence maternal performance and survival in humans. Submitted.

Robinson MR, Rickard IJ & LUMMAA V 2009 Early environmental conditions and the PAR hypothesis in humans. In Prep.

Russell AF & LUMMAA V 2009 Maternal effects in cooperative breeders: From hymenopteras to humans. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, in press.

Gillespie DOS, Russell AF & LUMMAA V 2008 When fecundity does not equal fitness: Evidence of a quantity-quality trade-off in pre-industrial humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences 275, 713-722. PDF

Helle S, LUMMAA V & Jokela J 2008 Marrying 15 years younger woman maximized men's evolutionary fitness in historical Sami. Biology Letters, 4, 75-77. PDF

LUMMAA V 2008 Ihmisen elinkiertojen evoluutio. In Evoluutio Nyt! Edited by Vuorisalo T & Portin P, WSOY.

Pettay JE, Charmantier A, Wilson AJ and LUMMAA V 2008 Age-specific genetic and maternal effects in fecundity of pre-industrial Finnish women. Evolution, 62, 2297-2304.

Rickard IJ, LUMMAA V & Russell AF 2008 Elder brothers affect the life-history of younger siblings pre-industrial humans: social consequence or biological cost? Evolution and Human Behavior, 30, 49-57.

Lahdenperä M, Russell AF & LUMMAA V 2007 Selection for long lifespan in men: benefits of grandfathering? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences, PDF

LUMMAA V 2007 Life-history theory, longevity and reproduction in humans. In Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Edited by Dunbar RIM & Barrett L, Oxford University Press.

LUMMAA V, Pettay JE & Russell AF 2007 Male twins reduce fitness of female co-twins in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of U.S.A. 104: 10915-10920.

Pettay JE, Helle S, Jokela J & LUMMAA V 2007 Wealth class-specific natural selection on female life-history traits in historical human populations. PLOS ONE 2(7): e606. PDF

Rickard IJ & LUMMAA V 2007 The predictive adaptive response and metabolic syndrome – challenges for the hypothesis. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 18: 94-99. (PDF)

Rickard IJ, Russell AF & LUMMAA V 2007: Producing sons reduces lifetime reproductive success of subsequent offspring in pre-industrial Finns. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B PDF (doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1051)

Helle, S, LUMMAA, V & Jokela, J 2005: Late, but not early, reproduction correlated with longevity in historical Sami women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences 272: 29-37. (PDF)

Pettay, JE, Kruuk, LEB, Jokela, J & LUMMAA, V 2005: Heritability and genetic constraints of life-history trait evolution in pre-industrial humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of U.S.A. 102: 2838-2843. (PDF)

Helle, S, LUMMAA, V & Jokela J 2004 Accelerated immunosenescence in pre-industrial twin mothers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of U.S.A. 101: 12391-12396. (PDF)

Helle, S, LUMMAA, V & Jokela J 2004 Selection for increased brood size in pre-industrial humans. Evolution 52: 430-436. (PDF)

Lahdenperä, M, LUMMAA, V, Helle, S, Tremblay, M & Russell, AF 2004 Fitness benefits of prolonged post-reproductive lifespan in women. Nature 428: 178-181. (PDF) Lahdenperä, M, LUMMAA, V & Russell, AF 2004 Menopause: Why does fertility end before life? Climacteric 7: 1-5. (PDF)

LUMMAA V 2003 Reproductive success and early developmental conditions in humans: downstream effects of pre-natal famine, birth weight and timing of birth. American Journal of Human Biology 15: 370-379. (PDF)

LUMMAA V & Tremblay M 2003: Month of birth predicted reproductive success and fitness in pre-modern Canadian women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 270: 2355-2361. (PDF)

Eeva T, Lehikoinen E, Rönkä M, LUMMAA V & Currie D 2002: Different responses to cold weather in two pied flycatcher populations. Ecography 25: 705-713.

Helle S, LUMMAA V & Jokela J 2002 Sons reduced maternal longevity in pre-industrial humans. Science 296: 1085. (PDF)

Helle S, LUMMAA V & Jokela J 2002 Effect of producing sons on maternal longevity in pre-modern populations - Response. Science 298: U1-U2. (PDF)

Helle S, LUMMAA V & Jokela J 2002: Sons Reduced Longevity of Pre-Industrial Mothers. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 61: 161.

LUMMAA V & Clutton-Brock TH 2002 Early development, survival and reproduction in humans. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17:141-147. (PDF)

LUMMAA V & Clutton-Brock TH 2002 Early development and determinants of reproductive success in humans. American Journal of Human Biology 14: 51. LUMMAA V & Tremblay M 2002

Timing of birth and reproductive performance in pre-industrial Canadians. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 61: 154.

LUMMAA V 2001 Reproductive investment in pre-industrial humans: consequences of offspring number, gender and survival. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 268: 1977-1983. (PDF)

LUMMAA V, Jokela J & Haukioja E 2001 Gender difference in benefits of twinning in pre-industrial humans: boys did not pay. Journal of Animal Ecology 70: 739-746. (PDF)

Tullberg BS & LUMMAA V 2001 Induced abortion rate in modern Sweden falls with age, but rises again before menopause. Evolution & Human Behavior 22: 1-10. (PDF)

LUMMAA V 2000 Natural or cultural selection? Aurora 3/2000: 26-29.

LUMMAA V 2000 Luonnonvalinnan vai kulttuurin tuotteita? Kirkonkirjat kertovat suomalaisten lisääntymismenestyksestä 200 vuotta sitten. Tieteessä Tapahtuu 3/2000: 37-40.

Ranta E, LUMMAA V, Kaitala V & Merilä J 2000 Spatial dynamics of adaptive sex ratios. Ecology Letters 3: 30.34. (PDF)

LUMMAA V, Haukioja E & Lemmetyinen R 1999 Does polyovulation counterbalance a high abortion rate in humans? Journal of Evolutionary Biology 12: 806-808. (PDF)

LUMMAA V 1999: Adaptive and nonadaptive variation in human life-history traits. Annales Universitatis Turkuensis AII: 124, Painosalama Oy, Turku, Finland.

LUMMAA V, Haukioja E, Lemmetyinen R & Pikkola M 1998 Natural selection on human twinning. Nature 394: 533-534. (PDF)

LUMMAA V, Lemmetyinen R, Haukioja E & Pikkola M 1998 Seasonality of births in Homo sapiens in pre-industrial Finland: maximisation of offspring survivorship? Journal of Evolutionary Biology 11: 147-157. (PDF)

LUMMAA V, Merilä J & Kause A 1998 Adaptive sex ratio variation in pre-industrial human (Homo sapiens) populations? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 265: 563-568. (PDF)

LUMMAA V, Vuorisalo T, Barr R & Lehtonen L 1998: Why cry? Adaptive significance of intensive crying in human infants. Evolution & Human Behavior 19: 193-202. (PDF)

Book reviews:

LUMMAA V 2004: Church records advancing evolutionary biology. Review of Consanguinity, inbreeding, and genetic drift in Italy by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Antonio Moroni and Gianna Zei. Trends in Ecology and Evolution

LUMMAA V 2001: Turning piles of bones into living humans. Review of Eckhardt RB: Human Paleobiology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

Talks:

Invited seminars and pleanary lectures:

  • 6th European Congress of Biogerontology - Ageing and individual life history, Holland (2008) (plenary talk)
  • The ERC Scientific Council for a policy of excellence - The first award winners pave the way. France (2008)
  • Maternal effects: mechanisms and implications for life history evolution, Switzerland (2008) (plenary talk)
  • European Society of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, Belgium (2008)
  • European Human Behaviour and Evolution Conference, Montpellier, France (2008) (plenary talk)
  • Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, University of East Anglia, UK (2008)
  • Department of Genetics, Environment and Evolution, UCL, London, UK (2008)
  • Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Glasgow, UK (2008)
  • Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen (2007)
  • Department of Anthropology, University of Durham, UK (2007)
  • Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland (2006)
  • 12th Annual European Meeting of PhD students in Evolutionary Biology, St Andrews, Scotland (2006) (plenary talk)
  • Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) Easter Meeting, Nottingham, UK (2006) (plenary talk)
  • Summer School on Evolutionary Anthropology, Bremen, Germany (2006) (plenary talk)
  • Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (2006)
  • University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (2006)
  • Department of Zoology, University of Oxford (2006)
  • Division of Biology, Imperial Collage London (2006)
  • Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exceter in Cornwall (2006)
  • Research Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Univ. of Leeds (2006)
  • Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh (2005)
  • Planary Speaker, From Clutch size to mountain birch -Symposium, Turku, Finland (2005)
  • Plenary speaker, Meeting on Human Behaviour from Evolutionary Perspective, Montpellier (2003)
  • Department of Zoology, University of Uppsala (2003)
  • Department of Biological Sciences, University of Jyväskylä 2003)
  • Department. of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield (2003)
  • Department. of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool (2003)
  • Div. of Environmental and Ecological Biology, University of Glasgow (2002)
  • Discovery Lecture Series, University of Cambridge (2002)
  • Plenary speaker, Human Biology Association Meeting, Buffalo (2002)
  • Dept. of Psychology, University of Newcastle, U.K. (2001)
  • Dept. of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, U.K. (2001)
  • Agricultural Research Centre of Finland (2000)
  • Dept. of Anthropology, University Collage London, U.K. (2000)
  • Dept. of Zoology, University of Cambridge U.K. (2000)
  • Dept. of Biology, University of Turku, Finland (1998)
  • Dept. of Population Biology, University of Helsinki, Finland (1998)
  • Dept. of Ecology, ETH-Zentrum Zurich, Switzerland (1998)
  • Dept of Zoology, University of Uppsala, Sweden (1997)

Talks in international congresses:

  • Annual Conference of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Kyoto, Japan (2008)
  • 12th International Behavioral Ecology Congress, Ithaca, USA (2008)
  • XI Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala, Sweden (2007)
  • 11th International Behavioral Ecology Congress, Tours, France (2006)
  • X Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Krakow, Poland (2005)
  • Annual Conference of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Texas, USA (2005)
  • 10th International Behavioral Ecology Conference, Jyvaskyla, Finland (2004)
  • IX Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Leeds, U.K. (2003)
  • 9th International Behavioral Ecology Congress, Montreal, Canada (2002)
  • 2nd Conference of Epidemiological Studies in Europe, Oulu, Finland (2002)
  • 13th Meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, London, UK (2001)
  • 8th International Behavioral Ecology Congress, Zurich, Switzerland (2000)
  • 11th Meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Salt Lake City, USA (1999)
  • 7th International Behavioral Ecology Congress, Monterey, USA (1998)
  • International Congress on Infant Crying, Windermere, UK (1997)
  • VI Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Arnhem, Holland (1997)