Using Geographic Distance as a Potential Proxy for Help in the Assessment of the Grandmother Hypothesis

Life-history theory predicts that selection could favor the decoupling of somatic and reproductive senescence if post-reproductive lifespan (PRLS) provides additional indirect fitness benefits [1, 2]. The grandmother hypothesis proposes that prolonged PRLS evolved because post-reproductive grandmothers gain inclusive fitness benefits by helping their daughters and grandchildren [3, 4]. Because most historical human data do not report direct evidence of help, we hypothesized that geographic distance between individuals may be inversely related to their capacity to help. Using an exceptionally detailed dataset of pre-industrial French settlers in the St. Lawrence Valley during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, we assessed the potential for grandmothers to improve their inclusive fitness by helping their descendants, and we evaluated how this effect varied with geographic distance, ranging between 0 and 325 km, while accounting for potential familial genetic and environmental effects [5-9]. Grandmothers (F0) who were alive allowed their daughters (F1) to increase their number of offspring (F2) born by 2.1 and to increase their number of offspring surviving to 15 years of age by 1.1 compared to when grandmothers were dead. However, the age at first reproduction was not influenced by the life status (alive or dead) of grandmothers. As geographic distance increased, the number of offspring born and lifetime reproductive success decreased, while the age at first reproduction increased, despite the grandmother being alive in these analyses. Our study suggests that geographic proximity has the potential to modulate inclusive fitness, supporting the grandmother hypothesis, and to contribute to our understanding of the evolution of PRLS.